The students of Mr. Keali’i Mossman’s marketing class won their heat against Maui High School and the Spirit Award at the 7th annual Meadow Gold Milk Carton Regatta at Hanakao‘o Beach on Saturday, April 23.

The Spirit Award was based on different cheers that each school performed near the end of the competition. This was a prize that KS Maui has brought home in the past, so honor was at stake in the good-natured competition.

Seabury Hall experienced a mishap mid-ride when their boat flipped over, but they made the best of it by climbing on the upturned bottom and finishing the race.

All teams had concerns about this possibility since all boats were constructed primarily of milk cartons.

“We actually didn’t test our boat before we came out here, so I don’t know if it’ll even float,” Mr. Mossman said before the race about their rocketship-shaped boat.

“There was really no reason the boat was shaped like a rocket ship. We were building two boats at first, but then we ran out of time so we put the two boats together, and it looked like a rocket shop so we just went with that,” senior Maverick Matsuoka said. “We were making two boats because we’re allowed to enter two boats, but like I said…we ran out of time,” he said.

Approximately 80 students from different high schools competed in two-boat heats.

One award was given to the boat that ran the 1/4-mile course, from shore to marker and back, in the fastest time. Saint Anthony High School, in their dragon boat, won in one minute four seconds. 

“This project helped us to learn about promotion,” senior Haley Calasa explained. “We learn in Marketing how promotion is good for companies. And for this project, we were looking at it from the marketing point of view as opposed to some of the science classes here that are looking at it from the engineering point of view.”

While the emcee, KPOA’s Ms. Alaka‘i Paleka, announced that the purpose of this event is to encourage science, mathematics, and industrial arts using leadership and creative and motivational skills, it also helps raise brand awareness for Meadow Gold Dairies. Students learned that marketing comes in many forms.  

Kihei Charter, Maui, Baldwin, Seabury, and St. Anthony High Schools also entered.
At the end of the day, the total of all scores determined the overall winner.

The results of the Meadow Gold Regatta are as follows:

Overall Winner: St. Anthony
Spirit Award: Kamehameha Maui
Time: St. Anthony
Creativity Award: Seabury