May 30 – 31, 2026
University of Maryland | College Park, Maryland, USA
The 2026 International SeaPerch Challenge was held in-person at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, USA, with a record 210 teams representing 6 countries – China, Egypt, Kazachstan, Kenya, New Zealand, and the United States and Puerto Rico.
At the Sunday afternoon awards party, the teams celebrated their hard work and accomplishments with new friends and redefined determination for next year!
Congratulations to all SeaPerch 2026 teams!
SeaPerch 2026 Detailed Rankings (View Rankings)
Middle School Stock Class Rankings (Download PDF)
High School Stock Class Rankings (Download PDF)
Open Class Rankings (Download PDF)
Class Champions Awards
Middle School Class Champion: Megalodons, Mayport Costal Sciences Middle School (Atlantic Beach, Florida)
High School Class Champion: Stingrays, Duval County Public Schools (Jacksonville, Florida)
Open Class Champion: Anglerfish, Mayport Coastal Sciences Middle School (Atlantic Beach, Florida)
Real-World Innovation Awards
1st Place, Fan Favorite, Middle School: Zhicheng Dreamers, Beijing No.35 High School (Beijing, China)
2nd Place, Fan Favorite, High School: Deep Sea Nautilus, Guangdong Experimental High School & Beijing No. 35 High School & Guangdong Overseas Chinese High School (Guangzhou, China)
3rd Place: NAIADES, CROEV (Villalba, Puerto Rico)
Special Awards
Sportsmanship Award: Storm Chasers, Hearts Homeschool Robotics (Pascagoula, Mississippi)
This award recognizes individuals or teams who demonstrate a commitment to fair play, ethical behavior and integrity, and general goodwill towards others. Recipients of this award may be coaches, team members, parents, officials or anyone else that tournament officials or directors feel exhibit these traits.
Resiliency and Grit: BASA Team 3, The Boynton Aerospace Science Academy (BASA) (Boynton Beach, Florida)
As the name implies, this award is given to an individual or team who displays the dynamic ability to recover quickly from challenges. Recipients maintain control of a difficult situation and devise new ways to tackle a problem, all while showing courage and resolve or strength of character.
Ingenuity: Subatomic Submarines, Naperville Seaperch (Naperville, Illinois)
This award is given for a team’s exceptional creativity, either through some aspect of their ROV, or an extraordinary idea beyond the standard build. This award acknowledges and encourages creative thinking and risk-taking; recipients embody the principle of “thinking outside the box” to solve engineering problems.
Community and Outreach: PB & Jellyfish, Manvel Junior High Warriors SeaPerch (Manvel, Texas)
The Community & Outreach Award celebrates teams who used their SeaPerch experience to make a positive impact beyond the competition. Whether through STEM outreach, environmental advocacy, or supporting their local community, these teams went the extra mile to engage others, share knowledge, and build connections that matter.
Congratulations to the 2026 teams!
A special thank you to the 2026 SeaPerch volunteers & sponsors that made this event possible.
