Robotics teams compete in Wasco Classic

The Wasco Union Elementary School District Wasco Winter Classic Robotics Tournament at Palm Avenue Middle School on Saturday brought together 29 teams from 15 different schools from as far as Lancaster, Santa Paula and Torrance. The teams competed in a six-match round-robin and then chose partners to compete in a single-elimination bracket championship round. The winning teams were the Knight Hawks from Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering in Lancaster, along with the Cyber Spacers from Edubot Inc. in Torrance.

The Excellence Award went to Team Alsbury from Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering in Lancaster, the Robot Skills Champion Award went to the Cyber Spacers from Edubot Inc. in Torrance, the Design Award to Dragon Robotics from Downtown Elementary in Bakersfield, the Innovate Award to The Doom Kirbies from Palm Avenue Middle School in Wasco, the Judges Award to Team Co-Op from Glendale, the Build Award to Robotic Mustangs from Murray Middle School in Ridgecrest and the Think Award to Dragon Robotics from Downtown Elementary in Bakersfield.

Both Palm Avenue Middle School teams qualified for the Region Three State Tournament in March at Cal State Bakersfield, where they will have the opportunity to qualify for the world tournament, which will be held in Dallas.

Parent Billy Davis came to support his 13-year-old daughter Charleigh, who attends Murray Middle School in Ridgecrest. "It's great for her to learn about coding and robot building. It has helped her flourish, make new friends and develop her communication skills among her teammates. And by participating in tournaments like this, she gets to meet kids from other schools and share her ideas."

David Yep, a 7th grader from Fulton and Alsbury in Lancaster, took second place in the semifinals. He said the best part of the tournament was the elimination bracket because of the energy and excitement it created in the room. "It showed what we could do as a team." He added that a lot of work went into preparing for the event. "We practiced every Thursday and chose which part of the bot to work on to make sure everything was working smoothly."

Palm Avenue Middle School Dean Michael Polley said, "The students get their robot designs from YouTube or from their own designs. It's all student driven. They are the ones building them, designing them and operating them." Student robots were designed this year to pick up a doughnut, place it on a mobile goal and then position those goals around a game field. "It was a challenging feat, one that required skill and precision."

Serenity Bernal, After-School Education and Safety supervisor, remarked that for the first robotics competition the district opened up to other school districts outside of Kern County, it was a good outcome. "The feedback from parents was really positive, and they were grateful that their children could interact with other students from different schools over a shared passion."