STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

John Chen wants to go to the Olympics of robotics.

Instead of performing a triple lutz, he’ll be concentrating on a reverse dowl four bar. And, instead of training his body, he’s calling on his brainpower to take the gold.

Chen, a freshman at Wood River High School, is among one of 21 Wood River High School and Wood River Middle School robotics team members who will compete in the 2018 Idaho VEX State Championship at Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa on Friday, March 2.

The all-day event will draw 31 teams from across the state—five of them from Wood River High School and two from WRMS. The teams were culled from 68.

“It’s the most we’ve ever had qualify for state,” said Kevin Lupton, WRHS robotics team coach and engineering teacher. “I’m proud of these guys. They’ve put in hundreds of hours beyond the regular school day, building and programming their robots. They’re here afterschool five days a week.”

Four high school teams and one middle school team will qualify at the State Championship to go to the VEX Robotics World Championship in Louisville, Ky., in late April.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Dawson Hicks. “Last year there were 564 teams who competed at the Expo Center where the Kentucky Derby is held. There were teams from all 50 states and teams from 40 countries, including Japan, Lebanon, Egypt, Paraguay, Mexico, Ethiopia, Russia and China.”

The students have been preparing for this moment since the last VEX Robotics World Championship in March 2017 where this year’s challenge was unveiled.

They immediately set about designing robots that could stack plastic cones on a variety of goals spread around a 12-by-12-foot field.

They began building the bots in September, using structural materials, motors, gears and pulleys.

They programmed their bots to pick up cones and rise five feet in the air to stack those cones on top of pins.

Then they learned how to drive them, getting two minutes to stack 80 cones on 10 goals.

“Thee competitions are fun, fast-paced and fierce,” said Lupton, who calls himself “a guide on the side.” 

Each of the students brings his unique strengths to the project, whether it’s designing computer code, building the bot or even operating it.

“It takes a lot of practice to learn to drive the bot,” said Lupton.

After each tournament, the students have reengineered their robots.

“We’re constantly rebuilding,” said Hicks. “Nothing is perfect. We’re always improving.”

Drew Merrick captains a senior team composed of Carson Smith, Dawson Hicks and Cameron Maxwell. Together since their freshman year, they are two-time defending Idaho State Champions and have won three of four regular-season tournaments this year.

They won a few tournaments their first year stacking hollow cubes on 5-foot tall cylinders. They won six tournaments and the state championship their sophomore year as they were tasked with shooting balls into nets.

They defended their state championship last year as they figured out how to get their bot to throw jacks over a two-foot wall.

“With thousands of competitors, there’s a lot of chaos at the World Champion, but it’s a lot of fun,” said Hicks. “Everybody is there to learn. And it’s neat because you see all these different designs people have been building around the world—not just what other teams in Idaho come up with.”

The VEX Robotics Competition was the brainchild of a mechanical and electrical engineer who realized that they became better engineers by helping mentor students in their field. Students not only learn engineering concepts but they learn teamwork, perseverance, communications skills, collaboration skills, project management and critical thinking.

The largest fastest growing youth robotics program in the world, VEX involves more than 16,000 teams  that play in more than 1,350 competitions worldwide.

The Blaine County School District’s robotics program, known as BC Bots, was the first of its kind in Idaho when it started nine years ago. Its teams have been among the top-ranked teams in the nation, filling the trophy case with heavy metal.

Today the program includes students in each of the elementary schools.

Maxwell noted that nerves are mounting as the state tournament approaches.

“You’re either going or staying home,” he said, looking ahead to the World Championship.  “This particular competition is different for us because it’s the last time we’ll be together.”

Chen, who moved to the Wood River Valley from Taiwan last year, has three more years to look forward to earning a trip to Louisville. But he won a skills award at the ISU tournament in January and he’s ready to punch his ticket now.

“I like the feeling of finishing something and winning with it,” he said. “Now, I really want to go to World.”

GOING TO STATE:

Wood River High School seniors Carter Gerringa, Dawson Hicks, Cameron Maxwell, Drew Merrick, Carson Smith; juniors Sam Bingham, Luke Dean, Cole Taylor and Ethan Wilson; sophomore Nick Dabney, and freshmen John Chen, Griff Connelly, Dominick Downard, Asher Holden and Tate Pearce.

Also, Wood River Middle School eighth-graders Josh Blacker, Maciel Hidalgo, Isaac Pasillas, Markus Pettinger, Hayden Wilson and Kaia Wolfrom.

WRHS juniors Luke Dean and Ethan Wilson won the final regular-season tournament held in January at Idaho State University in Pocatello.