International high school students taking part in robotics competition at KDays
With all the events taking place at this year’s KDays, one is attracting international attention.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics is hosting a robotics competition this year via their Alberta team. The event includes high school teams from multiple countries, and event co-ordinator Jeremy St-Laurent said it’s an incredibly busy time for the program.
St-Laurent said more than 1,000 people from more than 10 countries were set to take part in the competition.
The international draw made this one of the most mentioned events at the opening of KDays. It is a competitive tournament that pits teams against each other to have their robots complete a specific task as best as possible. This event’s game involves multiple aspects of robot building.
“The robots have to pick up five-inch wiffle balls and shoot them into an elevated goal platform,” said St-Laurent. “We have multiple different colours of balls on the field. Robots have to be able to scan the colour of the ball, sort them, and shoot them in the correct order for bonus points.” The matches are then decided by who has the most collective points.
Nick McCurry, one of the directors of FIRST Alberta, said fostering the competitive spirit of the event is one of the main goals of the program.
“One of the main aspects of FIRST is we really want to bring the excitement that comes with things like sports, where teams are being brought together, they’re being celebrated, they’re being cheered on by crowds,” McCurry said, adding that they specifically want to bring these feelings to kids who didn’t get to experience that sporting atmosphere previously.
However, McCurry and FIRST’s biggest goal is preparing kids for the future through something they are passionate about.
“Whether they go into a STEM career like engineering or if they go into a skilled trade like welding, they have the skills and tools they need to enable them to succeed in those roles.”
The final competition will take place from Friday to Sunday, with the finals of the tournament taking place on Sunday.
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