Compete in the RANGER class.
The RANGER class is recommended for middle and high school students with robotics experience. RANGER class teams should have a good understanding of robotic systems and electricity. Some knowledge of electronics, sensors and waterproofing is helpful. If you have experience in land-based robotics competitions, starting out in the RANGER class could be an option.
Participation in the RANGER class is open to students in middle (grades 5-8) and high (grades 9-12) schools as well as students in home schools, afterschool programs, clubs, and community organizations of comparable grade levels.
Number of Teams
The number of teams per school/instructor will vary depending on the regional event. More than one team per school/instructor may be permitted, provided that there are no common students (i.e., students can only participate on one team)***. Contact your regional coordinator for more information.
***NOTE: This applies across competition classes – i.e., a student competitor on a RANGER team cannot also participate as a student competitor on a SCOUT team.
If the regional event cannot host more than one team per school/instructor, teams are encouraged to hold an in-school run-off to determine which team will represent their school/instructor at the competition.
All companies participating in the RANGER class are required to take part in a regional event. Companies that win their regional event advance to compete in the RANGER class at the World Championship. The total number of RANGER winners that advance to the World Championship depends on the total number of individual SCHOOLS or ORGANIZATIONS (not teams) that participate in the regional (not just register, but show up and participate on contest day).
Mission Tasks & Specs
The following are links to all of the information needed regarding mission tasks and specs.
Links will turn blue when they become active!
- 2026 Preview Mission Task
- 2026 RANGER Class Competition Manual
- 2026 MATE ROV Competition: Product Demo and Specs Briefing
- 2026 RANGER Class Prop Building Instructions
- 2026 RANGER Parts List
- RANGER Video Demonstration for teams prohibitively far from a MATE regional
- MATE 2026 All CLASSES Prop Demonstration and Q&A
- RANGER Fly-through video [Vimeo] [YouTube]
- CAD (Solidworks) Files of Mission Props
- CAD model of EXPLORER/RANGER environment
Product Demonstration Resources
- pending
2026 Scoring Guide
- Company Spec Sheet
- Corporate Responsibility
- Product Demonstration
- Technical Documentation
- Marketing Display
- Engineering Presentation
- Initial Safety Inspection sheet [PDF] [Excel]
- On-Site Safety Inspection sheet [Color] [BW]
- LASER Safety Inspection sheet [Color] [BW]
- NRD (Non-ROV Device) Inspection sheet [Color] [BW]
- JSEA
- 2026 Safety Tutorial
- 2026 SAFETY BRIEFING video [Vimeo] [YouTube]