Monarch High’s JROTC Robotics Team Shines At World’s Largest Competition In Dallas
Monarch High School Army JROTC VEX Robotics Team. {David Volz}
The Monarch High School Army JROTC VEX Robotics Team traveled to Dallas to compete in the VEX Robotics World Competition from April 27 through May 1.
The VEX Robotics World Competition is considered the largest robotics competition in the world. According to Colonel Jimmy Hall, senior JROTC instructor at Monarch, it brought together 136 JROTC high school teams from 79 nations and all 50 states. The event also included teams from outside of JROTC, from middle schools through college.
This was the first year the Monarch JROTC program had a VEX robotics team. The team faced some ups and downs in building and programming their robot. They participated in a state competition on February 10 at Steinbrenner High School in Lutz, Florida, and performed well enough to be invited to the international competition.
The teams play a game similar to soccer using robots. The robots use an acorn, like a ball, and strive to put it in a goal. During the game, the teams play offense and defense. Before competitions, the teams form alliances known as red and blue and must work together, according to Matthew Shay, 18, a senior and the team captain. He lives in Coconut Creek.
“We had to come together as a team and work hard to build the robot,” said Shay. “We went through trial and error to build the robot and had difficulties getting the robot to follow our commands.”
During the competitions, the team members spent time with other teams. Jelena Mota, a 16-year-old junior from Coconut Creek, met with members of more established teams and learned from them. She also worked on designing the robot. “I enjoyed talking with students from other teams,” she said.
The team competed in ten matches and won five. In a division of 69 teams, they finished 39th.
According to Hall, the robotics team will improve and become much stronger next year. He wants to create two teams, attend more competitions, and develop a drone team.
“I have enjoyed working with students and watching them grow and develop throughout the year,” said Hall.
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