Robotics team qualifies for Provincial Championships

Two of SAC’s robotics teams participated in their first official competition of the year at the VEX Robotics Provincial Qualifying Tournament on Dec. 4. In what turned out to be an incredible Sunday at the Pan Am Centre in Markham, each team first played eight qualifying matches to determine their playoff seeding.

 

Both teams had mixed success, but the team made up of: Evan He, Jack Liu, Kian Pouragha, Andy Wang, Aaron Wang, Josh Wang, Adrian Wei, and Bryan Zhao was selected to participate in the playoffs. 

VEX robotics competitions randomly match teams up to play against one another until the playoff rounds. Because alliance pairs are randomly created, many statistics are kept and used to determine who should qualify for the playoffs. While the SAC team ranked 13^th after the regular matches, they were also ranked 5^th in offensive power; consequently, the 7^th-placed team selected them to match up for the playoffs.

 

Once the round of 16 began, it was clear that SAC was not a 13^th-place team. They dominated their first match as they cruised to a 141-23 victory, and in the quarter-finals, they won 126-84. The semi-final match removed any doubt regarding the design and coding of their robot, and a score of 125 -42 secured them a spot in the finals. SAC played a great final match but fell to a more seasoned opponent. 

The team earned an invitation to the Provincial Championships in March by making it to the finals. I wish them well as they continue to compete and improve their robot with the hope of qualifying for the World Championships in Texas. 

 

Story by: Terry Prezens, Upper School Faculty