Parker ROV Team Brings Its World Championship Story Home

Recently at Morning Exercise, members of the ROV team presented to students in grades 5 through 12 about designing, building, and piloting an underwater robot and competing at the MATE ROV World Championship in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.

ROV, which stands for remotely operated vehicle, is an Upper School club for students to design, build, and program underwater robots for a competition run by Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE). The competition simulates real-world ocean exploration challenges. Teams act as mock companies and must not only compete with their robot but also “sell” it to a panel of judges. In fact, more than half the competition’s points come from areas other than the robot, such as marketing displays and engineering presentations.

The team competed at the World Championship, held June 25–27 at the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University, against teams from 16 other countries, including China, Greece, Egypt, and Canada. Parker finished 30th among the world’s high school teams. Along the way, students traded presentation tips, played soccer with a team from Hong Kong, and received float code and design plans from a University of Washington team.

The trip was made possible by the Jill Harris Fund, established by the family of Jill Harris ’84, a Parker alumna and lover of nature, to support environmental and ecological projects at Parker. Through the fund, the team added a few days after the competition to kayak the Atlantic coast, go whale watching, and visit a puffin colony.

Now the team’s six sub-teams (Software, Electrical, Mechanical, Cameras, Marketing, and Float) are looking ahead to 2026–27. Their goals include returning to Worlds in Seattle in June 2027, taking home an award, and improving their robot. The team is also reviving its sponsorship efforts and has already secured a $1,000 sponsorship from Seattle robotics software company Numurus as part of a new pilot program with MATE. Scarlett Mosquera, a junior and head of the Cameras sub-team, has been selected as a student intern in that program. The team also plans to host an industry speaker and build community with movie nights and an escape room.

The team welcomes new members, from complete beginners to experienced builders, and is especially seeking students interested in CAD design and software. Roles extend beyond technical work to marketing, outreach, and design. The team meets Mondays and Wednesdays after school and some Saturdays.

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