One might say whoever is trying to build a canoe out of concrete is already an underdog.

But that is exactly what Sacramento State’s Concrete Canoe Club does. The group builds concrete canoes to race against other universities.

The club, with 20 to 25 members who are primarily engineering majors, participates annually in a competition with other colleges from Northern California and Nevada. If its canoe is rated one of the top two in the Mid-Pacific division, they move on to a North American tournament.

The winner is decided based on things like buoyancy and aesthetics, as well as race results. The races are the most important.

Club member Dexter Early, junior civil engineering major, said while no current Sac State team member has advanced beyond the regional phase, members are optimistic that this is the year.

“Ask us (if we’ve made it past the regional phase) in a year, and hopefully the answer will be “Yes we have,'” Early said as he swept the floor of the concrete lab after a Saturday’s worth of work on the canoe.

The laws of physics are not the only seemingly unstoppable forces keeping Sac State’s team from realizing their dreams of bringing the championship home to the capital.

UC Berkeley and University of Nevada, Reno, are historically two of the winningest teams at the national level, and they are both in the Mid-Pacific division. Not only are their clubs much bigger, explained club president and team co-captain Travis Weston, but they also have a lot more money to work with.

“Las year, Berkeley’s budget was $75,000,” said Weston, junior civil engineering major. “Ours was about $7,000.”

Cal won the national title in 2009.

Sometimes, having more resources can hurt a school like Cal, Weston said.

Teams are awarded points for using environmentally friendly techniques. Last year, Cal tried to use fly ash, a mineral, to replace concrete in its canoe’s construction. The team had no way of knowing it would not hold up during the race because the teams do not test their finished products to keep the material from absorbing water.

“It broke in half right in the middle of the lake,” Weston said.

The team is hopeful because Sac State is hosting this year’s Mid-Pacific tournament at the Aquatic Center. This gives students a chance to come out and support their team.

Early also said Sac State is pulling out all the stops trying to win the racing portion of competition. Early is the captain of the paddling team, which has been training since last summer. Weston said they are practicing four times a week right now.

“In order to compete, we need our paddlers up to speed,” Early said.

Despite all the hard work they have already done, Weston said they could still use any help they can get. He said anyone can come out and lend a hand, regardless of major, as long as they can follow instructions.

The club is working most days in Santa Clara Hall, Room 1125, but has no designated meeting time.

They also encourage everyone to come out and show support April 15-16 at the Aquatic Center, when the club hopes to beat its favored foes.

Alex Grotewohl can be reached at [email protected]