Atlantis ROV Team

Lore & Background

The Atlantis ROV Team was founded in September 2010 by a homeschool parent and initially consisted of five middle-school members. In 2011, the team placed 4th overall at the MATE Pacific Northwest Regional Challenge. The following year, in May 2012, they placed 8th overall at the same regional challenge and won the Best Poster award. The success of their poster led to the team's Communications Director, who designed the winning poster, being recruited by a Hawaiian high-school underwater robotics team; that poster went on to place 2nd at tie-break at Internationals in summer 2012.

In May 2013, the Atlantis ROV Team won the MATE Pacific Northwest Regional Challenge, becoming the second Whidbey Island underwater robotics team ever to do so. In early June 2013, they hosted two Signature Events for the Seattle Science Festival, providing hands-on ROV building experiences and educational demonstrations. At the 12th annual MATE International ROV Competition, they competed against teams from Scotland, Macau, Singapore, Canada, the United States, Egypt, and Hong Kong, placing 11th overall under the school sponsorship of Columbia Virtual Academy, 7th in the Technical Paper division, and 3rd in the Poster division. In November 2013, the Island County Commissioners issued an honorary proclamation acknowledging and congratulating the team for their achievements.

Reader's Guide

The Atlantis ROV Team's significance lies in its trajectory from a small homeschool-founded middle-school group to a competitive high-school team achieving regional and international recognition. Their 2013 Pacific Northwest championship marked them as only the second Whidbey Island team to reach that milestone, highlighting the growth of underwater robotics in the region. The team's poster design success had a ripple effect: their Communications Director was recruited by a Hawaiian team, and that poster placed 2nd at Internationals, demonstrating how the team's skills influenced other programs. Their hosting of Seattle Science Festival events in 2013 extended their impact beyond competition, engaging the public in hands-on STEM education. The honorary proclamation from Island County Commissioners in November 2013 formalized local recognition of their accomplishments. The team's international performance—placing 11th overall, 7th in Technical Paper, and 3rd in Poster—underscores their balanced strengths in engineering, writing, and visual communication. Their legacy is one of a community-rooted team that leveraged poster design and technical skill to achieve regional victory and a respectable international standing.

Did You Know?

• The team was founded in September 2010 by a homeschool parent with five middle-school members.
• They won the Best Poster award at the 2012 MATE Pacific Northwest Regional Challenge.
• Their Communications Director was recruited by a Hawaiian high-school team after designing the winning poster.