Five teams from across Newfoundland & Labrador competed in the 2025 Marine Advanced Technology Education Remotely Operated Vehicle (MATE ROV) World Championships in Alpena, Michigan, from June 19-12.
Eastern Edge Robotics, a team of 30 students from Memorial St. John’s campus and the Marine Institute, competed in the Explorer category, the most advanced of the five levels of competition. The team placed third out of 26 teams from nine different countries, its 13th time placing in the top three.
The competition consists of each team creating a submersible in the months before the competition, and controlling it to complete a series of tasks, such as investigating shipwrecks and collecting data on invasive species of sea life.
Individual awards were also awarded. Martha Snelgrove, the CEO of the Eastern Edge team, took home the Martin Klein MATE Mariner Medal, awarded to someone with many traits suitable for a career in the marine sciences, such as a clear and dedicated interest in the field.
Additionally, Kaitlin Healey won the Oceaneering Co-Pilot Award, which is awarded to a skilled ROV pilot who helped guide their team to success.
Eastern Edge was not the only team to make a name for themselves, however. Western Wave Robotics, comprised of students from College of the North Atlantic and the Memorial Campus at Grenfell, placed fourth in the Pioneer class, which is impressive for their first competition in the class. They received an award of their own, the Engineering Presentation Award.
The Ranger category featured several NL teams. Out of the 27 teams in the category, Holy Heart placed 17th, Labrador Straits Academy finished 12th, and Clarenville High School finished 6th. Labrador Straits also received the Technical Documentation Award.
“These teams show that all across Newfoundland and Labrador there are trailblazers learning skills that can be directly applied to industry and learning how to aid the world’s oceans,” said Jadzia Penney, Chief Marketing Officer of Eastern Edge Robotics.
“I think it really shows the passion and the talent for innovation that we have here in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
The process of making an ROV is far from simple, and is an incredibly time-consuming process. All components must be decided from the start. “Eastern Edge builds almost the entirety of the ROV in-house using 3D printed and CNC milled components,” said Penney.
“To run the ROV you need more than just the physical product, software has to be written for control and tools need to be created for mission tasks and attached to the ROV. Then comes a great deal of testing to ensure that the entire system functions.”
Everyone works together to make an ROV work, everyone has a role to play, be it building the machine, programming software, marketing, the presentation, or any other part of the competition. It takes everyone to succeed.
“I feel so proud of every one of my teammates, each and every one of them did amazing work and that hard work is what got us on the podium,” said Penney.
The 2026 MATE ROV World Championship will be held at Memorial’s Marine Institute, the third time it has been held there.
