Hawaii VEX Robotics Championships qualifies 8 robotics teams for World event in Dallas, TX

(Issued by Hawaii Space Grant Consortium)

Release Date: 2/21/2023

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VEX Robotics Championship Tournament Champion

Photo Credit: Hawaii Space Grant Consortium

HONOLULU, Feb. 21, 2023 – Sponsored by Hawaiian Electric, the Hawaii VEX Robotics Middle and High School State Championships, held on February 19-20 at Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama, qualified 8 out of 50 Hawaii VEX robotics teams that will advance to the 2023 VEX Robotics World Championships.

Hawaii middle and high school robotics teams will showcase their game strategy, design and teamwork skills for an opportunity to be crowned world champions at the global event to be held April 25 to May 4 in Dallas, Texas.

Advancing from Oahu are Nanakuli Intermediate School (1 team), Waianae Intermediate School (1 team), Waialua High and Intermediate School (2 teams), Pearl City High School (1 team), Saint Louis School (1 team), Mililani Mechs (1 team).

At the middle school competition, Nanakuli Intermediate School team earned the VEX Excellence Award, while Waianae Intermediate School and Waialua High & Intermediate School captured the Tournament Champion Award.

At the high school competition, Waialua High & Intermediate School earned the VEX Excellence Award. A team from Saint Louis School captured the Tournament Champion Award with their alliance partner, Mililani Mechs, who also won the Robot Skills Champion Award. Pearl City High School earned the Design Award.

The double qualifications by these teams will allow one other Hawaii team – to be determined by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation – to advance to the VEX Worlds.

A team from Molokai High School captured the Robot Skills 2nd Place Award and Energy Award at the Middle School Championship, and a second Molokai High team took the Sportsmanship Award at the High School Championship. A team from Keaau High won the Innovate Award at the High School Championship for demonstrating a combination of ingenuity and innovation in designing their robot.

For a complete list of team standings at the Hawaii VEX Robotics State Championships, visit:

Hawaiian Electric and Brandon Teshima of Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama were named "Partners of the Year" for their long-standing support and partnership with Hawaii VEX Robotics.

Volunteer of the Year honor was awarded to Elena Brown and Alex Meneses. Elena is a long-time judge at both VEX IQ and VRC competitions. Alex, a competition referee, enforced the VRC Game Manual and helped teams stay within the rules of the game at various qualifying events.

VEX Robotics is an educational robotics program that inspires students to excel in STEM principles while encouraging creativity, teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups. This season, there were 250 registered teams from Hawaii and over 900 students involved in VEX.

Robotics competitions foster these skills and prepare students to become future innovators as well as increase their interest in pursuing STEM careers. Tournaments are held year-round at the regional, state and national levels, and culminate in the VEX Robotics World Championship. There are approximately 20,000 teams from 45 countries participating in VEX tournaments.

Locally, the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium (HSGC) oversees the Hawaii VEX Robotics Competitions with funding through the University of Hawaii Foundation. Expanded opportunities for space education through the efforts of the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium have been focused on the public, particularly teachers and students in grades kindergarten through twelve. HSGC offers various remote and in-person trainings and workshops for coaches, teachers, and students, developing a robotics curriculum for STEM/robotics classes, and mentored teachers and students in rookie robotics programs.