Valley Christian Robotics traveled to Flagstaff to compete at the Arizona FIRST Championship Tournament on Saturday, February 21. After competing against 30 other teams from across the Southwest in the six qualifying rounds, the veteran team was in first place with the VC rookie team in second place. The two teams formed an alliance team for the final matches with a team from Brophy Prep.
The alliance of the two Valley Christian teams and the team from Brophy would go on to win it all, capturing the state championship by only 20 points in the final match.
In addition to winning the tournament, the rookie team was awarded the PTC Design Award. The veteran team also set a world record for points scored in a match.
“We wanted to go with our rookie team because we wanted them to be able to experience (Oakland) and hopefully experience worlds (World Championships),” Valley Christian High School junior David Gasson told the Arizona Daily Sun newspaper.
Senior Russell Amberson also was interviewed by the newspaper, saying, “(A team) could be your ally one time and your enemy the next time. It’s more like a competition among a family.”
Both of the Valley Christian robotics teams will now advance to the West Super Regional Championship in Oakland, California on March 27-29. The West Super Regional will be comprised of 70 other teams from the 12 western U.S. state and regional championships.
With the success of the robotics program, there are also additional costs. If you would like to help support the robotics teams as they travel to represent Arizona in the West Super Regional and hopefully the World Championships, click here.