The Richness of the MTS Network
Most of our team was in Kingsport, Tennessee, last week for the 22nd MATE ROV Competition World Championship. Alongside members of our Board, we watched and celebrated the competitive spirit, collaboration, and ingenuity of 78 teams of students from around the world. This year’s championship was the largest in MATE history; more than 1,000 students and mentors, along with family, friends, and volunteers participated.
As the MATE staff and volunteers have known for years, the competition is an incredible and inspiring event to witness – our competitors have devoted months of effort to design, build, test, and deploy world-class underwater robots. They put all their passion and energy into the success of their ROV. As with any competitive sport or pursuit, the level of dedication and skill our competitors bring to the championship each year can lead to outcomes ranging from happiness to heartbreak.
This year was no different – we saw first-time teams outperform teams that have been competing for decades; watched well designed robots not perform as planned; saw experienced competitors complete (and not complete) tasks in the pool with only seconds to spare; and first-time pilots set scoring records for their teams. Most importantly, though, we saw 78 compelling examples of innovation and teamwork, dozens of inspiring instances of collaboration and partnership, and the satisfied faces of more than 1,000 students and mentors who, win or lose, reached the culmination of their months of hard work.
Watching the championships last week, I am grateful for how many sponsors, volunteers, and judges from across the MTS ecosystem devote their time, energy, and resources to sustaining the competition. These investments in the success of the next generation of marine technologists are one way our ecosystem consistently reinforces its strength. Watching the CEO of a large company talk to students about their robots, and seeing career engineers get excited by the innovative tooling and robot designs of our student competitors, reminded me how uniquely connected the MTS ecosystem is, and how important it is we sustain those collaborative connections as our industry continues to grow.
Alongside the MATE Competition, MTS offers a rich array of programming designed to deliver personal and professional enrichment to marine technologists throughout all stages of their career journey. From student scholarships to microcredentials, and on-the-water technology workshops to global conferences, we continue to innovate and deliver programs and services designed to maximize member value. The rich network of members that sustain those events, competitions, and programs—activities that link us throughout our distinct career journeys— is the real power of MTS.
That you can join our community and instantly connect and engage with thousands of marine technology peers has been our strength for more than 60 years and will continue to be one of our greatest sources of member value for many more.
Our member network is the best in the business. Thank you for being part of it.
Chris
