Costa Mesa, La Puente, Cypress High Schools Lead Heading into 17th Annual Solar Cup™ This Weekend

As students from 40 high schools gear up for the 17^th annual Solar
Cup™, preliminary scores heading into this weekend’s contest show
Costa Mesa High leading the pack, with La Puente’s Nogales High and
Oxford Academy in Cypress trailing closely behind.

Hosted by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the
nation’s largest solar-powered boat competition officially launches
Friday (May 17) with boat inspections and qualifying for Saturday’s
90-minute endurance heats and Sunday’s 200-meter sprints at Lake Skinner
in the Temecula Valley.

“We really look forward to Solar Cup weekend all year. But this program
is about so much more than the boat races,” said coordinator Julie
Kalbacher, who has been overseeing the program since its inception in
2002. “Throughout the year these projects are engaging students and
giving them hands-on learning experiences, teaching them about the value
of our natural resources, about mechanical and electrical engineering,
problem-solving and communication.”

While the head-to-head competition officially kicks off Friday, the
contest started long before the students even set their boats on the
lake. Over the past seven months, teams have been earning points for
writing technical reports detailing how they built their boats’
electrical systems and drivetrains, producing a public service
announcement promoting water conservation, and passing a technical
inspection of their boats. These projects and other requirements
represent roughly a third of the total possible points for the Solar Cup
competition.

In addition to earning high marks for both their technical reports,
Costa Mesa High students garnered the most points for their public
service announcement. The team’s creative video, developed in
partnership with their co-sponsoring agency Mesa Water District, focused
on the district’s water conservation efforts and shared effective tips
for local residents to reduce their water use.

Both Nogales and Oxford high schools also showed strong performances in
all preliminary categories, earning second and third place for their
PSAs, respectively. Using an effective and energetic narrator, Nogales
High shared the benefits of planting California native landscapes, using
their own high school campus as a backdrop. Oxford Academy presented
information about Orange County’s water sources and California’s recent
historic drought conditions to push the public to conserve more water.
Metropolitan posted the top five student-produced conservation PSAs on
the district’s Twitter
account throughout this week.

Prior to making qualifying runs Friday, the boats will be inspected and
tested by Metropolitan and a technical advisory team from Occidental
College to ensure they meet the program’s requirements and are safe and
seaworthy. Saturday features two 90-minute endurance heats around a
1.6-kilometer course. The contest continues Sunday with the sprint
races, closing with an awards ceremony in the afternoon.

The single-seat boats, 16-feet-long, are built from kits of marine-grade
plywood provided by Metropolitan. Teams equip them with steering, solar
panels, batteries and motors producing up to 320 watts. The maximum
weight, including the skipper, is 450 pounds.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a
state-established cooperative that delivers water to 26 member agencies
serving 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water
from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local
supplies, and helps develop increased water conservation, recycling,
storage and other resource-management programs.

* Has Co-Sponsor(s)
# Rookie Team

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