Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland

Clarenville High School took first place amongst 20 high schools at this year’s Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) NL Regional RANGER Competition.

The event took place at the Marine Institute (MI) of Memorial University’s Ridge Road campus in the flume tank on May 3, 2014.

O’Donel High School placed second for the fourth year in a row, while Queen Elizabeth Regional High School claimed third place for the first time.‌

“The Marine Institute embraces opportunity to engage young minds and educate the province’s youth on marine careers available within Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Glenn Blackwood, vice-president, Memorial ‌University (Marine Institute). “All of the students who participated in the regional competition deserve a round of applause for their hard work, comradeship and achievements.”

The top two teams from the RANGER competition will move on to the MATE International ROV Competition at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, USA from June 26-28, 2014. 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 that Clarenville High School and O’Donel High School will represent the province proudly at the international competition," said Dwight Howse, head, School of Ocean Technology, MI. "The primary goal though is to challenge students to think beyond the classroom and to develop and apply their project management, innovation, 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.”

For the second year in a row, the MATE Steve Brown Memorial ROV Leadership Award was presented at the closing ceremony for the RANGER competition. Student, Amy Chatman from Heritage Collegiate was named the recipient. 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 SCOUT event as part of the regional competition on Friday, May 2. Students from 14 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, Suncor, Statoil, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Subsea7, Husky Energy, Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development and the Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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

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

Second image, right: Second place RANGER winners, O'Donel High School

Third image, left: Third place RANGER winners, Queen Elizabeth Regional High School