Westhampton Robotics Team Competes On International Canvas

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — The Westhampton Beach High School robotics team showcased their talents on the international canvas recently.

The team competed at the FIRST Robotics 2022 world championship, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

During the event, 400 of the best FIRST robotics teams from around the world competed for the top position. Teams were broken into six field divisions, each comprised of 85 teams, the district said.

Westhampton Beach’s Hurricanes battled in the Turing division and ended the competition with a win-loss record of 6-4-0 and an overall end rank of 18th in the division, district officials reported.

“Our scouting and drive team really energized and performed at an outstanding level,” said coach Tony Kryl. “Our robot also held up to some of the most intensive rounds of play at a world championship.”

Aside from competing, team members were able to learn from and speak with a multitude of teams, including students from Israel, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil and Canada.

“This was an experience that will be imbedded into the team members’ memories for life,” said Kryl. “The entire team is tremendously grateful to have the school, parents, community and numerous sponsors come forward in as little as one week to send them to Houston.”

The team earned their spot at the world championship after competing at the SBPLI Regional 1 Long Island Championship, held at Hofstra University. During the competition, Westhampton Beach, who was the No. 3 seeded team, was selected by the No. 1 seeded team, Southold, to team up. They rose to the challenge and split the championship win. Westhampton Beach was further awarded the 2022 Rockwell Automation Creativity Award for their robot design, the district said.