WAB Robotics Students Build Skills Through Competition  

WAB’s Middle School robotics students have been putting their skills to the test through practice competitions designed to simulate real tournament conditions. This is to prepare for the ACAMIS First Lego League Regionals, happening this weekend at Beijing World Youth Academy. Through these simulations, students are experiencing the pace, pressure, and excitement of competition in a way that helps them grow as coders and designers, and also as collaborators and problem-solvers. 

Students take part in several different components. Alongside the robot game, in which autonomous robots must complete a series of challenges, teams are assessed on their robot design, coding, and an innovation initiative connected to a real-world problem. This year’s theme focuses on architecture, challenging students to think creatively and develop practical design solutions. 

For students, the simulation is a great chance to practice and experience what competition day will really feel like. Working under time pressure, testing strategies, and adjusting their plans helps them prepare mentally as well as technically. It also gives them the opportunity to reflect on challenges, including how to complete missions efficiently within the time limit and how to improve the design of their robots and attachments. 

Throughout the process, students are learning how important teamwork is to success. Each team member takes on a role, such as analyzing the missions, designing attaching or refining code, and contributes in a different way, helping the group work with focus and efficiency. 

WAB’s robotics program gives students opportunities to build skills over time, with many continuing to deepen their learning year after year. That long-term growth was reflected recently in WAB’s strong performance at the ACAMIS VEX Robotics competition, where our high school team earned third place. Additionally, at APAC last week, we placed second out of 28 teams! 

We’re cheering on our Middle School robotics students this weekend as they take on regionals and showcase all the practice and teamwork that brought them there.