Windy conditions challenge teams at the Northern Gulf Coast Regional MATE ROV Competition

by The Dauphin Island Sea Lab

wind ripples water as teams fly rovs

The Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Discovery Hall Programs hosted the 11th annual Northern Gulf Coast Regional MATE ROV Competition this weekend.

Sixteen teams from four states competed with their custom-built remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). The competition is a part of the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) network of 40 regional competitions held across the U.S. and worldwide.

Each year, MATE creates a scenario to inspire and challenge the students to apply science, technology, engineering, and math to solve real-world problems. Focusing on education, the competition emphasizes strengthening students’ critical thinking, teamwork, entrepreneurship, and innovation skills.

For the 2024 competition, teams competed in four mission tasks with their ROV focusing on ocean monitoring. Tasks included float release and recovery, deploying and providing power to an undersea cable, transplanting coral for restoration, and acoustic receiver recovery and data analysis. In addition, teams were also tasked with creating a vertical profiling float to collect water temperature data, which they graphed to assess ocean conditions at the surface, mid-level, and bottom.

This year marked a significant change for the competition, as the teams competed in the Sea Lab’s new scientific pool on campus. The unique outdoor conditions challenged all the teams, testing their skills and adaptability. One challenge was the wind, which made the ROVs’ visibility and movability difficult.

Several Navigator and Ranger teams also had to overcome challenges with the camera installed on their ROVs, showcasing their problem-solving abilities.

There are three class levels, Scout, Navigator, and Ranger, within the MATE competition framework for elementary, middle, and high school students. In each class, the missions and ROVs increase in complexity.

The winners in the Scout Challenge Class are:

Water Wardens A, Acorns to Oaks, Slidell, Louisiana

  • 1st Place: Water Wardens A, Acorns to Oaks, Slidell, Louisiana
  • 2nd Place: Poseidon’s Power - Walker High School, Walker Louisiana
  • 3rd Place: Black Pearl, Gadsden Middle School, Gadsden, Alabama

The winners in the Navigator Challenge Class are:

Fission JIG, Alma Bryant High School, Irvington, Alabama

  • 1st Place: Fission JIG, Alma Bryant High School, Irvington, Alabama
  • 2nd Place: CyDivers, Walker High School, Walker, Louisiana
  • 3rd Place: Bubble Guppies, Gadsden Middle School, Gadsden, Alabama

The winners in the Ranger Challenge Class are:

EARS, Eastwood Presbyterian Church School, Montgomery, Alabama

  • 1st Place: GEARS, Eastwood Presbyterian Church School, Montgomery, Alabama
  • 2nd Place: Crubotics, Pensacola Catholic High School, Pensacola, Florida
  • 3rd Place: Trojan Triremes Carrollton High School, Carrollton, Georgia

Each year, specialty awards are presented by the judges and volunteers. Alejandro, Gadsden Middle School, Gadsden, Alabama, received the Buoyancy Award for positive support of each other during pool demos and the competition, constantly buoying each other up. The Trojan Triremes from Carrollton High School, Carrollton, Georgia, earned the Tethered Together Award as they not only evidenced great teamwork within their team but whose definition of teamwork extended to helping other teams.

From the Northern Gulf Coast Regional, GEARS from Eastwood Presbyterian Church School in Montgomery, Alabama, earned the opportunity to represent the Region in the MATE World Championship this year.

The MATE Regional ROV Competition is part of Discovery Hall’s K-12 STEM Programs.

The 12th annual Northern Gulf Coast Regional is set for April 25-27, 2025.

More information on the competition can be found on the MATE Competition website.

For information and videos of previous competitions, check out https://disl.edu/dhp/stem.