Robotics Event Is True Team Effort | News, Sports, Jobs – Wheeling Intelligencer

If the unprecedented finishes by Wheeling Park High School and Triadelphia Middle School teams at the VEX Robotics World Championships in just their second year competing at that level were not evidence enough of Ohio County Schools rapid ascent in interscholastic robotics, then perhaps this is: Robotics teams from across this corner of the United States soon will come to The Highlands Sports Complex to duke it out for robotics mastery.

The Gateway To The West tournament, scheduled for next year, plans to feature 160 robotics teams, with half of them coming from outside the Mountain States borders.

The winners will earn a spot in the 2024 VEX World Championships.

Its impressive that a county school district whose robotics teams have reached the national tournament only in the last two years have been awarded such an event. The Highlands will host one of just 26 signature robotics tournaments around the world.

For us to be awarded on our first attempt is an accomplishment, Ohio County Schools Innovation Coordinator JoJo Shay said. It was amazing for us to get one for Wheeling.

Accomplishments are coming in rapid succession for the local robotics teams. At this years world championships, Wheeling Park High Schools Iron Patriots Mark 1 team reached the elimination rounds in its division and Triadelphia Middle Schools Roboraiders reached the quarterfinals in their division. Thats the first time an Ohio County team has accomplished either feat.

Those performances show that Ohio County is taking interscholastic robotics seriously, making the area even more attractive as a signature event site. Because of that, more than 1,000 people from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and other surrounding states will have the opportunity to see what The Highlands and the rest of the county has to offer in terms of hotels, restaurants and other attractions.

So many deserve praise for this accomplishment. First are the students, whose hard work and quick success have made Ohio County Schools robotics teams a formidable group. Then there are the coaches, whose dedication and guidance have steered their teams to strong results. And lets not forget the parents, whose support and willingness to allow their children to travel to Dallas is helping all this happen.

And good work by Ohio County Schools and Ohio County government for recognizing what robotics does mean and can mean to this area. The future of robotics in our region is bright, and this Gateway to the West tournament will showcase the best we have to offer.

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Robotics Event Is True Team Effort | News, Sports, Jobs - Wheeling Intelligencer