Solar Splash Competition

Every year, the UNM Solar Splash team competes in the World Championship of Collegiate Solar Boating. The Solar Splash competition takes place over five days and is generally held in early June. Teams earn points in seven categories to receive an overall score out of 1,000 points. The categories are: Technical Report, Video, Workmanship, Qualifying, Slalom, Sprint, and Endurance.

Before traveling to the competition, each team submits a Technical Report and Video Presentation. On the first day of the competition, the boats undergo technical inspections, and the teams are awarded points for workmanship. After that, the teams compete in five on-the-water races. There are two qualifying events: a 70m sprint qualifier and an endurance qualifier. The teams that pass qualification compete in a 300m sprint to test the speed of the boat and its ability to travel in a straight line, a slalom event to access the maneuverability of the boat, and a two hour long endurance event to access the long-term ability of the solar array to supply the boat with power.

The Solar Splash competition began in 1994 and was first held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over the years, the competition has moved to various locations around the United States. It has been held in Springfield, Ohio since 2017, and teams from all around the world come to participate.

The University of New Mexico participated in the competition for the first time in 2016 and has been competed every year since then (except for 2020 due to COVID-19). The UNM Solar Splash team has won many awards and honors through the teams, see Previous Years for a list of them.

More information about the Solar Splash competition can be found at their website.