ROV Team Takes First Place in Pacific NW

Larry Wight has some great news to share with you…

FHMS ROV team – Click to enlarge – Contributed photo

The Middle School ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Team placed first against 40 other teams from all around the Pacific Northwest on May 10th. This event, in which we compete annually, involves designing an underwater ROV to accomplish several complex tasks at the bottom of the Weyerhaeuser Pool in Federal Way. This year’s competition was designed to mimic the exploration of a shipwreck.

The team consisted of Josiah Wegemer, Zach Fincher, Jacob Kaden and Matthew McElrith.

“It was amazing,” said Josiah… “There were teams from all over. The college robots were amazing. In our Scout Class competition I was the pilot, Zach was operating the claw, Matthew was the cable-man, and Jacob was in charge of the window that we designed to see into the pool easily. We all worked well together…”

The Middle School team was supported by Jenny Wilson, FHMS ROV Advisor; Bob Tauscher, a retired engineer; and Molly Roberts from the UW labs.

This accomplishment builds upon last year’s 3rd place finish. Where do they go from here…?

The high school team also competed in this event and did very well. Their accomplishments will be reported upon in a subsequent article.

The team would like to thank Bob Tauscher and Molly Roberts for all their volunteered time. They would also like to thank Paul Hopkins and the San Juan Island Fitness Center for use of the pool for practice sessions, and Jeff Asher for use of the pool for last minute practice for the high school team. They would especially like to give a big thank you to the San Juan Public Schools Foundation for their continuing generous support of this program.

Larry Wight
Director, Career and Technical Education

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