Area School Teams Set For Robotics World Championships | News, Sports, Jobs

Students from both Ohio and Marshall counties are preparing to compete upon the world stage of interscholastic robotics.

Teams from Wheeling Park High School and Triadelphia and Bridge Street middle schools in Ohio County, as well as teams from Sherrard Middle School in Marshall County, will arrive and compete throughout the weekend at the VEX Robotics World Championship, held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. The high school competition begins today and runs through Saturday, while the middle school competition begins Sunday and runs through Tuesday.

Wheeling Park’s entrants are Iron Patriots Wagyu, Iron Patriots X-Ray and Iron Patriots Yikes. Bridge Street has sent Buckets as its representatives, while Triadelphia is being represented by Robo Raiders. Sherrard’s teams are Lil’ Squirtz, the Shaft Collars and George Drinks Water.

All qualifying teams from Ohio and Marshall counties earned their spots in the VEX Robotics state championships held in March.

This is the third time Wheeling Park has qualified teams for worlds, said Ohio County Schools Innovation Director JoJo Shay. Experience has been the best teacher for all the teams involved.

The first year at worlds, Shay said, teams didn’t realize that refining robots throughout the season, and even between state and world competitions, was necessary. This third time around, the teams have been hard at work at all points.

“The robots I see in my room right now (in Dallas) are different even from the ones they competed with at states,” she said. “So it’s just that constant learning and constant looking at what is the next step, what skills we need and what kind of thinking do we have to do to get to that level.”

That constant evolution is one of the most rewarding parts about robotics competitions, Shay said. There will always be an opportunity to fine-tune and hone.

“That’s one of the things that I think makes this such a rich activity and sport for our students,” Shay said. “It’s about constantly getting better and constantly figuring out what the next step is.”