By Reagan Paz
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Earning first place at the Oahu East VEX Robotics Tournament held at Iolani Schools on Nov. 11 and 12 qualified MHS VEX Robotics teams 1973 D and 1973 E to participate in the VEX Robotics World Championship. Since then, the teams’ main goal has been to improve their robots.
“It’s a great feeling knowing that you have accomplished something like this. Being able to go means a lot to us, and having a chance like this just makes me feel blessed and grateful for all the support we’ve had,” said Junior Richie Chio, a member of team 1973 D. VEX Robotics Adviser Timothy Pregana added, “It’s an honor. It’s good, I’m very happy … like any parent would be with a child who does well … I’m proud of my students.”
Teams 1973 D and 1973 E mark the third and fourth teams from MHS to qualify for the championship, since teams 1973 A and 1973 B placed in the islandwide VEX Robotics Tournament hosted at MHS on Oct. 22. In the Oahu East VEX Robotics Tournament, teams 1973 D and 1973 E beat out teams from high schools like McKinley, Iolani, Mid-Pacific Institute and Radford.
The teams want to make sure they put their best foot forward when they compete in the VEX Robotics World Championship. “We still have lots of work because at Worlds everyone’s going to be good. Everyone will have their best robot out,” said Junior Randall Chan, a member of team 1973 E. Chio added, “We plan to work as often as possible on the programming and the robot to ensure that when we get to Worlds we won’t just make the finals, but we (will also) win the trophy.”
Fixing up the robot will help the teams succeed in the upcoming competitions. “(People) know the strengths of my team and they know some weaknesses already. For my students, they’ve got to kick their robots up a notch to maintain their A-game … they’ve got to find another edge to make the robot a little bit better,” Pregana explained.
The students work diligently to make sure their robot is in good condition. “We work on our robot when time permits, making adjustments and testing out the program to ensure that it works without flaws … whether it means late hours in the room or long nights programming,” said Chio.
Team members feel that qualifying for the World Championship was made possible not just by the teams themselves, but by other aspects as well. “The achievement wasn’t mine or my team’s alone, (it was) a group effort and it would not have happened if we didn’t have the support of the other teams, the school and our adviser,” Chio expressed.
Teams 1973 A, 1973 B, 1973 D and 1973 E will be competing at the VEX Robotics World Championship from April 18 to 21 in Anaheim, Calif.
