Trinity Lutheran was the first Jackson County high school with a robotics club, starting in 2009.
Brownstown Central and Seymour high schools both are in their third year with a club.
Now that Crothersville has one established, it was the perfect time to start a countywide tournament.
“We’re trying to get the competition spirit outside of the sports area, just kind of trying to go into the robotics pathway,” said Jackie Hill with Jackson County Industrial Development Corp. “We’re excited for it.”
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The Jackson County VEX Robotics Tournament is set for 6 p.m. March 12 at the Jackson County Learning Center in Seymour. The public is invited to check out the four schools competing against each other in a game of Skyrise.
VEX creates and sponsors tournaments at a variety of levels each year and creates a different game.
Hill said Trinity adviser Dallas Goecker has the arena for this year’s competition, but another one is going to be purchased so all schools can practice on it at the learning center.
People from local industries will serve as judges for the competition. The top three teams will earn awards, including a traveling trophy for the winner.
A grant of nearly $3,400 from Jackson County United Way helped Crothersville start a club and provided funding for the county tournament.
“It is a totally new competition this year, and the students are excited to be competing against the other three county schools,” Seymour adviser Jeremy Wischmeier said.
“It’s always interesting to see all of the robots and the ideas the students come up with,” Brownstown adviser Jade Peters said. “I enjoy watching the kids interact with other teams from other schools. Don’t get me wrong, they are still competitive, but they like to talk to other teams to see what problems or issues other teams may have, as well.”
In the past, Seymour and Brownstown have battled each other, usually Seymour’s only event of the school year. But Peters said Brownstown has one or two other competitions, winning a few over the years.
Trinity has had the most success, filling a trophy case at the school with awards from regional, state, national and world competitions.
Wischmeier said his eight club members started meeting a couple of weeks before Christmas. They gather three times a week after school to build the robots and prepare for the tournament. Some students also spend time with the robots during study hall.
“Our students look forward to this county competition and put a lot of time and hard work preparing for it,” Wischmeier said.
He said the club gives the students exposure beyond the classroom to the ever-changing world of robotics. Plus, it’s another option to be involved in a team activity.
“Not all students are interested in being on a sports team yet still want to be a part of a team,” he said. “This allows them that opportunity to be involved as a team, compete against other schools and put what they learn in the classroom to use outside of the school day. A lot of focus is put on sports teams, but there are many other teams and clubs students can be involved with at Seymour High School.”
Peters said he typically has around 25 students in the club each year. To prepare for the competition, club members have been building robots during their free time.
He, too, believes the club has been a good offering for students.
“It’s great that kids get involved in any extracurricular events. It keeps them involved in their school, and they learn teamwork,” Peters said. “With the robotics, they learn to take their ideas and to compromise with their teammates’ ideas to combine into one. Sometimes, they can find a happy medium, and sometimes, they have to give up their idea because there is another one that is better.”
Trinity usually has about 10 students involved in its club. Last year, Goecker, a robotics engineer, designed a robot that allowed him to live in Seymour and work in California. He has had a robot featured on the popular CBS television show “The Big Bang Theory.”
Hill said the fifth county school, Medora, was invited to start a robotics club and participate in the tournament. It didn’t work out this year, but she said the opportunity could still be there next school year.
It’s also possible in the future to invite other area schools to participate in the tournament. To help sustain the program, Hill hopes to obtain a corporate sponsor.
Another consideration is starting robotics clubs at middle schools and including them in the competition. Crothersville is the only county school with members of that age group.
In June, the first Lego robotics camp will be offered to third- through sixth-graders in the county. That will be followed by the annual robotics camp for eighth- and ninth-graders at Aisin.
“We’re kind of developing this pathway of kids getting into robotics,” Hill said. “We’re really excited about getting that started.”
Hill said the goal is to get kids interested and engaged so they could apply those skills in a job beyond high school.
“I think it just feeds into the needs and the skills that our manufacturers are looking for,” Hill said. “A lot of our manufacturing companies have robotics within their manufacturing process, so it gets kids interested in this area.”
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For information about VEX robots and competitions, visit vexrobotics.com.
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What: Jackson County Robotics Tournament
When: 6 p.m. March 12 (teams register at 5 p.m.)
Where: Jackson County Learning Center, 323 Dupont Drive, Seymour
Who: Teams from Brownstown Central, Crothersville, Seymour and Trinity Lutheran high schools will compete.
Admission: Free. The public is invited to attend.
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