'Presidential candidates' work together at Mundelein cardboard boat race

The competition wasn't as fierce as the Rio Olympic Games, but the water of Diamond Lake was clean and inviting for those rowing makeshift boats Saturday in the Mundelein Park & Recreation District's Cardboard Regatta.

"It's been great," said Mike Gerton, the district's aquatic supervisor, who used a megaphone to update participants and a crowd of about 100 people at the Diamond Lake Beach. While last year's inaugural event drew seven boats, this year's competition drew 17 teams in elaborate boats make out of cardboard and duct tape.

"We've got a lot of creativity. It's fun seeing everyone dressed up, in addition to the boats," Gerton said.

The first entry, a fire truck dubbed "Old Number One," was just a few feet off shore when it tipped in the breeze and pitched rowers Alyson Perry, 11, of Round Lake, and Noah LaMora, 10, of Mundelein, into the lake. "It was too tall," a soggy Noah explained.

"It is an effort to make a boat," said Christa Lawrence, the district's marketing specialist. Lawrence and Rita Kipp, the district's superintendent of recreation, looked over a list of competitors that included several teams in refurbished boats from last year.

The team of Kurt Lawrence, 16, of Mundelein, and Casey Wood, 14, of Vernon Hills, won last year's youth speed title with a boat designed after the Pokemon character Squirtle. This year, they remade the boat in honor of the Pokemon character Wartortle. It was basically the same boat, "but we're 70 pounds heavier together," said Kurt. He and Casey, who compete together on a gymnastics team out of Gymnastics Spot in Mundelein, had the extra muscle to win this year's speed contest despite the added weight.

The crowd favorite was a boat christened the "USS Campain," which featured the Knutson family of Mundelein wearing masks of the key players in the 2016 U.S. presidential race. In what may be a political first, Hillary Clinton (Jill, 10), Donald Trump (Luke, 15), Bernie Sanders (Max, 13) and President Obama (Roy, 12) worked together to paddle their boat into the wind, around a buoy and safely back to shore as the crowd cheered.

All proceeds from the event and an accompanying raffle benefit the Mundelein Parks Foundation, which provides scholarships to needy children as part of the group's "every child should play" philosophy. For more information, visit mundeleinparks.org or phone (847) 566-0650.