Elementary and middle school students from across Alachua County faced off in the annual VEX Robotics Competition Wednesday, an event that highlights engineering, collaboration and problem-solving skills.
Nearly 50 teams demonstrated their ability to design, build and operate robots to complete a series of tasks before a panel of judges.
The event included a Teamwork Challenge, where different school teams worked together to maximize points, emphasizing collaboration over direct competition. Also, students participated in team skills contests and strived to secure a spot in the Central/North Florida State VEX Competitions in early March. Teams could eventually advance to the VEX World Championship in May.
Education:ACPS votes to end use of phone calls during public comment; teachers concerned about ICE raids
“It’s kind of like a true engineering project where they’re using what they’re learning in school, like math and science, to make their robots work,” said Kelley Kostamo, supervisor of volunteers and partners and a member of the event planning team. “The other thing that I love about this event is that when you walk up to the board, you are working with the other team that’s with you. You’re not working against them to score the most points. You have to collaborate with your team ahead of time.”
Several awards were presented at the event, including the Excellence Award — the highest honor — given to the team with the best combination of teamwork, design and problem-solving. Other accolades included the Teamwork Challenge Award, the Design Award for outstanding documentation of their engineering process, and individual rankings based on performance in matches.
Chris Dodyk, instructional technology coach and head of the robotics program, emphasized the importance of the competition beyond technical skills.
“Technology is my background, and engineering’s great,” Dodyk said. “But the best part is, we’re building the teamwork skills, like, the soft skills. You could be an athlete. You could be into music. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter what your background is. You’re all working together for this.”
Students like Ian Sherburne, an eighth-grader at Kanapaha Middle School, appreciated the challenge.
“This is, me and my friends last year, the three of us. We’ve been together for two years,” Sherburne said. “I enjoy the building aspect and engineering.”
A student from Rawlings Elementary School, Sebastian Pozos, emphasized the teamwork aspect of the competition.
“It helps us learn to work together and understand engineering,” he said.
Parents also recognized the impact of the competition. Patrick Dodds, whose fifth-grade son competed, said, “It’s a really fun event because it allows the kids, who put a lot of work into building these robots, to get together with other kids who have similar interests. There are so many applications for the knowledge that they gain from building these robots.”
Kostamo said the competition was made possible through sponsorships from Gas South, The Education Foundation for Alachua County Public Schools, and other community partners.
Robo Tigers won the Excellence, Teamwork, and Design awards. Tiger Toss won the other Teamwork award.
