The Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, will speak at a reception celebrating the accomplishments of local entrants in the 2010 Marine Advanced Technology Education Center's International Remotely Operated Vehicle competition, tonight (Thursday, September 16). The event begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University in St. John's.

Newfoundland and Labrador was represented by four teams — Clarenville High School, E.G. Lambert School, Heritage Collegiate, and Eastern Edge Robotics — at the international competition in Hawaii in June 2010. Local teams excelled at the competition as Clarenville High School and Eastern Edge Robotics placed second and third in their respective categories, while Heritage Collegiate was recognized for its innovation and originality.

Participants in the annual event, which attracts teams from across the globe, pilot vehicles that they have engineered and constructed through a series of underwater obstacles.

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Media contact:

Scott Barfoot
Director of Communications
Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
709-729-4570, 690-6290
scottbarfoot@gov.nl.ca