Weston Robotics Team Makes It To Regional Championship Event.

Bolton, Connecticut – January 6, 2020– Weston High School’s students from the Weston VEX Robotics team #17814Y, secured the Tournament Finalist Award and a coveted spot at the New England Regional Championships in Worcester MA. This all happened at the VEX Robotics Competition that took place in Bolton, CT this past weekend. Students competed with and against 42 teams from Connecticut and Massachusetts. The action-packed day required middle and high school students to execute the 2019-2020 VEX Robotics Competition game, Tower Takeover.
AsTournament Finalists recipients, the team has qualified for the New England Regional Championships in Worcester MA, extending their journey as they seek to qualify and compete in the VEX Robotics World Championship.

Weston’s VEX Robotics Competition team #17814Y is comprised of Weston High School sophomores Luke Barasch, Duncan Craine and Oliver Chamberlin. To prepare for the tournament, the group worked together to design, build and program a robot using VEX EDR, that could quickly and efficiently solve specific challenges that come with playing the 2019-2020 VEX Robotics Competition game, Tower Takeover.

Each week, the students apply what they’ve learned about STEM in the classroom, to build the semiautonomous machines. An equally important set of skills is learned through the competition -- communication, project management, time management and teamwork.
Rebecca Kaplan, the team’s advisor said,

“I am proud of these students for their ability to take what they’ve learned in the classroom and apply it to building and programming a competition robot from ideation to completion. It’s been remarkable to see what they’ve accomplished in just one year and inspiring to think about the positive impact they will have on the world around them.”

The Weston VEX Robotics Competition team meets after school 3 days per week. The students learn about electronics, programming, mechanical systems, 3D CAD, and materials fabrication. There are 20 high school students on the team and 30 middle school students on the team.

Team captain Rhys Aron, a senior at Weston High, said he was proud of his peers perseverance and accomplishments. "Our main goal was to play good defense and communicate well with our alliance partners to defeat our opponents. Many of the team members plan to go on to college and major in robotics, computer programming or an engineering-related field, utilizing the skills they acquired on our robotics team.” There are five seniors on the team: Mr. Aron, Charlotte Chen, Jack Orr, Timothy Redpath and Kelvin Green.

Many also participated in this past weekend’s event. While Danbury High School’s 5150J team and TRB Robotics 41364A team from Hamden won the event overall, many other teams received esteemed awards, including the Weston Middle School Robotics team #17814A, who took home the Sportsmanship Award.

The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation manages the VEX Robotics Competition, which thousands of schools participate in around the world each year. Dan Mantz, CEO of the REC Foundation, said, “As an experienced robotics mentor, I’ve seen firsthand the engineering skill and leadership expertise that students gain by participating in the VEX Robotics Competition. It’s an experience that will stay with them long after their school days are over, offering a new appreciation for STEM and laying a strong foundation of critical problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.”

All Weston Robotics Teams will be competing in the upcoming Weston High School VEX Robotics Competition on February 1, 2020 at Weston High School. The event is open and free for media, families, and other community members to attend.

The Weston High School event is one of a series of VEX Robotics Competitions taking place internationally throughout the year. VEX Competitions are recognized as the largest and fastest growing competitive robotics programs for elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and college aged students around the world. There are more than 23,000 VEX teams from over 61 countries that participate in over 2,500 events worldwide. The competition season culminates each spring, with VEX Robotics World Championship, a highly-anticipated event that unites top qualifying teams from local, state, regional and international VEX Robotics Competitions to crown World Champions. More information about the VEX Robotics Competition is available at RoboticsEducation.org, RobotEvents.com and VEXRobotics.com.