Imagine combining F1, the America’s Cup, and the Tour de France — now take it underwater and add exploration. Then shift from a two-dimensional racing experience, bound by gravity, to a limitless, three-dimensional subsea world. Imagine flying underwater.
ABOUT THE SUBRACING SERIES
BUCKLE UP - GET READY TO RACE
FROM FLOATING OVER THE SEA TO DIVING IN THE OCEAN
The original catalyst for the SubRacing series was when Matt Silver-Vallance floated from Robben Island to Cape town suspended below 160 helium balloons to raise money for charity. After floating at 100 feet over the ocean where he could appreciate it’s beauty and complexity, Matt discovered that many of the people he spoke to had relatively poor knowledge about the oceans, and especially the secrets, wonders and curiosities of inshore waters and their inhabitants. When he tried to get data on inshore currents he discovered it did not exist. This started a project to build a team of talented scientists, engineers and ocean advocates who could change the relationship between people and the oceans by creating a racing series in the ocean which enthuses and educates fans of the sport.
WHY ARE WE RACING IN THE OCEANS ?
We want more people to be ACTIVELY ENGAGED with the oceans, and believe that by creating an unusual sporting event, racing fragile craft under the oceans, we can start this engagement. We see our audiences becoming actively engaged at multiple levels – from using it for recreation and pleasure, to marvelling at the marine life in the Ocean to becoming involved with ocean clean-ups and taking paid jobs in the blue economy as engineers, scientists, researchers and guardians of the oceans.
Racing is part of our DNA. By channelling that competitive spirit into a global subsea racing series, we aim to accelerate innovation beneath the waves. Just as the space race spurred radical advancements, we believe this challenge will inspire breakthrough thinking and foster a deeper connection with our oceans.
To achieve these changes we are building a team of skilled Ocean Advocates with in-depth knowledge of submarine racing, logistics, competitions and racing, marketing and marine projects who all contribute to our vision of getting more people engaged in the Oceans whether it is as racers, fans, divers, engineers or scientists – we want the SubRacing Series to be attractive to them all.
OUR VISION FOR THE SUBRACING SERIES
OUR VISION
“We know that many people are remote from the oceans and don’t understand their importance and options. Our Vision is therefore to create a transformative quest which creates widespread global interest, based on over a hundred different international teams that take part in exciting racing events in sites of societal and ecological importance, challenging each other below the ocean’s surface with crewed racing submarines. This will enable us to create research programs which address gaps in world knowledge about the inshore oceans”.
Our vision is not only to establish a real-world subsea race series but also to expand into virtual experiences — from gaming and simulations to augmented and virtual reality racing adventures which introduce audiences at younger ages to the fun and excitement of submarine racing.
DIVING INTO OUR VISION
Our sporting proposition of racing exciting looking underwater SubRacers is totally unique. No other sport takes place totally underwater, and the challenges of the technology, the underwater environment and events in a 3D environment make it a physical as well as a technical challenge.
We want these races to give new reasons to engage with the oceans, show that being remote from oceans does not stop you designing and building your racing submarine.
And for those who attend the races we want too build high-tech arenas where the underwater action is displayed on big screens so that fans can feel the action!
In the sea there are few borders or physical barriers. The nautical community also has many years of experience in sharing safety and technical information, for the benefit of all mariners. Today the main concentrations of submarine teams are in North America and Europe, with two recent additions from the Far East, but there is already interest in developing teams in the Middle East, Australasia and in South America.
There are two principle classes of racing submarines, the Human-Powered Submarine (HPS) where all the propulsion comes from the pilot; and the Hybrid and full Electric-Powered Submarines (EPS).
We will develop these classes in parallel to achieve growth of both types of racing, with many teams focused on one type while some teams will have offerings in both areas.
Our ultimate goal is to support research into the science of the oceans, supporting the development of high definition models of the currents underwater in our inshore oceans.
This data is obviously vital for the sub Racers, but is also really important for the safety of swimmers and others who use the ocean for personal recreations as well as other sports.
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING ABOUT THE SUBRACING SERIES
“We believe it’s a great opportunity for our students to actually build their own submarine. For people studying naval architecture and marine engineering, one of the challenges is all the things we build are huge, normally 100 metres, 200 metres long. Nowadays, we can’t really build a real one at school, but this project allows our students to actually start from a piece of blank paper and think about where to start in terms of the design philosophy, and to do all the internal calculation that is necessary, and then overcome all the challenges with fabrication. Limited resources, project management, finance, even accounting and of course publicity, asking for funding are all key learning areas, so it is a great opportunity for our students to learn all the aspects of a complex project.
And on top of that I think our team also had the chance to grow and pick up many of the soft skills, like how to work in the team and learn how to communicate professionally when there are disagreements. Many of the team members has learned a lot from taking part in the European International Submarine Races.”
Professor Xin Wang, from the Singapore Institute of Technology.
Quotations from members of the teams that took part in the Gran Canaria Invitational in September 2024
“The event was a overall success due to the effort put in by the teams and volunteers. Racing two submarines had obvious difficulties but we overcame them and succeeded”
“I really enjoyed meeting people from all over the world with the same field of interests. Thats why I think the social aspects are very important.
And to see two submarines race at the same time was also pretty impressive.”“The racing conditions were perfect. The water temperature was pleasant, the depth was good, and the visibility remained excellent even when the water was disturbed.”
“My favorite part of this competition was the location of it. Arinaga was such a nice place to race submarines that I am considering doing a master’s degree in Las Palmas. The event is honestly a 10/10.”
Thanks to the meticulous planning and clear objectives you presented to us, the Town Council was able to actively collaborate with your project, facilitating the use of the necessary facilities and infrastructure, as well as promoting the event among the public.
Activities that boost the local economy and contribute to the visibility of our municipality are always welcome. In particular, events as original as submarine competitions not only attract attention, but also strengthen our community’s connection to the oceans, which is extremely important. The submarine races proved to be of great interest to the local population,
who not only came in large numbers to enjoy the competition, but also to learn about the technical aspects of the races. Furthermore, this type of initiative sparks interest in a deeper understanding of our oceans,
promoting an understanding of their biodiversity and the urgent need for their conservation in the face of the threats that threaten them.
At the Agüimes Town Council, we hope to continue collaborating with you in the future on events of this nature or similar, which undoubtedly contribute to the well-being and development of our community.Óscar Hernández Suárez
Alcalde (Mayor) of Agüimes
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