NOW, ON TO WORLDS: Students across Oklahoma show off robotics skills at State

Skyler Hammons |, Tahlequah Daily Press, Okla.
·4 min read

Mar. 5—Middle school and elementary teams from across Oklahoma competed at a state robotics tournament at the Northeastern State University Event Center Saturday, March 2.

Kym Tinsley, Tahlequah Middle School robotics coach and STEM teacher, said this was the second year for TMS to host the Oklahoma VIQRC Championship.

"It is an honor to hose the state championship," Tinsley said. "We began planning for this year's state championship just a few weeks after the conclusion of last year's championship. We worked to secure the NSU Event Center as the facility to host such a large event. The students worked to secure sponsors for the event and the volunteers worked to make sure all of the little details came together."

Tinsley said this year was the largest VEX IQ state championship in which she has participated. Last year, only 38 teams competed, with this year's number at 52 teams. Tinsley said the increase was in both the middle school and elementary divisions, but the latter had more team registrations this year. This surge allowed for the max number of teams to be increased in each division.

Blake Otten, of the Heritage Cogs, and Daxton Tidwell, of the Heritage Sprockets, said they both just wanted to take part in robotics for the experience, and the hardest part was building and adapting the robot. Those with the Heritage Elementary teams had some newbies at the State competition, and some who had been there before — like the Gears' Aubrey Cochran, who has been to State three times.

"It's a little bit different than the other times because they've changed it where skills is first and then qualifications," Aubrey said. "I like that better because it gives you time to do skills, so you're not rushing to do it."

In the Elementary Fivision this year, the Teamwork Champion Award was won by the PickleBotz of Briggs Public School, who also qualified to go to Worlds. The Robot Skills Champion was the Cogs with the Tahlequah Boys & Girls Club. In the Middle School Division, the Innovate Award was given to the Waffle Turtlez at the TMS, while the Sportsmanship Award was won by the Brobots at the TMS. The PickleBotz qualified for the World Championship in Dallas, this year at State.

Adilynn Eubanks, with the Briggs Public School SkittleBusters, said she and her team were stressed, but they were excited about the tournament, as they had already qualified for Worlds prior to State. Brandt Teague said out of the four Skittlebusters, three will be graduating, making State and World contests fun middle school experiences.

"I feel like it's very impressive for our school to have, knowing that a first-year team is making it all the way to Worlds, which in my opinion is just insane," Brandt said.

Tinsley said being this close to Worlds generates a mixture of pressure, excitement, and motivation among those who qualify, as the students work all year long.

"The excitement among students as they realize throughout the day that they are getting closer to the goal of qualifying for the World championship buzzes through the building. The crowd gets louder as the day goes on, because they are cheering on their teams," Tinsley said. "It becomes and thrilling and nerve-racking for the teams. The students push themselves and their robots even further because they have a goal to participate on the world level and get that recognition of being the best in the state."

Mark Geiger, the Cherokee Elementary robotics coach, said there are hundreds of teams from all over the world who compete at Worlds. Geiger said it teaches them various skills, such as critical thinking, teamwork, interviews, and learning to deal with frustration.

Jennifer Chrestman, Greenwood Elementary robotics coach, noticed her robotics students have learned to deal with confidence, have perseverance, and have overcome obstacles.

"Whenever they get to an obstacle, a lot of kids initially want to shut down, but this teaches them that no you don't shut down," Geiger said. "You work through your problems and you keep going."

Ace Rogers and Cash Garcia, with the Greenwood Elementary Ro-Bros, received their highest score, 70, during the skills portion of the competition. It was a feat Ace said was difficult but exciting.

"It was really challenging because we were doing it by ourselves," Cash said. "We were just there getting all of the green [blocks] and we were putting them in the [buckets].... We got all the greens, then we dumped them in all the buckets — actually like four in each bucket — then we went to go partial park."

Cash said this was the first year for his group to be at State, which he found to be stressful, but fun. When it comes to robotics, Ace said he thinks it was teaching him engineering skills and how computers work.