WHEELING, W.Va. — Ohio County Schools is welcoming middle and high school students from across the country this week to participate in the VEX VRC Robotics Competition.
The Gateway to the West Signature Event is one of 25 in the world and the only event of its kind in West Virginia. It’s being held Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Highlands Sports Complex in Triadelphia.
Students from 15 states and Ontario, Canada will be competing including 74 high school teams and 65 middle school teams.
Ohio County Schools will have 19 robotics teams across both middle school and high school levels. Six teams will represent Wheeling Park High School and 13 teams represent other middle schools in the county.
Jojo Shay, innovation coordinator for Ohio County Schools, said robotics teaches students critical thinking skills that they can use in future careers in STEM and other professions.
“There’s a lot of collaboration, teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership and compromise, all of those things that we hear that employers and industries are looking for in their employees. This really encapsulates all of those,” she told MetroNews. “West Virginia University just announced a Robotics Engineering major and that’s awesome because that’s just another venue that kids can follow.”
Shay said each team will be competing with a robot to demonstrate their skills.
“It’s a sport. It’s a competitive arena that allows students to practice skills that are going to be really important in their life,” she said.
It’s also a great way to network, Shay said.
“We have people coming from Canada,” she said. “We’re competing against people from all over so that exposure is really important.
The state Department of Education is a major sponsor of the event.
Other sponsors include Matyskiela and Grant Inc., Architects and Engineers, Siemens, Southwestern Energy, The Stifel Foundation, James B. Chambers Memorial Foundation, Visit Wheeling, WVU, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, CMTA, Hanlon, McCormick, Schramm, Bickford & Schramm Co., LPA, and IXL.
Tournament winners this weekend will qualify for the VEX World Championships in Dallas, Texas.