Robotics Winter Wrap Up

After spending several months building and perfecting robots in groups of three and four, the students on our robotics team looked forward to testing their engineering prowess against students from other schools at two VEX IQ Robotics competitions this winter. 

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans: a building leak caused the first competition to be moved to a date our team could not attend, and a winter storm caused the second competition to be canceled altogether.  Determined to give Park’s hardworking robotics crew a chance to compete, coaches David Raabe and Ethan Giles organized and hosted our own VEX IQ Robotics Mix & Match scrimmage on February 25th for students from Park, Dexter Southfield, and Nashoba Brooks.  David explains, “Our students put so much effort into building, driving, and strategizing that we owed it to them to showcase their hard work.”  He notes that the recent renovations to the West Building had made him and administrators eager to host a robotics competition at Park, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

During the scrimmage, each three- or four-person team had the chance to compete in three preliminary rounds and one final round.  During each 60-second round, two teams positioned their robots on a 6’ x 8’ rectangular field and attempted to use their robots to stack game pieces called pins and beams and then place completed stacks into goals.  Scoring was collaborative, with the two robots on the field together receiving points for accomplishing objectives such as stacking pins and beams, including multiple colors in a stack, and placing stacks in goals of a matching color.  

At the end of four rounds, the top-scoring group from each school was recognized.  Two Park teams, Robo Rebels and Sweet Potato, tied and were the highest scoring teams in the competition!  David reflects, “More than anything else, I was so grateful to have parents, siblings, and members of the Park School community looking on with awe as students played. I'm incredibly proud of how well our teams performed, and I'm already looking forward to next season!”  He also notes that the scrimmage showcased how well the updated West Building functions as a venue for such events: “The scrimmage proved that Park is not only a viable location for future VEX tournaments, but, hopefully, a destination.” 

Be sure to also read about the winter seasons in drama and athletics!

-Elizabeth Prasse, P’27, ’29, Park Perspectives Co-Editor

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