The Montverde Academy Middle and Upper School robotics programs have been competing and doing very well in VEX robotics’ league competitions. Two Middle School, Circuit Breakers and R.O.A.D., and two Upper School teams, 19122A – Loading…, and 19122B MABF, have earned enough points to move on to States competitions. The VEX competition season runs from early September to February with States Championship held in March, and Worlds hosted in April.
The robotics program was spearheaded in 2014 by Ms. Ashley McCombes, Upper School/Middle School Technology/Robotics teacher, with a small group of middle school students building and competing with each other. It expanded to outside competition and MVA teams have done well since, earning spots at the Worlds Championship and wins for their STEM Research Project two years in a row. Planning ahead for the transition to ninth grade, Ms. McCombes recruited and partnered with Stephen Whitfield, Upper School teacher, in 2017 to bring Vex robotics to the Upper School. This year there are seven MVA teams with two Middle School and two Upper School teams earning spots to compete at States.
This year’s VEX IQ Challenge, Next Level, is played on a 4’x8’ rectangular field with two robots competing. Each team competes in a Teamwork Challenge (60-second alliance teamwork matches where two teams work collaboratively to score points), a Robot Skills Challenge and a Programming Skills Match.
All five Middle School teams have competed locally at least three times and have won awards for Teamwork Challenge, STEM Research, the Amaze award, the Build award, and the Design award. Two teams, 1912A Circuit Breakers, and 1912E R.O.A.D., will compete at States in Tampa on March 10.
“I’m so proud of the students and what they have been able to accomplish,” said Ms. McCombes. “Robotics includes gears, motors, and brains, but it is so much more. Students build perseverance and confidence. They learn how to work as a team and communicate their ideas while listening to the ideas of others. This develops their critical thinking skills and teaches the importance of try, try again.”
The Upper School Robotics Teams, 19122A – Loading… and 19122B MABF, recently competed in the VEX Robotics Competition with 44 other teams at Apopka High School. They finished the qualifying matches in fourth and 16th out of 44 teams, which is the best showing to date and the largest tournament the teams have competed in.
Just like the Middle School level, the Upper School competition has a unique game, Turning Point, with its own rules and scoring that the robots and drivers must navigate. Teams start the season by building, programming and practicing with the robots. At the competitions, each team plays games in qualification rounds, after which each team is ranked (like being seeded), followed by alliance selections.
The competition then enters elimination games, which follows a typical tournament bracket, starting with a round of 16, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Teams can earn a State qualifying spot by winning the tournament. Two additional spots for States are earned by winning the design award – how great and put together the robot is, and the excellence award for overall performance.
Team 19122A came in fourth out of 44 and made it to the semifinals, but eventually lost to the first place winner. In their next competition in Tallahassee, they finished second out of 18 in qualifications, and ultimately won the elimination games to become tournament champions! Team 19122B also did well, coming in 16th by eliminating a very good and highly seeded team to make it the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated. However, their skills score placed them high enough, 53 out of 162, to earn a State ticket. Both teams will compete at States in Tampa in March.
“Congratulations to both teams on their accomplishments in only two years of competition,” said Mr. Whitfield. “I was proud to have people come up to me afterward to tell me how great Montverde Academy played. The teams have put in many hours of hard work to refine and perfect all aspects of their robots and we’re pleased with the success we’re achieving.”
