VEX, the Red Chair Robotics team, recently competed in state and regional UIL competitions, rewriting history for Cy Springs robotics.
At state, VEX brought home five awards, almost doubling the current amount at home. Team 1412J (Avery G, Blake B, Landon C) who competed with their bot, Banshee, won tournament finalist, tournament champion, and the Innovate award for a unique bot and well-kept notebook.
“We had the best offensive power and highest average score,” sophomore 1412J Captain Landon Chau said. “But we got knocked out in the semi-finals. We really want to go up against Sunny, a top ten team, and so since most of our team consists of sophomores, we’ll prioritize VEX more as juniors next year.”
Team 1412E (Albertert P, Anthony M, Anthony R, Collin P, David R, Trevor J) who competed with their bot, Dynamike, won Design award for having a clear, well-designed robot and a well documented notebook and Judges award for having an impressive interview.
“We tripled our knowledge and experience in this program compared to when we first started,” junior 1412E Captain David Rodriguez said. “We’ve improved our timing, communication, strategy, and study.”
At region, VEX made Elimination rounds for the first time in school history and only lost by a single point against one of the strongest teams at the tournament. In addition, all teams are heading to TSA state in April.
“In all history we’ve only qualified once,” VEX sponsor Jose Chapela said. “And this year we had two teams. We’re in a pretty good spot for next year.”
Managed by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, the VEX competition requires teams to build a robot that follows a certain code to complete set games and requirements that are revealed during the summer.
“This year we had to get used to the required expansion limit,” sophomore Blake Berg said. “Unlike previous years, the limit was way smaller and way more defined. But each tough experience is a stepping stone to get further than where we are now.”
Each student has their own perspective on VEX challenges, but senior 1412R Captain Gabriel Robyler said his was the mechanical part of the process. Team 1412J recalls that Robyler made over 10 different robots.
“The most challenging part about a robot is the base design,” he said. “You whether have speed or you have torque, finding the right ratio is seriously difficult.”
Additionally, teams are required to document all their progress and challenges in engineering, building, meeting, designing, analyzing, matching, and gaming in a notebook. Here at Cy Springs, our VEX competitors sometimes stay in the workshop until late in the evening to work on their presentations.
“Robotics requires an insane level of commitment,” junior Collin Phan said. “Every single day is filled with researching, notebooking, building, and coding on repeat.”
It’s a hefty process, but in the end sophomore Trevor Jose said it’s all worth it. The commitment, the hours, and the headaches all dissipate in the competitive atmosphere.
“At competitions, you get to test how well you do under pressure with all the fast matches and strategies,” he said. “I remember when our sister team beat a team ranked top 50 in the world and the adrenaline rush was unforgettable.”
That’s what VEX is to these kids – something unforgettable. With all the teams hoping to reach VEX Worlds, it’s not hard to see why the VEX teams made it as far as they’ve come for this year. These kids have proven time and time again how dedicated they are to their craft and they aren’t slowing down any time soon.
