The IEEE oceanic engineering society (OES) and promotion of oceanic STEM sport competitions

Advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are universally recognized as being pivotal to the advancement of humanity. STEM competitions promote the entry of youth into these fields in a very effective and at the same time very entertaining way. There are striking parallels between world class sport and STEM competitions that suggest that an in depth look at world class sport might lead to more effective worldwide promotion of STEM activity. Major world class sports induce great fervor, motivation, and interest in participants and observers. The fervor is strengthened by the ability to participate in chosen sports based on three characteristics or pillars, lifetime participation, international accessibility, and availability of a great variety of stimulating sporting possibilities. By designing STEM sport competitions with these three characteristics in mind, it is suggested in this paper that the fervor of participants can be maximized in their chosen field of activity. This paper will look in detail at the parallel relation between the characteristics of highly successful world class sport such as the Olympics and the fervor building potential possible in emulating those characteristics in STEM sports or competitions in the oceanic arena by an organization such as the IEEE OES.