Central Regional Wins At International Robotics Competition

BAYVILLE, NJ — The ability to work well in a team is one of the most important skills a young person can learn. The Central Regional High School JROTC Robotics Team knows this well. They won the Inspire Award at the VEX Robotics World Championship on May 9-11 in Dallas, TX.

“They win as a team and help to support each other no matter what bot they are working on, always helping other team members to work through an issue with another bot,” said Angie Mares, who coaches the team with her husband, CRHS JROTC Senior Instructor Steven Mares. “It is due to this camaraderie and teamwork that they received the Inspire Award while they were in Texas. They inspired other teams by cheering for them, talking to them and strategizing with them.”

The criteria for the Inspire Award includes:

• Exhibiting passion and a positive attitude at the event.

• Exhibiting integrity and goodwill toward other teams, coaches and event staff.

• Overcoming an obstacle or challenge or achieving a goal or special accomplishment at the event.

• Team interview demonstrates effective communication skills, teamwork, professionalism and a student-centered ethos.

The team qualified for the World Championship based on its performance at the Roosevelt High School JROTC Robotics Competition in March in Roosevelt, NY. They won the Design Award at that competition, automatically qualifying them for the championship in Dallas. To win the Design Award, a team must place in the top of all judged areas including team interview, engineering notebook and competition matches.

The team, all from Bayville, included Alina Callas, Leiloni Comiskey, Elliott Garvey, Owen Holterman, Lillie Hruby and Joe Lau.

The CRHS JROTC Robotics team is made up of three competition bots: Asteroid, Black Hole and Cosmo. Only Black Hole qualified for the World Championship, but eleven team members from Asteroid and Cosmo supported and helped prepare the team for the competition in Dallas.

Each year VEX robotics teams are presented with a game filled with new challenges. The teams must then build a robot utilizing VEX parts to address the various challenges of the game. During the season, the teams compete in competitions in their local area. Teams who win certain awards at qualifier events are then invited to the VEX World Championship.

Financial support for the team’s trip to Dallas to compete in the World Championship was provided by the United States Army, the Central Regional School District, VFW Post 9503 in Bayville and the CRHS JROTC.

Photo: Front row (left to right) Leiloni Comiskey, Lillie Hruby, Alina Callas and Coach Angie Mares. Back row (left to right) Joe Lau, Elliott Garvey, Major Steven Mares and Owen Holterman.