A Marion Community Schools elementary robotics team is headed to the VEX IQ State Championship, the first Marion squad to do so at our elementary school level! In addition, three teams from Justice Intermediate School are headed to state finals. All teams will compete this weekend in Indianapolis.
Frances Slocum Elementary’s E Team earned their state finals berth by claiming the Teamwork Champion Award during the Wabash League Finals on Feb. 3.
Justice Intermediate School’s A Team earned their state finals berth by claiming the Excellence Award at the Marion League finals on March 3 on their home turf.
Justice Intermediate School’s C Team and D Team earned their state finals berths by earning the Teamwork Champion Award.
The state championship is set for March 25 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The event is open to the public, and admission is free. The competition will be the largest VEX IQ state championship in the country, gathering more than 300 robotics teams from elementary, middle, and high school levels to compete.
The VEX IQ Challenge, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, provides students with open-ended robotics and research project challenges that enhance their science, technology, engineering, and math skills through hands-on, student-centered learning. The Marion robotics clubs foster teamwork, critical thinking, project management, and communication skills. Opportunities like this help prepare students to become the next generation of innovators and problem solvers!
There are school-based robotics clubs in all 92 Indiana counties, more than 2,100 teams comprising more than 24,000 students. Throughout the season, matches across the state offer qualification opportunities for the state championship.
This year’s challenge is called Slapshot, and teams use their robots together with one other or alone to score points by completing specific maneuvers, as outlined by the challenge rules. Marion’s teams have been working for months to design and build their robots, and to practice the required skills.
Marion’s robotics squads competed in two leagues this year (Marion and Wabash), meaning they competed multiple times a week, including some weekends. We are proud of all of these Giants for their hard work and dedication!
Other awards earned by Marion robotics squads this season include:
At the Feb. 3 competition in Wabash:
- Frances Slocum Elementary’s C Team earned the Judges Award, which honors the team that impressed the judges the most in the interview portion of the competition.
- Justice Intermediate School’s D Team earned a Sportsmanship Award.
At the Feb. 11 competition in Wabash:
- Kendall Elementary’s Team C Blue received a Sportsmanship Award.
At the March 3 competition in Marion:
- Frances Slocum Elementary’s F Team earned the Judges Award, which honors the team that impressed the judges the most in the interview portion of the competition.
- Justice Intermediate School’s A Team won the Robot Skills Champion Award, for having the highest score of the competition in the skills segment of the competition
- Justice Intermediate School’s D Team won the Design Award, for the most effective and efficient robot design process, based on their engineering notebook and interviews.