The Woodland Hills VEX IQ Robotics teams are racking up awards and moving up in the state rankings.
Four of the district's elementary and middle school competition teams earned awards through their performances at two competitions held on Friday, February 7 and Saturday, February 8.
On February 7, two elementary teams and two middle school teams visited North Allegheny for a VEX IQ Competition. Team 15104C - nicknamed "Hardwired" - took home the Teamwork Champions Award, which is given to the top alliance that works together to earn the highest combined driver's score during the competition. The award means that "Hardwired" has qualified for the Western Pennsylvania VIQRC State Championship in the Middle School division.
Two elementary schools moved up in the state rankings with their performances at North Allegheny. Team 15104A - nicknamed "Robotic Turtles" - is now fourth in the state, while Team 15104B - the "IQ Pandas" - are now ranked second.
Two middle school teams and one elementary school team competed again on February 8 at the Keystone Panthers VEX IQ Competition. "Hardwired" received the Amaze Award, which is given to teams that meet specific criteria:
- Robot reliably contributes to high-scoring matches with their alliance partners
- Robot performs at a high level in Driving and Autonomous Coding Skills at the event
- Programming is effective at solving the game challenges for both Qualification Matches and Skills Challenge matches
- Students understand and explain how they worked together to develop their robot to consistently execute an effective game strategy
- Team Interview demonstrates effective communication skills, teamwork, professionalism, and a student-centered ethos
- The Engineering Notebook is consistent with the qualities demonstrated in the Team Interview and robot design
The "Robotic Turtles" earned their second award of the weekend, taking home the Build Award, which recognizes a team that has built the most durable and robust robot. The robot is reliable on the field and holds up under rigorous competition, and the robot design shows attention to safety and detail.
Team 15104J - nicknamed "The Pretty Pink Princesses" - took home the Judges Award, which recognizes a team that judges determine deserves special recognition through their exemplary effort and perseverance at the event, team accomplishments, and other attributes that may not fall under existing award categories.
All nine Woodland Hills VEX IQ teams are now preparing for the season finale, which will be held at Woodland Hills High School on February 21.