By Makanalani Yamanoha
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Teams 1973A and 1973B from VEX Robotics won the title of tournament champions at The Ring of Fire on Nov. 3 at Wet n’ Wild Adventure Park.
“Three of my six teams have qualified for the (state) championships. But the competition is very tough this year,” said VEX Robotics adviser Timothy Pregana.
Out of the 41 teams that had participated, both MHS teams placed as a part of the top eight in the finals. Each match consisted of two pairs of robots that were selected at random competing against each other. Only during the final round did the two remaining teams choose their partner. MHS Team 1973A was top ranked, followed by 8084109Robotics.
Robots compete in a game called Sack-Attack. 1973B member Sophomore Alex Noveloso explained, “The object of the game (Sack-Attack) is to score more points than the other person. Each sack is worth so many points.” The robots must take the sacks off the ground and place them on a platform about a foot off the ground.
The final match consisted of MHS teams 1973A and 1973B versus teams 8084109Robotics and 359A Waialua. “We lost the first match but we won the next,” said 1973A member Junior Clayton Dailey.
In order for students to compete in the competition and win, the robotics teams designed and built their machines while working for more than three hours a day, including weekends. “You have to go through brainstorming (on) how to build a robot, then you actually have to build. Then you have to go through testing so that if (the robot) does not work, (we would) make it so it won’t happen again,” Noveloso said, adding, “The parts that keep the robot together break if it is not (built) correctly so you have to change out and make it so it won’t happen again.”
The robots of the tournament champions have been designed and worked on since August and have been undergoing modifications since the competition. “(The end product) will be made into an A-quality work. What I mean by A-quality work is that the programming, you got to get it dead on,” Pregana said, continuing, “Your robot (has) got to be mechanically sound. It is going to be a beautiful piece of machinery.”
Senior Ryan Taketa, team leader of 1973B, used the efforts of his colleagues and the competition to prepare for future challenges. “Basically, I got to make sure that they are doing everything they are supposed to. I am really trying to build (the team) up so that when I leave, (there is) a trail behind so they keep winning,” said Taketa.
The VEX Robotics continue to improve their skills and as tournament champions, they will continue onto next year.
