News

Heritage Collegiate Named Regional ROV Champions
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
First place MATE ROV Ranger NL Regional Competition winners, Heritage Collegiate.

First place MATE ROV Ranger NL Regional Competition winners, Heritage Collegiate.

Heritage Collegiate of Lethbridge, NL took first place amongst 20 high schools at this year’s Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) NL Regional Competition which took place in the Marine Institute’s (MI) flume tank on May 4.

O’Donel High School of Mount Pearl placed second for the third year in a row, while Clarenville High School claimed third place.

“This is an event which effectively connects high school students and educators with employers and working professionals from marine industries. The Marine Institute is always looking for opportunities to engage young minds and educate the province’s youth on the marine careers available within Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Glenn Blackwood, vice-president, Memorial University (Marine Institute). “The students from Heritage Collegiate and O’Donel High School deserve a round of applause for their remarkable achievement and we wish them the best of luck at the International Competition.”

The top two teams will now move on to the MATE International ROV Competition at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington June 20-22, 2013. They will be joined by Memorial University’s post-secondary Eastern Edge Robotics team at the International Competition, competing in a separate class.

"We are confident Heritage and O'Donel will continue to represent the province proudly at the international competition," said Dwight Howse, head, School of Ocean Technology, Marine Institute. "The primary goal though is to challenge students to think beyond the classroom and to develop and apply their project management, innovation, and technical and teamwork skills. The event is designed to be a learning experience that provides students with a look into the exciting careers that exist in ocean technology," said Howse.

The MATE Steve Brown Memorial ROV Leadership Award was a presented for the first time to recipient Arne Maeland of Heritage Collegiate. This award was established in memory of Steve Brown, an avid ROV team member who passed away in a tragic accident in 2012. 

Junior high school students also competed in a separate event as part of the regional competition on Friday, May 3. Students from 20 junior high schools across the province built, piloted and executed challenging tasks as part of the competition.

The regional competition was supported by the Hibernia Management and Development Company, Exxon Mobil, Terra Nova, Statoil, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Subsea7, Husky Energy, GRI Simulations, AMEC and the Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Participating high schools in the event included: Ascension Collegiate, Belanger Memorial, Booth Memorial High School, Botwood Collegiate, Carbonear Collegiate, Clarenville High School, Corner Brook Regional High, Gonzaga Regional High School, Heritage Collegiate, Holy Spirit High School, Holy Trinity High, Leo Burke Academy, Lewisporte Collegiate, Mount Pearl Senior High, O'Donel High School, Pasadena Academy,  Prince of Wales Collegiate, Queen Elizabeth Regional High School, St. Mark’s School and St. Michael's Regional High.

Participating junior high schools included:  Beaconsfield Junior High, Botwood Collegiate, Brother Rice Junior High, Clarenville Middle School, Crescent Collegiate, Frank Roberts Junior High, G.C. Rowe Jr. High School, Hillview Academy, Holy Trinity, Leo Burke Academy, Lewisporte Intermediate, MacDonald Drive Junior High, Mount Pearl Intermediate, Pasadena Academy, Pearce Junior High, St. Francis School, St. Mark’s School, St. Paul’s Junior High School, St. Peter’s Junior High and Villanova Junior High.