News file photo Teams test their ROVs’ buoyancy in a small pool before the product demonstration event during the 2025 MATE ROV Competition World Championship in Alpena last year.

ALPENA — The Great Lakes Regional MATE ROV Competition is engaging local students in a hands-on underwater robotics challenge designed to build workforce-ready skills through real-world technology and engineering experiences. Students will showcase their remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in action at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center on Saturday, May 16, 2026.

Each year, this regional competition brings together students from Alpena, Lincoln, Tawas, and beyond to build in-demand, transferable skills in technology, innovation, creative-thinking, and teamwork. Teams design, build, and pilot ROVs to complete mission-based tasks inspired by real-world industry challenges.

In addition to technical skill development, students operate as mock companies, gaining experience in entrepreneurship, project management, and collaboration. Teams are responsible for designing, marketing, and presenting their ROVs to a panel of judges through technical reports, engineering presentations, budget planning, and marketing displays. Impact data from 2025 shows that over 90% of participants report measurable growth in critical skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, and communication.

This year’s tasks align with the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), and highlights the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025-2034)–a global effort to better understand and protect Earth’s frozen regions. Students are challenged to develop technologies that can operate in cold, dynamic, and extreme environments, reflecting real-world ocean and cryosphere conditions.

This year’s competition are made up of teams from:

-Alcona Community Schools

-Alpena High School

-Thunder Bay Junior High

-Rudyard High School

-Grandville Middle School

-St. Francis Public School District

-Lakeview Technology Academy

-Heritage Coast Sailing & Rowing

-Gahanna Lincoln High School

The Great Lakes Regional MATE ROV is made possible thanks to support from Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and a panel of volunteer judges, composed of local professionals such as technicians, scientists, engineers, educators, and marine technology experts. The judges will evaluate the teams’ performance across various categories including ROV functionality, technical presentations, and teamwork.

The Great Lakes Regional MATE ROV Competition is one of many regional events worldwide, organized by the Marine Technology Society’s MATE ROV Competition. Winning teams from this regional competition will advance to compete at the 2026 MATE ROV World Championship scheduled for June 25-27, 2026, in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada which will be hosted by the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University and the National Research Council Canada

The public is encouraged to attend and support their local teams. The Great Lakes Regional MATE ROV Competition will take place from 9:00am to 2:00pm on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, located at 500 W. Fletcher Street, in Alpena, Michigan. For more information, contact Sarah Morrison at sarah.morrison@noaa.gov.

About MATE ROV Competition

Established with funding from the National Science Foundation at Monterey Peninsula College in 1997, the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center worked with the Marine Technology Society’s ROV Committee to create the MATE ROV Competition. The first event kicked off in 2001. Fifteen years later, MATE Inspiration for Innovation (MATE II) incorporated in the state of California as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2016. MATE II was founded to support and sustain ongoing education activities initiated at the MATE Center. During July 2023, MATE II initiated the next phase of its journey by becoming an integral part of the Marine Technology Society’s lineup of program offerings. Through this partnership, MATE and MTS have fostered connection and bridged the gap between today’s professionals and future innovators in marine technology. To learn more, visit materovcompetition.org.