Kiwis dominate VEX Robotics World Championships

New Zealand has continued to punch above its weight in the 2013 VEX Robotics World Championships. Of the 15 teams that made the finals of the competition, five were from New Zealand, with the Sack Attack competition taken out by an alliance from Auckland’s Lynfield College and Tauranga’s Otumoetai College.

The teams also finished first and second respectively in the Robot Skills competition with Lynfield achieving a world-record score of 400 points. This is the fifth year in a row that New Zealand teams have dominated the competition.

American-based VEX Robotics was launched in New Zealand in 2008 by Massey University. In 2009, the university held the first national VEX competition at its Albany campus and has provided mentoring for participating schools ever since.

The competition, held in Anaheim, California, pitted more than 15,000 participants in 420 teams from intermediates, high schools and universities from 24 countries across the globe over four days. VEX is run in New Zealand by Kiwibots, a non-profit charitable trust whose mission is to inspire a passion for science and technology in high school pupils, headed by National Manager Chris Hamling.

“New Zealand has proved yet again that we are the country to beat and that we are the most friendly country, and liked by all,” Hamling said. “It is astounding how far above our weight we punch and how we are respected and liked by teams across the world.”

Other positive results for New Zealand teams included:

• Lynfield College: World Champions, Robot Skills Champions, Champion - Technology Division
• Otumoetai College: World Champions, Robot Skills runner up, Math Division Amaze Award, Science Division Think Award, Champion - Technology Division, Champion - Math Division
• Glenfield College: World Educate Award, Technology Division Community Award, quarterfinalist - Technology Division
• ACG Parnell: Spirit Division Amaze Award
• Avondale College: Champion - Arts Division, semifinalist - Engineering Division
• Albany Home School: Champion - Arts Division
• Kristin School: Semifinalist in the Engineering Division

VEX Robotics was developed in response to a worldwide shortage of engineers. It is a platform for high school pupils with an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to participate in a challenging game requiring the building of robots and interactive scrimmages using teamwork, leadership and problem solving.