Robotics World Championship

The 2015 Vex World Robotics Championships brought together 450 teams from over 30 countries around the world.  This year's competition, held in Louisville, Kentucky, saw three teams from Shawnigan Lake School "Shawkbots" enter into this enormous competition.  The competition consisted of 5 divisions each with 90 teams.  

 

Our Shawkbot team consisted of 10 students, 3 teams, 3 robots and one public-relations guru.

 

Team 6264:  Damian P., Parker H. and Madison H. were our BC champions and led the team to Louisville. Facing tough competition and mechanical failures with motors, this team placed 31st of 90 robots in their division. However, a prestigious "Think Award" was presented to Parker and Damian for all the amazing programming done on their robot. 

 

Team 6264E:  Maya J., John Y. and Oliver G. had a very stable and very consistent machine and after the qualifying round in their division, they finished in 18th spot and made the divisional playoffs.  They ended their tournament run after a tough match against the eventual world champions from New Zealand. It was a stellar effort from a young and upcoming team of robot engineers.

 

Team 6264G: Graydon M., Dendy A., and Andrey P. had a great run in their qualifying matches.  They finished 10th out of the 90 teams in their division and were selected as a team captain for their divisional playoff round. Again, another tough competitor was faced in the first playoff match, and Team 6264G bowed out with grace to the team that eventually placed second in the world champion final.  

 

Another huge part of the event was public relations and networking with other teams from around the world.  Luis E. was a master of meeting and greeting. He was tasked with personally introducing himself, and more so, Shawnigan Robotics, to all 450 teams.  Luis dominated the floor and he was a fixture around the entire event, meeting teams from Mexico, to New Zealand, to the UK, to Bahrain, to Egypt, to China, to the USA and all across Canada.  Luis was a superstar networking machine.

 

As a student-led fine art program, Shawnigan Lake School Robotics has been in existence for only three years, and the program has been able to send teams to both the 2014 and 2015 world championships. This is a testament to the incredible dedication and commitment from the students as they take complete ownership and pride in their robotic machines. We are very excited for the growth of this program and for the amazing support from the School. As robotics is a huge emerging area in education worldwide, we look forward to encouraging and inviting more and more students to join the program and experience an engaging and fun learning environment.

Thank you to Andrea Schaeppi for the wonderful photographs taken during the competition.

 

Congratulations Shawkbots!

 

– Coaches Mayes, Kusters, and Doig

Photos of Robotics team in Chapel by Stephen Lane