Students pit their robots in head-to-head battle at BCIT
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Amid the sounds of humming engines and the occasional grinding of gears, more than 90 teams spun, spun, and rammed their robots, three to a ring, in multiple 12-by-12-foot battlefields that covered half the arena floor.
Teams had to pick up foam discs from the floor or ring and throw them into red and blue Frisbee-golf style nets in the corners. They also had to complete a series of ability tests that demonstrated driving and other control skills.
“It’s very difficult because when you’re on the field you get very anxious and very stressed,” said Kelly Nguyen, captain of the only all-girls team at the competition, a seven-man team from Ecole Salish Secondary School in Surrey.
The team met at the school’s robotics club and has been working up to 15 hours a week since November on their robot, which they have dubbed “MINT Girlie” and decorated with a small Polaroid of the seven team members.
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“There was one day just before the winter break, we stayed from 12pm to 6pm. We skipped class,” Nguyen said, laughing.
Nguyen was recently accepted into the computer science program at Simon Fraser University.
“Some of the volunteers running the event here today are former world champions,” he said.
The benefits for students go well beyond the technical (although there are those too), Brett said.
“The really big benefits are in the teamwork, working together, working together and the challenges and life lessons that people get from attending a sporting event,” he said.
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Nguyen and her team suffered a setback earlier in the day when STEM Girlie lost a gear.
“Things aren’t going too well today,” Nguyen admitted.
But after a tense game in which the team came out on top, they felt more confident.
“Girls support girls!” Nguyen said.
This was the 15th year that the event was held at BCIT. It is part of an international competition.
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“That way, when they come to high school and they’re in a competition like this, they’re on their toes,” he said.
“Encouraging students to work on a team and give them that sporting experience was… the most valuable thing,” Brett said of the competition. “These are the skills they will be using 30 years later as IT managers, supervisors and leaders around the world.”