BEMIDJI β In 2022, two of its teams advanced to worlds. In 2023, another team saw similar success. Last year, yet another team kept up the tradition.
The winning streak continues to grow as two of Bemidji Middle ΝαΝαΒώ»βs VEX Robotics teams and a Bemidji High ΝαΝαΒώ» team have advanced to the VEX Robotics World Championship set for May 9-11 in Dallas, Texas.
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βItβs a little overwhelming, but any opportunity we can give these kids to do these types of things is great,β Coach Bryan Anderson said. βOverall, the kids have been doing really, really well this season and Iβm excited for them to be able to go to worlds this year.β
Repeated invites
The teams competed in four competitions from November through January before the state competition in St. Cloud in February.
Through their skill and ingenuity, BHS team 1532F, as well as BMS teams "Packout Predators" and "Lord of the Donuts," clinched world invites and shared in their excitement upon receiving such news.
βI was surprised because we did really well during the season, but then state was a little bit rough,β 1532F team member Brayden Anderson said. βAll the hiccups that should have happened during the season happened at state.β
Despite these hiccups, 1532Fβs overall season performance meant they secured their spot in Dallas.
βWe were all initially shocked. Weβre in the middle of the school day and all of a sudden, we get a text from our coach, βYou all made it to worlds,ββ Brayden recalled, βand we were just so excited.β
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Brayden attended the world championship three years ago, and a second-time invite couldn't come soon enough as it presents a chance to compete at a higher level as well as an opportunity to network with teams from around the globe.
βWeβre all looking forward to being back and we hope to compete well into elimination matches and go far,β he added. βThere are so many teams from different countries, so to be able to go down there, talk with others about their robots and ideas, it will be a great experience.β
Representing Lord of the Donuts, Nico Licata will make his return trip to Dallas just one year from his previous visit. Such an experience motivated him to continue his involvement in an activity he truly enjoys.
βWhen we ended up at the world competition last year, it was a big morale booster,β Licata said. βIt especially fueled my motivation to continue doing this.β
Throughout the trials and tribulations of trial and error, Licata credited his team for working together to achieve continued success.
βYou need to know how to work as a team to be able to do this,β Licata added. βIβve had my teammates to support me through all of this, and I would not have been able to do any of this without them.β
Both middle school teams had exceptional showings at the state championship. Additionally, the Packout Predators won the Build Award β one of several special awards that recognize a teamβs approach to the engineering design process β which automatically secures a world invite.
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Real-world application
Part of the challenge with VEX Robotics is the change in the game from year to year. This yearβs game, βHigh Stakes,β is played on a 12-by-12-foot arena with two-team alliances playing against each other. Each match begins with a 15-second program-controlled period followed by a 1-minute 45-second driver-controlled period.
Teams score points by placing rings on stakes located throughout the field, which includes a ladder in its center. Robots can climb the ladder by the end of the match to receive additional points and the higher the robot climbs, the more points the alliance receives.
Teams advance through numerous qualification matches to start off each competition, then alliance selection takes place based on rankings at the end of these matches before teams compete in elimination rounds.
Beyond the friendly competition, Bryan pointed to numerous other benefits that the robotics program offers to its participants β aside from the obvious thrill of a four-year streak at worlds.
βThere is a lot of real-world application to this,β he said. βTheyβre really working on their engineering design processes, but they also do interviews at competitions, they do journals to detail their robotβs build and progress throughout the year. So thereβs a lot of good skills that these kids develop through this program.β
The Bemidji VEX Robotics Booster Club will accept donations to continue operations of the robotics program and to support this yearβs teamsβ trip to worlds. More information can be found on the
The Trust Project
