Robotics champs York Castle leave today for Texas contest
Published:Monday | April 18, 2022 | 12:08 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
A team from local robotics champions York Castle High School will depart for Texas on Monday to participate in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Championship.
York Castle will compete in the grades nine to 12 category, which is for high-school students, with more than 450 teams entered.
The format will see the St Ann school compete on special playing fields with robots the team has designed, programmed, and built.
The championships, set for the United States city of Houston from April 20 to 23, will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center and will see thousands of students from across the world participating.
York Castle’s team, captained by Vedang Kevlani, also features Mark McGrath, Raleel Johnson, Deshaun Riley, Trevaughn Rose, Sohan Mirpuri, Daksh Karira, Andrew McIntosh, and Someish Sharma. Coach Robina Reid and mentor Vlademar Kerr will accompany the team.
“York Castle’s robot is named Stinger and its aim is to collect the blocks and add them to the shipping hub to score points,” Reid said in a Gleaner interview on Sunday.
School principal Raymon Treasure says his team will benefit from the experience.
“They had gone to the national championship and they won at that level, on March 26 at Jamaica College, and now they are going off to Texas to represent at that level,” noted.
“I am hoping they will represent well. At that level, they’re talking about high-tech robots, but the understanding is that they will get the exposure and represent well and come back to Jamaica with what they would have learnt, to share those ideas,” he added.
Treasure acknowledged the role Jamaica College has played in the development of robotics in the island, the institution being the first to enter the overseas competition.
He said the opportunity to participate will offer insight into the broad range of talent among Jamaican youth.
“Generally, the emphasis in Jamaica is on sports and that kind of thing, but this competition makes it possible for those who are interested in science and technology to exercise their skills, develop their skills, to use their mathematics and physics and electrical skills, and so on. For us, this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the other side of Jamaica,” Treasure said.
Meanwhile, Kevlani and Reid have expressed delight at being able to participate in the FIRST Robotics Championship. Kevlani said simplicity is part of their plans in making robots.
“Before the modifications for FIRST Robotics Championship, we had really kept the morals of simplicity when engineering our robot, because we believe simplicity is the key to efficiency, and I believe that is what led our team through,” Kevlani told The Gleaner.
He added: “... We expect to network with other teams that will be coming from around the world and to get their engineering programme into perspective, so as to add to our knowledge and skill set, which will add value to our team.”
Reid underlined the importance of the melting-pot experience, even beyond the competition itself. He emphasised that colleges and Big Tech companies will also be represented.
“Of course, we’re aiming to take home a prize, but just being there alone is everything for the team,” the coach said.