Lake Local School’s Rock’em Robotics team wins Ohio State VEX IQ, earning spots at World Championship.
HARTVILLE, Ohio — The Rock’em Robotics teams from Lake Local Schools returned from Dayton, Ohio as State Champions in the VEX IQ competition. And they secured a spot in the VEX Robotics Worlds in Dallas, Texas. Not bad for a program only in its second year.
“Last year, we sent eight teams to the state competition, and we were two points away from the world tournament,” recalled Marc Pullen, the Lake Local Elementary School Robotics Coach. “This year, we sent in ten, and we placed first, second and third in the state competition, which gave us three spots for worlds.”
39 students from grades 5th through 8th make up Rock’em Robotics. The game they’re playing is called “Rapid Relay.” It’s fast-paced, just 60 seconds per match, and a lot happens in that short amount of time.
“Pick up balls, pass them to another robot that’s competing with you,” explained William Regas.
“Four squares. One with a blue circle in the middle. You have to shoot through those,” added Eli Morgan.
“And then you try to score and pass it at the end,” said Owen Tait.
The students learn a wide range of skills, coding, engineering, and problem solving. Each teammate has a different task, which means teamwork is key.
“There’s a lot of conflict resolution that goes on,” said Sarah Wernet, the Middle School Robotics Coach. “Which is going to help them as they continue on, in the high school, into college, and then into their future careers.”
“It’s a lot of fun. And you could become an engineer,” mentioned Tait.
The VEX World Championship draws more than 2,000 teams from over 40 countries — making it the largest robotics competition in the world. And for these students, getting here has been a learning experience all its own
“You’re not always going to get paired with the best teams since you’re working with other teams during your matches,” said Regas. “You just have to find out a way to make it work with them and hopefully bring yourself to the top.”
That’s exactly where they’re aiming.
“As long as we work with each other and we communicate. Well, I think we should do pretty good,” predicted Morgan.
“It’s amazing. I mean, these kids they’re super bright and they have a bright future,” added Pullen.
The Vex World Championship has already begun, Lake Local School Elementary and Middle schools compete next week, May 12th through the 14th. Good luck to them.
