By Rick Hansen - General Manager,
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
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Nine high school teams, sponsored by Three Valleys Municipal Water District, will participate in Metropolitan Water District’s fourth annual Solar Cup 2006. A total of 39 high schools throughout the Southern California area have signed on to participate in the program this year. This means hundreds of high school students will be participating in this exciting program. The annual event—the only one of its kind in the state—is primarily sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to help teach high school students engineering and problem-solving skills, and about managing and protecting natural resources. After students build, outfit and test their boats for both speed and endurance, they compete for three full days, May 19, 20, 21 at Lake Skinner in Temecula. Each year the event improves, but the enthusiasm, cooperation, and spirit of camaraderie do not change. It is always an outstanding weekend for everyone who participates. This year, Three Valleys is sponsoring and co-sponsoring a total of nine teams from its service area. The high schools participating include: Charter Oak High Claremont High Diamond Bar High+ Diamond Ranch High+ Garey High Nogales High* Pomona High San Dimas High Santana High+ *This team is co-sponsored by the Rowland Water District +These teams are co-sponsored by the Walnut Valley Water District |
The program began in December with the students building their wooden canoe-like boat from a kit provided by MWD. This ensures that all the teams get an equal footing to start with. When completed, the boats are about 16-feet long and weigh about 50 pounds. When they are fully equipped, the maximum weight allowed, including the skipper, is 451 pounds. Throughout the next six months teams must complete the outfitting of their boats, which includes strategizing for speed, endurance or both. During these six months, while they are working out their designs and specifications, teams must also provide written technical reports on items such as their electrical, steering, and safety mechanisms. These reports are reviewed and “graded” and count as a part of their overall score at the end of the races, thus keeping this program not just hands-on, but also a truly educational program. Everyone is welcome to attend the weekend of the competition and the event is free. This year’s event will take place Friday through Sunday, May 19 – 21, 2006 at Lake Skinner in Temecula. If you are interested in learning more about the program you can contact Three Valleys Municipal Water District at (909) 621-5568. Three Valleys MWD is one of Metropolitan’s 26 public water member agencies. Of these, a total of 13 are participating in this year’s Solar Cup program by sponsoring high schools within their service areas. |