It’s the final tournament of the season because teams that qualify at Regionals or Signature events continue on to The VEX Robotics World Championship. Four robotics teams from Lovejoy High School headed to this competition, and here is the inside scoop of what happened.

The word “World” plays a big role in the definition. All teams across the globe that have qualified to compete in this tournament, travel to one destination to determine the champions of the season. While winning and losing, only a few teams get to play off the rest of the competition at the Dome (the Dome is where all other teams watch and view the final matches). Finally, two teams are pronounced the VEX World Champions. At the final parts of this event, anticipation rises until the new game for the next season is announced. 

The Lovejoy teams arrived at school early with the bus leaving around 6:30 am, and drove to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. Doors opened around 7:45 am and the competition began for the entire day. This all took place from April 25th to April 27th. Though Lovejoy didn’t win awards, 1082R and 1082E made it to their Quarterfinals in their division, with R ranking 31st in the Engineering division and E ranking 23rd in the Technology division. 1082J and 1082S made it to their Qualifications in their division, with J ranking 71st in the Science division and S ranking 68th in the Art division.

When asked how they felt the about the competition, they replied:

“It was a really good competition. It was really nice to get to compete with teams at a higher level than what we see in our division. The environment of Worlds made it all the more competitive, and I believe we came out a better team in the end,” Emily Dillon, a junior on 1082R, said.

“It was exciting to qualify and go to Worlds. Going to those large competitions is almost like a rite of passage and it strengthens the robotics community. It’s really cool to see all the different robotics teams from around the world and meet in one place for the final competition of the season. It was a lot different than going to a Signature event, in Indiana, earlier in the year. It was a little chilly at Speedway, especially for Nick V. We had a lot of fun seeing familiar faces from Indiana who came down to compete as well,” Sean Chang, a senior on 1082E, stated.

“Worlds was a very good and fun experience for all of us because it brought some of our Lovejoy teams together to play with and against the best teams in the world. This tournament always gives us a great chance to learn from other teams and expand our knowledge of how we can be better in our roles. My team this year, 1082J, did not do the best, but we were able to learn from it and will definitely be able to use it for next year’s tournaments,” Carson Miller, a sophomore on 1082J, said.

 “It was a very bittersweet experience, because it was my last robotics competition with Lovejoy ever. I really enjoyed being there though. I’ve met many people from different countries and walked a lot! My favorite part was the closing ceremony,” Victoria Dias, a senior on 1082S, said. 

In the end, the VEX World Championship was won by 55286A and 9123C. All Lovejoy Robotics teams that did or didn’t make it to the Championship worked really hard throughout the season of Over Under. Continuing through this event, the last announcement made was next year’s new game, which is, High Stakes (more information can be found here). This game provides new obstacles and challenges for players to work around and see who can be named as the 2024-2025 VEX World Champions. As of now though, this Over Under season is at its official end and time of goodbye. And one more note, congratulations to all teams across the globe who participate at the VEX Robotics World Championship!

Finally, Coach Strickland states, “Our students who competed this season, every single one of them, are heroes to me. They commit hour upon hour perfecting their robots and preparing their engineering notebooks with such great levels of detail. I’m so proud of my teams that made it to VEX Worlds and competed with all their heart and all their strength. But I am most proud of our entire robotics community and every team in the organization for all the work put in this season. We achieve success as a team, as one team. Though we represent many teams in Lovejoy Robotics, we are all united in our beliefs, culture, and mission. We propel each person, team, and robot to excellence. This season we did this, and we will continue this year after year.”

The recognition for the four teams that made it to Worlds from Lovejoy were 1082R, 1082E, 1082J, and 1082S. All these teams had qualified for VEX Robotics World Championships at the Regional’s Tournament.

1082R with members Liam Widdington, Christian Cazares, Emily Dillon, Apia Okorafor, Kyle Holliman, Grant Rassmussen, Hannah Schnurr, Mary Sheridan, and Robert Schnurr qualified by winning the Regional’s Tournament.

1082E with members Sean Chang, Olivia Lee, Jacob Keane, Gregory Powers, Justin Mao, James Bognot, Nick Amabile, Nicholas Verschage, and Megha Siripurapu qualified by being Finalists.

1082J with members AJ Hersely, Lucas Hersely, Carson Miller, Colt Whitfill, and Deacon Frauman qualified by winning the Build Award.

1082S with members Austin Hummel, Spencer Bemis, Lily Helfand, Frankie Portera, Teni Segun, Tray Van Dillen, Victoria Dias, and Julia Johnson qualified by winning the Design Award.