12/10/2011

Two Cape school teams finish first in regional robotics tournament

Two Cape Elizabeth school robotics teams finished first at the Southern Maine VEX Tournament held on Dec. 3, 2011 at the Gorham Campus of the University of Southern Maine and qualified for the VEX National Championship in Omaha, Neb. in March.

One of these teams, composed of five Middle School students, also received the Judges Award for their teamwork, competitive robot design, and enthusiasm for robotics.

The other VEX tournament champion team, composed of two High School sophomores, was also the recipient of the Excellence Award. This award is given to a team that exemplifies excellence in building a well rounded VEX robotics program and qualified the team for the world championship in Anaheim, Calif. in April.

After a full day of qualifying matches and elimination rounds, a third Cape Elizabeth team also received a Programming Skills Award for an autonomous-mode robot scoring the most points in one minute. The award was presented to a team of four Middle School and High School students.

VEX Robotics is an international program that gives students the opportunity to solve real-world problems using math, science and technology; and to further develop teamwork, leadership and group problem-solving skills.

There were 17 area teams, or about 60 students, competing in this year’s challenge, entitled "Gateway". Fairchild Semiconductor and the University of Maine system sponsor the Southern Maine VEX Tournament.

Gateway will be played by more than 3,700 teams in 350 VEX tournaments worldwide. The objective is to place cylinders and balls into several goals of varying heights. This year’s competition consisted of a 20-second autonomous-mode section where the robot is run only by a computer program, then a two-minute driver-controlled portion where teams try to score and block opponents from scoring.