The Greenville Robotics Club, an inclusive organization comprised of students ranging from grades 6 to 12, recently displayed their talents at the Excelsior Region Qualifier Tournament held at Broadalbin-Perth High School. The Spartan Bots faced off against 27 other teams from New York State, showcasing their innovative engineering and creative problem-solving skills in a highly competitive atmosphere.
The team performed exceptionally well, making it all the way to the semifinals, where they were eventually defeated by a team from Ossining, New York. Despite this setback, the Spartan Bots managed to secure a remarkable 6th place finish out of 28 participating teams.
The club’s outstanding performance was recognized at the tournament with senior team member Kayla Ahrberg being honored as a Dean's List semi-finalist - similar to an MVP in athletic competitions.
In a robotics competition, teams are tasked with designing, engineering, building, and testing a robot that can successfully complete a set of challenges within a specific set of parameters. Teams are encouraged to approach this challenge with creativity and innovation, and students are typically given roughly three months to prepare their robots.
The club’s advisor, Scott Gardiner, emphasized the importance of the engineering process and the unique solutions that each team brings to the competition. The Greenville Robotics Club operates differently from many other clubs across the state, as they believe that students should have the opportunity to learn about robotics at an early age. To further this mission, older students often mentor younger students through the competition preparation process.
The club will continue to meet on a weekly basis, as the learning and growth opportunities in robotics are endless, even after the competition season has ended.
For more information on the tournament,check out the News 10 coverage.