HAZARD – The Magoffin County robotics team swept the regional championship on December 9 at the Challenger Learning Center of Kentucky in Hazard.
For their second year as a program, the MC Master Crafters went into this year’s regional competition more prepared, coaches Jerica Conley and Andrew Oliver told the SI, with the robotics team winning all the same awards they won at their first appearance last year, including the Overall Champion Award, first place in core values and first place in robot games, as well as securing the Rising Star Award and the Coaches Award for Oliver.
In addition to their repeat win, this year Magoffin County teams from Salyersville Grade School and North Magoffin Elementary, which both did very well, with all teams advancing to state.
Salyersville Grade School’s Robotic Rock Stars won first in robot design, second place overall and third in robot games. North Magoffin Elementary’s Rocking Robo Panthers won second place in the Innovation Project, fourth overall, and the Coaches Award for Melinda Owens.
Oliver told the SI they have also started a robotics team at the high school level, which is set to compete in regionals on January 10.
This year the theme of the competition was using technology to share interest and support in the arts, with each level of the competition tied to that theme. The teams have to present an innovation project, as well as code their robot to complete multiple missions. They’re scored not only on their own performance, but also on sportsmanship, how they react to failure and how they help others.
“It’s an awesome experience, with everyone rooting for everyone,” Conley said.
Oliver continued that the program builds skills, but also just better people.
“They are judged on ‘gracious professionalism,’” Oliver said. “They’re looking at the quality of their work, but also at the respect they have for others in the community. We had two team members help other teams where a kid was out sick, but had all their codes, so our kids worked with them to share some of our codes so that team could at least compete. One of the refs said, ‘This is not a robotics competition. It’s a people competition,’ and it’s true. We’re building people.”
The coaches said students can gain and improve multiple skill sets on the team, such as public speaking, working within a community and with other teams, decision-making, and so much more, as well as building a path to a career or scholarships.
“The ref had kids graduating high school with job offers making $100,000 to do coding,” Oliver said. “With this kind of work, a lot of it could be done from home. A lot of kids get engineering scholarship offers. With all of the public speaking required, they can build business opportunities and interview skills.”
The three Magoffin robotics teams that competed on Saturday are set for the state competition on February 17 at Northern Kentucky University. Last year, the team won fourth place overall at state, sending them on to nationals, held in New Jersey.
Congratulations and good luck moving forward to the Magoffin County robotics teams!
