Stauffer Middle School’s Spartan Design robotics team and Warren High School’s Robotics Club both pose with their Excellence Award trophies at the VEX Robotics Competition held Jan. 13 in Chino. These two teams, along with an additional Spartan Design team, will now be competing at the state level in March.

DOWNEY --In just a single Saturday, four student teams from Downey Unified punched their ticket into the California State Robotics Championship.

At two separate events, both held Jan. 13, robotics teams from Stauffer Middle School and Warren High School split up to compete in two different VEX Robotics Competitions. One being held in Long Beach and the other in Chino, Stauffer’s Spartan Design and Warren’s Robotics Club came out victorious as teams from each school were awarded the Excellence Award Trophy.

This trophy, which is given to the overall top team, is the highest honor given out in any VEX Robotics Competition and qualifies them to compete in the California State Robotics Championship.

“This trophy not only recognizes an excellent tournament performance, but more importantly, it recognizes the team that excels in many areas and is a shining example of dedication, devotion, hard work and teamwork,” expressed Spartan Design’s advisor, Tri Tansopalucks. “Stauffer Middle School’s robotics program has reached a well-deserved milestone by winning this awards at two separate tournaments on the same day.”

By having both Spartan Design robotics teams win this award, both will be competing at the state level in coming months. One state championship will be held Feb. 25 in Pomona and the other will be held March 4 in Vallejo.

This is the third Excellence Award Trophy for Warren’s Robotics Club this year which has earned them spots for three separate robots to compete at the state championship in March.

The winner of the state competition will qualify for the VEX World Robotics Competition in Louisville, Ky. in April.

A second team from Stauffer Middle School’s Spartan Design correspondingly competed last Saturday at another VEX Robotics Competition held in Long Beach and also brought home the Excellence Award Trophy. Having multiple teams presented with this award means that Downey Unified will have three separate teams competing against the best in the state at the California State Robotics Championships that will be held in February and March.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishments of all our teams this year,” stated Warren High’s Robotics Club advisor, Frank Menjivar. “These students show great resolve, grit, and determination and it’s displayed in their successes."

This year’s VEX Robotics competition consists of two-team alliances working together to move mobile goals into scoring zones and stacking cones on top of the mobile goals to score points.

VEX is the largest robotics program in the world with over 16,000 teams competing annually.

“Our club members have spent countless hours every week after school and on weekends working with their teams to develop their bots," said Marini Lamoureux, advisor for Warren's Robotics Club. "All of this could not be accomplished without the help of the Stauffer Foundation who has helped provide all 30 plus club members an opportunity to compete in this year’s competitions.

“We could not have had such an incredible season without the support from the school’s administration, district office and our Board of Education. We cannot wait to see what the state championship brings us.”

In addition to having a great time and building amazing robots, through their participation in the VEX Robotics Competition and their work within their team, students learn many academic and life skills, better preparing them to be college and career ready, globally competitive and citizens of strong character, officials said.

Classroom STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) concepts are put to the test on the playing field as students learn lifelong skills in teamwork, leadership, communications and more. Tournaments are held year-round at the regional, state, and national levels; local champions go on to compete against the best in the world at the VEX Robotics World Championship each April.

VEX Robotics offers students a platform for learning about areas rich with career opportunities spanning in STEM. These are just a few of the many fields students can explore by creating with VEX Robotics technology.

Beyond science and engineering principles, a VEX Robotics project also encourages teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups. It also allows educators to easily customize projects to meet the level of students’ abilities. The affordable VEX platform is expanding rapidly and is now found in middle school, high schools and university labs around the globe.

Robotics teams from Stauffer, Warren qualify for state championships