Teams of university students from seven countries will participate in the seventh European International Submarine Races (EISR), which will be held in Gosport, UK, between June 29 and July 10.
Qualification for EISR 2026 has closed and 12 teams from the US, the UK, Canada, Poland, Taiwan, Singapore and India have been selected to compete in the final race. The teams will be provided with a set of specifications for safety and logistics at the venue, but each team is otherwise permitted to design the shape and layout of their submarine according to their preferences, provided that the craft can be proven to be safe.
The competitors will race through a 200-metre course in QinetiQ’s Ocean Basin facility at Haslar, the largest freshwater tank in Europe. The course will consist of two timing gates, a sharp U-turn, and a slalom stretch, which will progressively become more difficult each time.
Each of the participating submarines is human-powered and fully designed and built by a team of university students. The submarines are able to operate safely at depths of three to six metres, where they will float neutrally buoyantly.
The submarines will be fully flooded, and the pilots will breathe air through scuba systems, hence the requirement for pilots who are also qualified divers.
Each submarine's pilot will strap their feet into a set of pedals and drive a propeller or other propulsion system using muscle-power alone. Steering is achieved with joysticks and mechanical or mechatronic control systems driving rudders and diveplanes.
Not every team member is a diver, though each team has a minimum of four divers, including the pilot, in compliance with event rules. To be eligible, all divers must be qualified to dive independently (e.g., PADI open water diver) and have completed at least 10 dives post qualification. The lead diver of every team must have completed a total of 20 dives post qualification.
This year's races will be hosted by QinetiQ and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.
The EISR has been held biennially since 2012. Live coverage of the two-week event will be available via www.subrace.eu.