MANCHESTER, NH – More than 80 elementary, middle and high school students and mentors from around New Hampshire and Vermont united at Manchester Community College over the weekend for the 2021-2022 VEX Robotics Competition game, Tipping Point. More than 40 teams from schools around the region, including Spark Academy in Manchester, competed in a series of back-to-back robotics challenges, with the goal of advancing to the VEX World Championship this spring.
Tipping Point is played on a 12-by-12-foot square field configured with two alliances – one red and one blue – composed of two teams each. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance by scoring rings, moving mobile goals to alliance zones, and by elevating on platforms at the end of a match.
Worldwide there are more than 31,000 VEX teams from over 81 countries that participate in over 2,700 events, culminating with the VEX Robotics World Championship, uniting top qualifying teams from local, state and international VEX Robotics events to crown the annual World Champions.
“When you mix the thrill of competition with hands-on learning and the chance to teach STEM-related skills to young people, you capture a bit of lightning in a bottle and we’re thrilled to host this event once again this year,” said Dan Larochelle, Professor of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics at Manchester Community College.
The VEX Robotics Competition is managed by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation and serves as a vehicle for students to develop critical life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and project management honed through building robots and competing with like-minded students from the local community. More information about the VEX Robotics Competition is available at RoboticsEducation.org, RobotEvents.com, and VEXRobotics.com.
This annual competition attracts many technology companies, hoping to plant seeds of interest that will become employee recruitment opportunities in the future. This year’s competition is made possible by the following sponsors: Northpoint Construction, NHHEU, Hitchiner Manufacturing, Superior Controls, Macy Industries, TurboCAM and the Foundation for Innovative Schools.
More information is available here. For details on additional upcoming events, visit www.RobotEvents.com. For more information about the REC Foundation, go to www.RoboticsEducation.org.
Photo Gallery by Jason Palmer
