Fox Valley Robotics teams excel at state level, will compete at international event

The not-for-profit STEM organization Fox Valley Robotics has over 225 participants and has won a plethora of awards and tournaments over the last few months. Seven FVR teams will compete in the upcoming World Competition, according to a release from the organization.

The Fox Valley Robotics is made up of three age brackets including the LegoWolves Division composed of first through third graders, the LegoDogs Division composed of fourth through eighth graders and the Coyotes Division composed of eighth through 12th graders.

The LegoWolves Division

Twenty teams participated in a FIRST Lego League (FLL) Explorer Open House on March 17 including 12 Fox Valley Robotics teams, according to the release. They moved models 2 feet by 4 feet or larger consisting of 1000′s of Lego pieces along with all-showing poster boards depicting the “Masterpiece” theme.

Over 500 teams within Illinois competed with this year’s topic “Masterpiece” which involved interests, hobbies and arts and how to get others motivated.

Dinosaurs, trains, pokémon, board games, cars, spaceships, launchers and mini-fig decorated towns were among some of the exhibits for this division, according to the release.

The LegoDogs Division

Eighteen teams went to qualifying tournaments in Dec. 12 and teams moved on to sectionals in January with eight teams then moving on to the state competition, which consisted of 56 teams in February, according to the release.

Along the way, the division picked up a variety of awards that included Robot Design, Robot Performance, Engineering Excellence, Core Values, Innovation Project and Champions, according to the release.

From the state competition, Fox Valley Robotics team Cosmic LEGO F.O.R.C.E was chosen to attend the FLL Challenge Western Edge Open in Long Beach, California where 90 teams from around the world will participate from May 31 to June 2.

Fox Valley Robotic’s Coyotes Sub-Division Unknown Element won third place for the Inspire Award at the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) in March out of 48 teams.

Their custom-designed and 14-inch by 14-inch robot was maneuvered for the game “CenterStage,” which involved placing 3-inch pixels on back drop areas in a fixed pattern, going under trusses and at the end of the two-minute, 30-second game, launching a non-motorized drone into landing zones, according to the release.

The Coyotes Sub-Division Vex started their season in early August.

This season’s game “Over Under” is played on a 12-foot by 12-foot square field. Two alliances — one “red” and one “blue” — composed of two teams each, compete in matches consisting of a 15-second autonomous period followed by 105 seconds of driver-controlled play, according to the release.

The object of this fast-paced game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance by tossing or placing triballs into a netted area, protecting your scored elements and seeing how high a robot can climb at the end of the game, according to the release.

Five Vex Qualifiers hosted by Fox Valley Robotics and others held throughout the state allowed teams to qualify and then to be invited to either the high school or middle school state competitions.

On March 16, Fox Valley Robotics hosted the Middle School State Competition. From this, both Fox Valley Robotics teams Vorombe Titans (Tournament Champions) and Thunderbirds (Skills Ranking) were awarded World Competition invites to Dallas, Texas, where they will compete with 500 middle school teams from April 28-30, according to the release.

From March 22-23, the Illinois Vex High School State Championship was held with 56 teams from 180 teams in the state. Fox Valley Robotics had all nine of their high school level teams at this competition with qualifying awards ranging from Excellence, Design, Innovate, Build, Judges and Skills, according to the release.

At the state competition, eight Fox Valley Robotics teams were in the elimination matches, with two teams being awarded semifinalist and two different teams being awarded tournament finalists.

Five of the Fox Valley Robotics high school level teams — 2Xstream (Hexaforce), Loose Screws, and Falcons — were invited to compete against 820 teams in the World Competition taking place from April 25-27 in Dallas, Texas., according to the release.

Summer workshops will be held again this year for fourth through eighth graders in July. Season information meetings will be held in August.

Fox Valley Robotics is looking for sponsors to help the teams cover registration, travel and lodging costs. Email info@foxvalleyrobotics.com for more information.

For more information on FVR, visit foxvalleyrobotics.com