Nov 3, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Metropolitan’s 16th Annual Solar Cup™ Launches with Boat-Building Sessions This Weekend

The nation’s largest solar-powered boat competition takes shape this weekend (Nov. 4-5) as teams of high school students from five Southern California counties assemble the 16-foot hulls they will equip and race next spring as part of Metropolitan Water District’s 16th annual Solar Cup™ competition.

What began in 2002 with eight teams and about 80 students is now the largest solar-powered boat competition in the United States, showcasing technical ingenuity, scientific skills, creativity and collaboration. This year, about 800 students are expected to participate on 39 Solar Cup™ teams in the three-day competition next spring at Lake Skinner in Riverside County (see attached participant list).

Beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday (Nov. 4) and Sunday (Nov. 5), teams will gather at Three Valleys Municipal Water District headquarters—at 1021 E. Miramar Ave in Claremont—to build identical, canoe-like hulls from kits of pre-cut, marine-grade plywood. Once the hulls are formed, teams return to their schools to equip them over the next seven months with motors, batteries, solar-collection panels, rudders and steering systems.

The Solar Cup™ program is a team-based educational competition that allows students to apply their skills in math, physics, engineering and communications, while learning about Southern California’s water resources, resource management, conservation and alternative energy development.

The Solar Cup™ competition is May 18-20, 2018 at Metropolitan’s Lake Skinner near Temecula, where the teams will compete in endurance and sprint races. The event is open to the public.

As part of the program, Metropolitan provides the hull kits and tool boxes and sponsors technical workshops for the teams and their teachers/advisors that represent schools in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. In most cases, Metropolitan’s member water agencies and, in some cases, local water retailers, sponsor the teams to help equip the boats.

The 2018 Solar Cup™ program includes five first-time rookie teams that will compete against each other. Another 34 returning or veteran teams must build a new hull but may re-use motors, batteries, solar panels and other equipment.

Teams also are required to submit technical reports and create conservation-themed content for social media. Winners in the rookie and veteran divisions will have the highest number of points from the competition, plus points awarded for attendance at workshops, technical reports and producing social media content.

The 2017 Solar Cup™ program featured teams from 43 high schools. Riverside Poly High School in Riverside, won first place in the veteran’s division, followed by Oxford Academy and Calabasas High School in second and third place overall. Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach took the top prize in the rookie division.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving nearly 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.

             
Member Agency Sponsor     Team/School Name     City
Anaheim Public Utilities Anaheim High School Anaheim
Burbank Water & Power Burbank High School Burbank

Long Beach Water Department†

Cabrillo High School Long Beach
Las Virgenes MWD Calabasas High School Calabasas
Las Virgenes MWD Campus Kilpatrick Malibu

Inland Empire Utilities Agency*

Chino High School Chino

Municipal Water District of Orange County*

Coast High School Huntington Beach
City of Compton Compton High School Compton

Municipal Water District of Orange County*†

Costa Mesa High School Costa Mesa
San Diego County Water Authority Del Lago Academy Escondido
Central Basin MWD Downey High School Downey

Western MWD*

Elsinore HS / Lakeside HS Wildomar
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Franklin High School Los Angeles

Three Valleys MWD*

Fremont Academy of Engineering & Design Pomona

Three Valleys MWD*

Ganesha High School Pomona
Eastern MWD Hemet USD Team Hemet
San Diego County Water Authority High Tech High North County San Marcos
Pasadena Water & Power John Muir High School Pasadena

San Diego County Water Authority†

Kearny High School (School of Engineering, Innovation & Design) San Diego

Foothill MWD*

La Cañada High School La Cañada Flintridge
Upper San Gabriel Valley MWD Los Altos High School Hacienda Heights

Inland Empire Utilities Agency*

Los Osos High School Rancho Cucamonga
Long Beach Water Department McBride High School Long Beach
West Basin MWD Mira Costa High School Manhattan Beach
Upper San Gabriel Valley MWD Mountain View High School El Monte
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Narbonne High School Harbor City

Western MWD*

Norte Vista High School Riverside
Eastern MWD Nuview Bridge Early College HS Nuevo

Municipal Water District of Orange County*

Oxford Academy Cypress
West Basin MWD Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Rolling Hills Estates
Central Basin MWD Paramount High School West Paramount
Eastern MWD Perris Union High SD Team (Heritage HS; Paloma Valley HS; Perris HS) Romoland
Western MWD* Riverside Poly High School Riverside
Three Valleys MWD San Dimas High School San Dimas
Long Beach Water Department Sato High School Long Beach

Inland Empire Utilities Agency*†

Upland High School Upland
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Venice HS STEMM Magnet Los Angeles

West Basin MWD†

Waterfront Education Redondo Beach
Upper San Gabriel Valley MWD West Covina High School West Covina
             
 

* = has co-sponsor(s)

† = Rookie