Competitions
For over 25 years, the Foundation for Underwater Research & Education (FURE) has sponsored the International Submarine Race (ISR) as the capstone Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event for thousands of young student engineers. This biennial design competition for human-powered underwater vehicles, hosted by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, provides valuable educational experiences to the best and brightest engineering and science students from throughout the world.
The International Submarine Race was created in response to the recognized challenge that a shortfall in the ocean and marine engineering fields and scientists was looming in the near future.
The European International Submarine Race (eISR) take place in Gosport, England. Teams of University students will race their human-powered submarines against the clock around a demanding slalom course in a unique sporting and engineering challenge.
The basic rules of the sport are straightforward - teams must design, build and race flooded submarines piloted by a single scuba diver, who must be fully enclosed within the hull of the machine. All propulsion power must be provided by the diver during the race (i.e. no energy storage devices such as flywheels or batteries are allowed), but otherwise the design rules are open to whatever innovation teams decide to use.
The Sub Racing Series (SRS) is a new submarine race that is attempting to broaden the reach of the sport. The races are held in open water, as opposed to the military test basins used in our other competitions. This allows the courses to be longer, introduce head-to-head racing, and allows the public the view the sport.
The series currently composes of one competition: The Gran Canaria Invitational. In time, the SRS hopes to expand to multiple venues in elite destinations around the world.