After a round of 16 qualifying efforts in 2019, the CBHS VEX Robotics team has returned from Auckland to claim the 2020 National Championship title.

[Pictured above Mr Thawley, Hugo Marshall, Alex Dann, Reuben Davis, Tyff Habwe and Max Young)

The VEX Robotics Competition is the largest and fastest growing high school robotics competition in the world, and centres around an annually released game where robots compete within a 12-foot square field. This year’s game was called Tower Takeover and required robots to stack 6-inch cubes in their team’s corner, then place cubes in high baskets for extra points. This is completed throughout a 15 second autonomous period, where the robot must score points based on its pre-programming, and a 105 second driver control period.

Over the weekend of the 29th February – 1st March, team 2976A from Christchurch Boys’ High School travelled to Auckland’s Lynfield College to compete in the annual VEX Robotics Nationals. The team, comprised of designers Hugo Marshall and Max Young, programmers Alex Dann and Tyff Habwe, and nerves-of-steel driver Reuben Davis, was eager to build on the experience of last year’s competition in an attempt to progress in the knockouts and/or qualify for the World Championship.

The weekend got off to a solid start in the qualification matches, ending the first day in 5th place with a 5-1 win record. Our team was randomly paired during the round robin in 2v2 matches, and constantly had to adjust and strategise to our partnership and our opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

Finishing qualification, still in 5th with and 8-1 record, we were in a prime position to choose our alliance partner for the knockout matches. A slightly unorthodox strategy led the team to pick 46th seed Lynfield College team 2915Z (a.k.a. WallBot, a contraption whose sole function was to expand horizontally and block off the opponent’s goal). Our robots had gelled well in qualification and we had decisively defeated the Connecticut State Champions, in Auckland for invitational matches against the NZ robots.

After a near disqualification, some tough opponents and a few last-minute saves from Reuben, we came through the semis to the finals matches, further than we ever could have hoped. Up against Burnside High, who we had collaborated and worked with for the past ten months in the Canterbury competition, and the Auckland home schoolers’ club Free Range Robotics, we were in for a tight best of three. A close, last minute score saved us in the first match, and finally we finished the tournament, winning the finals 2-0. Ecstatic with the first Nationals win in CBHS history, the boys set their sights on the World Championship.

Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus outbreak, our worlds dream has been cancelled, but the boys are keen to build off of this win, pass on our knowledge to the next group of boys that will do the school proud, and grow CBHS Robotics into a group that frequents the National Finals.

A huge thank you to our teacher in charge, Mr Thawley, for managing the team, constantly guiding us to improve, and organising our trip. Thanks also to Mr Kerrison for the support he has continued to provide the team despite leaving CBHS, Rio Ogino, Alex Towse, and all of the university volunteers that have come in on weekends to help us build, test, and improve. Canterbury robotics is growing incredibly quickly because of the people behind it.

Altiora Peto

Max Young

VEX Robotics