Metropolitan’s 16th Annual Solar Cup™ Launches This Weekend as 39 High School Student Teams Build Their Solar-Powered Boats

Boat-building event this Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 4-5) kicks off largest solar-powered boat competition, culminating with three-day competition in May 2018

LOS ANGELES--()--The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California:

WHAT:     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.
 
WHEN:

Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 4 and 5 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 
WHERE: Three Valleys Municipal Water District headquarters, 1021 E. Miramar Ave., Claremont
 
VISUALS: Hundreds of students building 16-foot canoe-like hulls from pre-cut kits of marine-grade plywood. Teams will then take the boats back to their schools and spend the next seven months equipping them with solar panels, motors, batteries and steering and working to maximize their endurance, speed and mechanical efficiencies.

BACKGROUND:

The Solar Cup program culminates with three days of boat racing May 18-20, 2018 at Metropolitan’s Lake Skinner near Temecula in southwest Riverside County. The field includes 39 teams of high school students in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

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. Along the way, about 11,000 students have participated, showcasing technical ingenuity, scientific skills, creativity and collaboration.

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.

 

List of 2017-18 Solar Cup Teams

   

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

Contacts

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Bob Muir, (213) 217-6930; (213) 324-5213, mobile
Debra Sass, (213) 217-7230; (818) 726-0971, mobile

Contacts

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Bob Muir, (213) 217-6930; (213) 324-5213, mobile
Debra Sass, (213) 217-7230; (818) 726-0971, mobile