ALPENA, MICHIGAN – July 17, 2025 – Innovation, teamwork, and technical excellence took center stage as 77 student teams from 17 countries gathered at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary for the 2025 MATE ROV Competition World Championship. 

Hosted June 19-21, this year’s competition marked a triumphant return to Alpena, Michigan, for the first time since 2014. Now in its 23^rd year, the MATE ROV Competition, a workforce development program of the Marine Technology Society (MTS), continues to inspire the next generation of marine technologists, engineers, and explorers.

This year’s theme—“UN Decade of the Ocean, MATE Year of the Great Lakes: Exploring, Monitoring, and Protecting Our Water World”—challenged students to tackle freshwater-focused mission tasks. Held in the outdoor test tank at the sanctuary, teams piloted their ROVs (aka remotely operated vehicles or underwater drones), to document a historic shipwreck, deploy a moored buoy equipped with environmental sensors, collect and analyze water samples, maintain offshore wind turbines and floating solar panel systems, and deploy vertical profiling floats contributing to global ocean observing efforts. 

“These students demonstrated remarkable creativity, professionalism, and determination,” said Jill Zande, MATE Executive Director at MTS. “Their problem-solving abilities and innovative approaches offer hope for the future of our ocean and freshwater ecosystems. Thunder Bay was the perfect backdrop to showcase their skills and passion.”

Winners were crowned across multiple classes and award categories, celebrating not only technical achievement but also team spirit, safety, and outreach. Full results are available at materovcompetition.org/world-championship.

• 1^st place EXPLORER class: CWRUbotix – Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
• 1^st place PIONEER class: Wave Co. – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida
• 1^st place RANGER class: PVIT Fitzgerald – Palos Verdes Institute of Technology, Palos Verdes Estates, California 

The competition also celebrated the strong support from the Alpena community and local sponsors, including Visit Alpena, Northwestern Michigan College and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, whose contributions ensured an exceptional experience for all involved.  

For a complete list of sponsors, please visit materovcompetition.org/en-us/sponsor.  

Check out photos from the World Championship here. 

About the MATE ROV Competition 

Established with funding from the National Science Foundation at Monterey Peninsula College in 1997, the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center worked with the Marine Technology Society’s ROV Committee to create the MATE ROV Competition. The first event kicked off in 2001. Fifteen years later, MATE Inspiration for Innovation (MATE II) incorporated in the state of California as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. MATE II was founded in 2016 to support and sustain ongoing education activities initiated at the MATE Center. During July 2023, MATE II initiated the next phase of its journey by becoming an integral part of the Marine Technology Society’s lineup of program offerings. Through this partnership, MATE and MTS have fostered connection and bridged the gap between today’s professionals and future innovators in marine technology. To learn more, visit materovcompetition.org.