Programs
Robotics World Championships
Shawnigan’s first trip to the VEX Robotics World Championships since 2017 was an eye-opener — in more ways than one.
A team of four students — Tye E., Aniela H., Kyan M. and Ben P. — travelled to the 2023 tournament in Dallas, Texas last month, along with three staff members. They were first blown away by the atmosphere at the enormous event, then amazed by the calibre of the competition.
“It was definitely a world championship,” said Mr. Paul Doig, science teacher and Head of Digital Innovation and one of the staff members who made the trip. “The kids walked into the arena and were just in awe.”
The competition featured 800 robots from all over the globe, with about 5,000 team members and another 5,000 support staff, teachers and coaches, all packed into Dallas’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The teams were divided into 10 groups of 80, competing in their own arenas with seating for 1,000 fans. The top teams from each division went on to compete in the main arena in front of 10,000 spectators.
The quality of competition was staggering.
“Out of 80 teams, the top 60 in our division could have won BC, easily,” Mr. Doig said. “That’s the calibre of robots the kids were up against.”
The Shawnigan students remained confident throughout the competition and brought back positive energy and inspiration for the younger roboteers who will be following in their footsteps in the future. The younger students were able to watch the livestreams of the competition — one even convinced his French teacher to put it on during class — and chatted with the students in Dallas.
Beyond the competition, the students got to experience the host city, from authentic Texas barbecue and the Dallas Museum of Illusions to Dealey Plaza (the site of the assassination of John F. Kennedy) and a tour of Southern Methodist University.
All members of the team that attended the World Championships are in Grade 12, and will be pursuing science or engineering programs in university next year, where their experience in robotics will certainly prove beneficial.
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Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
