In sailing terms, do you know what a 'tack' is? What would you use to steer a boat - a rudder or a centre board? How does foiling work? Why is it called the America's Cup? These were some of the questions Room 16 students had to grapple with over the past few weeks as they 'grinded' their way through the vast information around sailing and the America's Cup.

Room 16 students were split into teams and had to create a sailing team and a country to represent. They then embarked on an inquiry to learn and apply their knowledge. Teams took part in a series of regatta-style challenges with points being awarded to teams based on where they finished in a challenge. 

The first challenge was around knowledge. Teams had to read, summarise then teach each other about sailing concepts, Emirates Team New Zealand and the America's Cup. Their knowledge was tested in a 36-question (because it's the 36th America's Cup) Kahoot! quiz. Team Chocolate NZ took an early lead in the regatta with this first challenge.

The second challenge was a pressure test. Teams had 60 minutes to build their own America's Cup boat out of recycled materials. This challenge was designed to simulate the pressure environments sailors have to manage in order to prepare their boats for racing. Teams put their communication, creativity and time management skills to the test as they followed strict guidelines to construct their boats within the allocated time. We saw several lead changes with Team Lone Deer placing first overall in this challenge.

The third and final challenge was the boat test. This challenge was aimed at testing to see how many apples could be kept afloat by the boats teams had built in the second challenge. Thank you to Mr. Brown for helping with supplying a makeshift 'race course' for our fleet of boats. One by one, apples were lowered onto the boats. The good news was that all boats floated and students were generally surprised by how many apples their boats could hold. There were three teams that had boats which could support 31 apples, the maximum available - The Turkins, Team Chocolate NZ and Greece Gucci Grass. 

In the end, the winner of the Room 16 America's Cup was the team who had garnered the highest number of points over the course of the three challenges. Thank you to Mr. Greaves for helping with constructing the trophy. There were plenty of lead changes throughout this regatta but the ultimate winners, by 3 points, and the winner of the Room 16 America's Cup Challenge was - Team Greece Gucci Grass!