Robotics Competition in Hampton

The Winnacunnet High School Engineering Team is hosting the third annual VEX Seacoast Winter Classic Robotics Competition on Saturday, January 17th.

Sixty student teams, representing high schools or organizations from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine, will be competing in the VEX Robotics Skyrise game, and the public is invited to watch this fast-paced and fun competition.

Students have spent months designing, building, programming, testing, competing, and tweaking their unique robots to accomplish the tasks required in the game.

Skyrise features two pairs of teams, called alliances, which compete in matches on a 12x12 foot playing field. Each Competition Match consists of a fifteen second autonomous period, where the robots have been programmed to perform certain tasks, followed by a one minute and forty-five second driver-controlled period. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing Alliance by moving large colored Cubes to score in designated locations, and by building Skyrise sections.

Each team plays multiple times throughout the day, though with a randomly assigned alliance for each round. At the end of the Competition Matches, the highest scoring teams choose other teams to form an alliance, and they then compete in the Elimination Matches, followed by an Awards Ceremony.

The VEX Robotics Competition, presented by the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation, seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Each year, a different game offers a challenge to students to design and build robots to perform the tasks needed in the game. Students use their STEM skills, their imaginations and teamwork, learn engineering and life skills, and attend many local competitions selected from a long list of events held worldwide.

Teams that win the Excellence, Design, Tournament Champion, and Tournament Finalist Awards will be invited to the NH-VT State VEX Robotics Championship England Regionals, which will be held in February at the New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) in Concord, NH.

The public is invited to watch these amazing students and their robots at the Winnacunnet High School Gymnasium, 1 Alumni Drive, Hampton, NH. Children, teens, and adults will enjoy watching these robots perform their tasks and try to score points in the competition.

This event is fun whether you stay all day or stop by for a little while. Admission is free, and raffles and concessions will be available. The Opening Ceremony begins at 9:00 am and the Awards Ceremony is at 4:00, with exciting competitions and skills challenges throughout the day.

More information about VEX Robotics can be found at www.robotevents.com

Questions about this event can be sent to Jim Muthig, Team Advisor at jmuthig@winnacunnet.org or call Susan Roch at 603-997-1837