SeaPerch Team Performs Swimmingly

Two teams from West Ashley High School competed in the Charleston Regional SeaPerch Challenge on Wednesday, March 9 at the Danny Jones Pool in North Charleston. The WAHS SeaPerch Team took first place overall and will advance to the 6th Annual National SeaPerch Challenge in Baton Rouge, La. in May. The WAHS NJROTC SeaPerch Team took first place in the Gumball-Orb Challenge.
Middle and high school teams from Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties, such as Wando, Academic Magnet, Buist, Morningside, and Summerville, participated in the regional competition. SeaPerch is an underwater robotics program that gives teachers and students the resources they need to design and build their own remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The program is designed to test student’s abilities to build and operate an underwater ROV by competing in three different events: Poster and Presentation Judging, Obstacle Course, and Gumball-Orb Challenge.
Each team had to meet with a panel of judges who evaluated their poster, their professionalism, and abilities to clearly communicate the reasons behind their design and any construction challenges they may have faced. After that the teams competed in two underwater events; the Obstacle Course and the Gumball-Orb Challenge. In the Obstacle Course, ROVs must travel through a series of 18” rings, surface, and then re-submerge before returning through the course to where they started. Scores are based on how quickly a robot can travel through the obstacle course. The WAHS SeaPerch Team was able to maneuver their robot through the course in 48 seconds. A new challenge this year, the Gumball-Orb Challenge, consists of four stations that contain different sized balls in each of them.
The first three stations contain Wiffle balls, which float up to the surface when they’re released while the fourth station contains golf balls which sink. Teams must use their underwater ROVs to place the Wiffle balls in a “floating pen” on the surface or to a submerged container while the golf balls must be pushed into a designated area on the floor of the pool. Scores are given to the team with the shortest time who completes the challenge.
The members of the West Ashley High SeaPerch Team are Hannah Mullinax, Kiara Lemons, and Stephen Chukwuemeka. They earned 1st place overall in the high school division, 1st place in Poster and Presentation Judging, 1st place in the Obstacle Course, and 3rd place in the Gumball-Orb Challenge. “My proudest moment was when judges shared that their poster received a perfect score,” said WAHS SeaPearch Team Instructor Margaret Spigner. “One reason was because of the team’s enthusiasm and professional demeanor.” The WAHS SeaPerch Team will now travel to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA May 20th-21st to compete in the 6th Annual National SeaPerch Challenge. “Stephen, Kiara, and Hannah are looking forward to traveling to Baton Rouge, LA in May. Having two months before competition will allow us more time to raise money for travel and housing,” said Spigner.
The WAHS NJROTC SeaPerch Team members include Dominique Novak, Alliyah Martin, Christopher Smith, SeaPerch Instructor Commander Robert Turner, Patrick Griffin, and William Frasier. The team was very happy with their 1st place win in the Gumball-Orb Challenge; pretty impressive when you consider the team only started working on their underwater ROV two weeks ago. “I am most proud of how they worked together as a team to build and test their robot,” said WAHS NJROTC SeaPerch Team Instructor Commander Robert Turner. “We plan to start much earlier next year and will recruit middle school students who were on the middle school teams this year that are coming to West Ashley next year to be members of our team.”