SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Middle school robotics teams from the Eastern Panhandle will gather at Shepherdstown Middle School on Saturday, February 24, to compete in Jefferson County's first regional VEX IQ robotics tournament. Three veteran teams from Shepherdstown Middle School (SMS) and five new teams from Wildwood Middle School (WMS) will compete with other regional middle school robotics teams in the VEX IQ Robotics Competition: Full Volume.
The February 24 event marks the second of two VEX IQ robotics tournaments held locally this winter. The three veteran SMS teams also participated in a competition at James Rumsey Technical Institute on February 10. Teams included The Mech Makers, led by Sam Cooper and Sam McDade, grade 7; The Live Wires, led by Sofia Herrera, grade 8; and The Shepherds! led by Cadmon Kesecker, grade 8. The Live Wires placed fourth in the tournament, while The Shepherds! placed second, earning them a spot in the West Virginia State Championship for the second consecutive year.
“This year’s challenge is a lot harder than last year's because there are fewer available strategies," said Kesecker before leading his team to states. “But I think we have a good chance [of winning]!"
VEX IQ robotics competitions include three types of challenges. The Teamwork Challenge requires two teams to form an alliance, with both robots working together to score as many points as possible in a one-minute match. The Robot Skills challenge is a timed round involving a single robot. In the final challenge, each robot works autonomously through a student-written code to score points for its team.
Teams began meeting after school in September to prepare for the VEX IQ tournaments. Students learned valuable STEAM skills as they worked together to design and build robots to meet each of the three challenges in the Full Volume competition.
VEX IQ robotics competitions are sponsored by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF). The national organization works with the West Virginia Robotics Alliance to organize more than 70 middle school teams in the state.
The February 24 competition at Shepherdstown Middle School is free and open to the public. The family-friendly event begins at 7:30 a.m., with an awards ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Additional parking is available behind the school. All events will take place in the gym and cafeteria. Concessions will be available and sold for cash only.