Table of Contents
- Location
- Date & Time
- Program Coordinator
- Facility Rules
- Weather
- Challenges
- Schedule
- Judges
- Participating Schools
Event Location
Colonel Fred Cherry Middle School
7401 Burbage Dr.
Suffolk, VA 23435
Map
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Teams
This region is open to both middle school and high school teams. Schools register here. The school registration deadline is January 16th, 2026.
Recommended team size is 3-10 students. Each student on a team should register here. The student/team registration deadline is February 6th, 2026.
PDR Due Date
The due date for the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) is March 31st, 2026.
Please submit PDRs in Word or .pdf format to Sea Air Land Group. If including photos of sketches, please ensure clarity.
Challenge Date
Challenge Day is May 9th, 2026!
Schedule (previous year shown)
9:00 – 10:00 Arrival and Registration
10:00 – 10:30 Welcome and Kick-Off
10:30 – 10:45 Determine Run Order and Prepare Vehicles
10:45 – 11:45 Morning Sea, Air and Land Challenges
11:45 – 12:30 Lunch, Vehicle Updates
12:30 – 1:45 Afternoon Sea, Air and Land Challenges
1:45 – 2:00 Clean-Up, Surveys and Tally Scores
2:00 – 2:30 Closing Remarks and Awards
Regional Coordinators
David Haeberle, Instructional Technology Resource Teacher
Christine Lafferty, Lead Technology Educator
Aulander Skinner, Instructional Technology Resource Teacher
Suffolk Public Schools
Central Coordinator
Susan Zingaro
The Pennsylvania State University
Applied Research Laboratory
222 Northpointe Boulevard
Freeport, PA 16229
Sea Air Land Group
Facility Rules
Conduct detrimental to the public interest or abuse of the building and grounds under any circumstances is expressly prohibited. The building, grounds, equipment and restrooms shall be left in a clean, orderly condition. Failure to do so may result in fees (as determined by the Owners) being assessed. No smoking is allowed in any building and no alcoholic beverages are permitted on the grounds.
Weather Considerations
The highest emphasis of safety will be placed on participants and staff. When there is lightning in the area, all outside activity will be suspended until the threatening weather leaves the area. Thank you for your understanding of our efforts to put safety first.
Challenges:
Sea – Following the sinking of a submarine in shallow waters during a training exercise in the Barents Sea, there is concern about potential radiation leaks from the onboard nuclear reactors. This leak could contaminate the sensitive fishing grounds. In the years following the incident and recovery, expeditions are being sent from the marine biology institute to the site annually to monitor for any increase in levels of radiation in the water, sediment, or marine life nearby. (In past years, only background radiation levels were measured.)
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Sea Guidelines 2025-2026 |
Air – Twentieth century activities, including nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining, and waste storage, contribute to elevated radiation measurements in some American desert areas. Natural occurring radiation is also present due to the higher altitudes of some of these desert areas as well as the composition of the local rocks and soil. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) outfitted with radiation detection sensors and automated data processing will scan the area to inspect for any levels of high radiation. In addition, the UAV will be able to drop markers on the detected “hot spots” to indicate a radiation danger zone for remediation crews. Note that time is of the essence as there is a lot of ground to cover and remediation should begin as soon as possible.
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Air Guidelines 2025-2026 |
Land – A military compound in a hostile area has just been captured. It is suspected that the warehouse within the compound contains barrels emitting high levels of radiation. If this is true, it is too dangerous to send in a team with hand-held radiation detectors to verify what is contained in the building. Therefore, an unmanned rover with alpha, beta, neutron and gamma radiation sensing capabilities will be used to search the warehouse and remove the barrels, sorting those that are safe to handle from those that are not.
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Land Guidelines 2025-2026 |
Past Participating Schools
MS:
Col. Fred Cherry Middle School
Forest Glen Middle School
John F. Kennedy Middle School
John Yeates Middle School
Kings Fork Middle School
HS:
Booker High School (Florida)
The College and Career Academy at Pruden (CCAP)
King’s Fork High School
Lakeland High School
Nansemond River HS
Norfolk Technical Center
Smithfield HS
Southampton HS
VA Beach Advanced Technology Center
Past Judges
Calypso Gilstrap, Department of Education
Richard Dyer, Tidewater Community College Assistant Professor
Wendy Forsman
Greg Harju, Huntington Ingalls Newport News
Noah Hill
Susie Hill, Nauticus
Rachel Hirsch-Brooks
Qiana Jackson, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory
Kelly Lafferty
Jacob Littlefield
Anne McCoy
Zachary Morrison
Anne Petersen, VA DOE Science Coordinator
Ben Shapiro
Kenneth Thrasher, Huntington Ingalls Newport News
Jim Zingaro, Electrical Engineer, retired