Point Loma High students have proven highly talented in constructing award-winning robots. First, a group under the direction of a local parent won two world championships with its creation. And now, another group is headed to a completely different type of world competition to show off its robot.  How is this new challenge different? The robot must operate underwater. The new group calls itself the “T-Nuts,” and members are part of the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the school. They are scheduled to enter their creation in the 2018 International Sea Perch Challenge taking place June 1-3 at the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) in North Dartmouth, Mass.
And this group needs the community’s help.
More than 200 teams are expected at the event and the Pointer team is currently looking for assistance in registration, travel and on-campus lodging costs for the tournament.
The entry fee is $200 plus $80 for each student and chaperone attending. And of course airfare is the greatest cost. While the school’s Pointer Association has made a loan to the group, a GoFundMe page has been created where donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/plhs-njrotc-sea-perch. The team’s goal is $5,000. Robots are used because they challenge students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) classes to build them from concept to reality. The underwater robots are known as ROV’s (remotely operated vehicles). Each robot must be submitted before the event to insure it follows strict compliance standards. This is the first year Pointer students have entered the competition.  “Getting these students to this competition benefits our whole Point Loma community by raising the awareness of science and technology education,” said team advisors LCDR Christina Pickett and Chief Joe Green, Naval Science instructors at the school. The instructors can be reached at PLHS via [email protected] and [email protected].