Off to the Races: UCF Celebrates 25 Years of the Great Navel Orange Race

UCF’s 2022 Great Navel Orange Race marked 25 years of a rite of passage, which tests creativity, for first-year engineering students.

The 2022 Great Navel Orange Race marked 25 years of a rite of passage for first-year engineering students. Testing their creativity and hand at conquering engineering challenges such as buoyancy, propulsion and trade-offs between weight and speed, students designed and built their watercrafts while abiding by a strict set of rules and a limited budget. Knights taking the Introduction to Engineering course participated in an all-day series of qualifying and elimination rounds of boat races within UCF’s iconic Reflecting Pond, all while carrying a half-pound orange across the water.

“The Great Navel Orange Race was developed to reinforce collaborative teamwork, which is an integral part of the engineering design process. Plus, the race is a fun and memorable way to end an engineering student’s first year in the college.”

— Jacqueline Sullivan ’89 ’91MS, UCF adjunct instructor and engineering alumna

1,200+
First-year engineering students participated

278
Teams competed this year, with just under 10% of the boats successfully navigating the racecourse

$80
Maximum amount each team could spend on parts and materials

Student putting is watercraft in the UCF reflection pond.

2014

Student showing off his watercraft in front of the UCF reflecting pond.

2014

Two students working on their watercraft in front of the UCF reflecting pond.

2014

Students placing their watercraft in the UCF reflecting pond to start the race.

2016

Four students with their watercraft in front of the UCF reflecting pond.

2022

By Rhiana Raymundo ’19 Fall 2022