PYRS

Expanding competitive robotics for youth in BC

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PYRS Welcomes LEGO League Teams

So you had a great time with FIRST Lego League, but will soon be too old to compete in FLL? Why not come out and see what the VEX Robotics Competition has to offer. With bigger robots, more local tournaments, a combination of autonomous and teleoperated competition and full-on robot-to-robot interaction it might be just what you are looking for to take your robotics competition experience to the next level!

A great opportunity to see this season’s game “Gateway” in action will be on Saturday, December 10, at Cambie Secondary school in Richmond. Over 50 teams from Washington State, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver will be in attendance. BC and Washington state teams have already proven themselves as some of the top competitors in the VEX world, so this is likely to be one of the toughest tournaments held in North America to date.

Competition matches will run from 10:00 to 5:00, with some of the best viewing times in the early to mid-afternoon. Admission is free, so come on out and see how you can make the VEX Robotics Competition part of your robotics future.

Cambie Secondary is located at 4151 Jacombs Road (Cambie and Jacombs), just south of IKEA in Richmond.

Washington “Jump Starts” Robot Season

Teams 1492 (W.A.S.A.B.I.), from Bellvue and 1107 (Cambie Secondary) from Richmond, pose with their championship alliance trophies.

For local teams the 2011/2012 VEX Robotics Competition got off to an outstanding start on November 5 in Redmond, Washington. Forty teams from BC, Washington and Oregon gathered at Redmond High School to put their machines and strategies to work playing “Gateway”, this year’s VEX Robotics Competition challenge. With defending world champions and several divisional contenders from past world championships in attendance this was arguably one of the toughest tournaments to be held in North America so far this year. The end result saw Bellvue’s team W.A.S.A.B.I. lead an alliance with Richmond’s Cambie Secondary School to the tournament title and qualification for the 2012 VEX Robotics World Championships. Host teams from the Exothermic Robotics Club did very well, as did first-time contenders at this event, Archbishop Carney Secondary. The Carney team, from Coquitlam, got off to a great start and grabbed sole possesion of first place halfway through the tournament. While the more experienced teams eventually regained the lead, it will be interesting to see if they are able to hold on to it for the entire season.

This year’s game turned out to involve a great deal of physical interaction between the robots, and the new autonomous mode rules allowed for some interesting strategies in the opening stages of the game. Video of some of the elimination round matches is available on youtube, while photos have been posted as well.

The next tournament for BC/Washington area teams will be Saturday, December 10, at Cambie Secondary School in Richmond, BC.

BC Season Opener

The BC Season Opener is shaping up to be an excellent showcase of both local team and those visiting from across the province.