Utah VEX Robotics Middle School State Championship to be held at Desert Hills Middle School

Over 20 teams compete at the first annual VEX Robotics Competition in Southern Utah, St. George, Utah, Nov. 23, 2019 | Photo by Ryann Richardson, St. George News

On Saturday, March 27, 12 middle school robotics teams, including 11 teams from Washington County will gather at Desert Hills Middle School to compete in the Utah VEX Robotics Middle School State Championship Tournament. Students participating in this action-packed event will showcase their STEM skills using robots they have designed, built, and programmed to compete head-to-head in a fast-paced, tournament-style competition. Winners will qualify for the World Championship in May.

Due to COVID-19 precautions, spectators are limited, however a livestream of the event will be available at https://youtu.be/hGIEg5wiBhc. Matches will run from 9:15 AM until the final elimination rounds conclude at approximately 3:00 PM. Washington County schools represented at the competition include Desert Hills Middle School and Vista School. Bear River Middle School will also field teams.

This will be the first season that a separate State Championship event will be held for middle school students only. Previously, Utah middle school and high school students competed head-to-head at state, with each grade level receiving a guaranteed number of slots for the World Championship.

Desert Hills Robotics coach Dr. Joseph Furse said: “We are thrilled to be able to host the first Middle School-only State Championship event for the Utah region here in St. George. We took a trip up north last year for State, and it was tough sledding against some of the high school heavyweights like Davis and Bear River. Fortunately, due largely to the explosive growth of VEX Robotics in Southern Utah over the last two years, especially in the middle schools, we were able to make the case for a separate tournament and it just made sense to have the state championship follow that gravitational pull to the South. These kids have worked really hard all year long, and it’s great to be able to see them have one more opportunity to qualify for the World Championships. It’s been a crazy and challenging year, and this is a great reward for a job well done for these kids.”

About VEX Robotics Competitions: VEX Robotics is the world’s largest and fastest growing competitive robotics program for elementary, secondary, and college students. There are more than 20,000 VEX Robotics teams from 50 countries participating in thousands of remote and in-person events worldwide. Winners at the State Championships will punch their ticket to the VEX Robotics World Championship, a highly anticipated event that unites qualifying teams from around the world who strive to secure the title of World Champions. This year, the World Championship event will be a “live remote” event, with teams competing head-to-head via livestream on fields in their own locations with modified rules.

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