Area Students Participate in 13th Annual Solar Boat Races

By City News Service, photo by Metropolitan Water District

Updated 5/17 at 9:20pm

Students from the Moreno Valley Unified School District and Orange County’s Oxford Academy took home top awards in Sunday’s 13th annual Metropolitan Water District Solar Cup Competition.

Contestants powered through 200-meter sprint races in their 16-foot plywood skiffs, relying on batteries charged with absorbed sunlight to propel their watercraft.

Trophies went to teams that racked up the highest points for performance, meeting technical standards and producing a public service announcement emphasizing the need for water conservation.

Standouts were recognized in the “veteran” and “rookie” divisions, as well as for teamwork, sportsmanship and the “hottest-looking boat,” according to the MWD. The Moreno Valley team won first place in the Veteran’s Division, while Oxford Academy, located in Cypress in Orange County, won first place in the rookie division.

Forty-one Southern California high school teams and nearly 1,000 youths took part in the weekend-long event, which got underway Friday on the waters of Lake Skinner, near Winchester.

The event featured teams from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties.

In addition to the Moreno Valley team, other Riverside County schools entered in the competition were:

-- Perris Union High School, Menifee;

-- Murrieta Valley Unified School District team;

-- Nuview Bridge High School, Nuevo;

-- Norte Vista High School, Riverside;

-- Polytechnic High School, Riverside;

-- Elsinore High School, Wildomar; and

-- Lakeside High School, Wildomar

Students spent the past seven months readying their hand-built watercraft, which were constructed from kits consisting of batteries, drive trains, electrical systems, propellers, rudders and the solar panels.

“Solar Cup is a program that teaches our future generations about the importance of California’s natural resources as they apply their knowledge in math, science, technology and engineering,” said Randy Record, Chairman of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors. “By engaging these bright students with this fun, educational challenge, we hope to usher in a new normal for sustainable living in Southern California and give these students an appreciation for the state’s natural resources that might lead them to pursue a career in the water industry. “Friday’s much-needed rain was a welcome surprise, but we are thankful the weather system passed in time for the students to enjoy a full weekend of camaraderie and competition, Record said.”

Since 2002, about 10,000 students have taken part in the solar boat races, according to the MWD.