The inaugural Haile Storm VEX IQ Tournament took place on Saturday, January 20, 2024, in Manatee County!
The VEX IQ Competition, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, is the largest and fastest growing elementary and middle school robotics program globally. Each year, an exciting engineering challenge is presented in the form of a game. Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors, build innovative robots and compete year-round.
This year's challenge is called ‘Full Volume.’ The event was hosted at Carlos E. Haile Middle School in Manatee County, Florida, and the first stand-alone middle school VEX IQ competition in Manatee County.
The event was well organized by Mr. Vasile, the robotics teacher at Haile Middle School. He was supported by STEM teachers Lynne Johnston, Erin Sutton, Lisa Wood, Hanna Cuervo, and Stacy Goode.
Additionally, a fabulous IT team supported by Matt Bauer, Jeffrey Fry, and Tyler McLaughlin had the technology running and working smoothly.
The schools that participated in this event were Carlos E. Haile Middle School, Sugg Middle School, Dr. Mona Jain Middle School, Pine View School, Skycrest Christian School, Brookside Middle School, Heron Creek, and New Age Robotics Club. 20 teams, each with four students, competed in driver and autonomous challenges with their coaches, parents, and staff cheering them on.
Designing, building the robots, and competing in this year’s ‘Full Volume’ game was a valuable form of education, engaging students while, at the same time, providing great learning experience while applying the engineering design process. Additionally, these students will be well-prepared for the School District of Manatee County’s VEX IQ Full Volume Competition on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.
We are very proud of our students, who worked hard and showcased their robotics skills in driving and coding challenges. Moreover, teams competed in teamwork matches to form alliances, working together to score the greatest number of points.
A big "Thank You" to all the volunteers who came out and assisted in setting up, judging, running games, and helping to clean up the school afterward. A special “Thank You” goes out to Tony Vasile for organizing the event and to Irene Nikitopoulos, principal of Haile Middle School, for providing the beautiful location.
The following awards were given out:
Excellence Award – (Regional Qualifier)
Team # 5729A Technology Tornadoez The New Age (New Age Robotics Club)
Teamwork Champion Award – (Regional Qualifier)
Team #10635B The Mechanical Bulls (Dr. Mona Jain Middle School)
Design Award – (Regional Qualifier)
Team # 2502C Haile Storm Charlie (Carlos E. Haile Middle School)
Robot Skills Champion
Team #2502C Haile Storm Charlie (Carlos E. Haile Middle School)
Judges Award
Team #34229A Vex Vipers (Pine View School)
Congratulations to the winners!