What a Robotics Day! Hosting Our First VEX IQ Tournament
On Saturday, December 7, the Creative Minds robotics team hosted a VEX IQ Challenge tournament for the first time as it competed and collaborated with other teams from Washington, DC.
We were pleased to welcome roboticists from Barnard and Kimball elementary schools, Capitol City Robotics, and the Metro Warriors STEM Organization. CMI’s executive director, Chuck Jackson, kicked off the tournament with opening remarks before a crowd of students, coaches, families, and volunteers, and then teams geared up for nearly four hours of qualification rounds and exciting final matches.
Teams collaborated in teamwork matches, working together to score points, and in skills matches and challenges. Up-to-the-minute results displayed on a leaderboard, drawing the enthusiastic attention of roboticists, who gathered to see where their teams stood in the rankings.
The CMI Chameleons 47764C team entered the last rounds in second place and ended the day at the top of the rankings, also taking home the Design Award the the Robot Skills Champion Award. The Teamwork Champion Award went to our 47764A team, and our 47764B team showed great focus and tenacity to finish in ninth place. See the complete final rankings and award recipients.
More important than rankings are the resilience, cooperation, and integrity our Chameleon roboticists displayed—and we’re so #CMIProud! The tournament was an opportunity for students to practice not only their engineering skills but their personal goals, too. The REC Foundation, creator of VEX Robotics, nurtures this social-emotional learning through its student-centered approach to education and competition. Learn more about the VEX approach.
We thank robotics coaches Thomas Peng and Mae Wu for making this tournament happen and for supporting STEM learning all year long. A hearty thanks also goes to the volunteers whose efforts were vital to a successful day of engineering challenges and personal growth.