Another long weekend is over, with 55 teams from around New Zealand descending on TelstraClear Pacific Events Center to compete in the 5th Kiwibots New Zealand National Vex Robotics Championships between March 1-3. In one of the most competitive VEX regions in the world, teams fought for six qualification spots to the World Championships in Anaheim, California. The impact of having the intense Asia-Pacific Robotics Championships in December was felt, with a very high standard of competition. Each team played 10 matches each, with four of the teams remaining undefeated after the qualification rounds (2941A (Otumoetai College), 2921A and 2921B (Free Range Robotics), and 2959 (Wellington Home-Educated)).
2915A (Lynfield College) and 2941A (Otumoetai College) continued their dominance of the Robot Skills, with scores of 360 and 365, the two highest in the world at the moment. Only two DQs were handed out throughout the competition, both for intentional tipping. A difficult alliance selection process concluded with eight alliances of three teams each, representing fourteen different schools. The winning alliance of 2941A, 2915A, and 2941A ultimately prevailed in a 2-0 victory over 2921B, 2941B, and 2918A (Glenfield College). Both the Judges Award and Middle School Excellence Award were deservedly won by 7682 (ACG Strathallan), also qualifying for the World Championships, while 2921B took the Design Award with an impressive logbook and deisgn notebook. 2918A took the Excellence award for the efforts throughout the year, expanding to six teams and introducing new students into their club. In other news, AURA received the IET University Volunteers award, in recognition of our efforts throughout the year.
The competition ran to schedule thanks to the tireless efforts of our dedicated volunteers. Congratulations to all the teams that won awards, and thanks again to the Kiwibots for organising and running the NZ Nationals!