Robotics tournaments involve several rounds of competition, final alliance rounds, where two teams choose to work together, and judging of team notebooks and robots. Competition also includes an autonomous round, where the robot performs a task based solely on programming.
Volunteers from the community helped with judging – teams must answer questions about their robot from a judge – as well as set up and announcing. Robotics and engineering students from Oregon Tech and Klamath Community College were on hand to help as well.
Both Nickerson and Ross say hosting a tournament locally provides an opportunity for younger students and community members to engage in robotics.
“It’s competition; it’s teamwork,” Ross said. “It teaches grit, problem-solving, and interviewing, programming, language and building skills.”
Bonanza senior Blake Stanley enjoys the problem-solving aspect of robotics. During competition when the robot doesn’t perform the tasks correctly, team members must figure out what’s wrong.