IRVINGTON — The Irvington Preparatory Academy (IPA) Robotics Team qualified for the 2016 VEX World Championship on Sat., March 5. The “Robotic Ravens” will compete against 450 teams from around the United States and the globe in Louisville, Ky. on April 20-23.. The team, now in just its second year, has 16 students who participate in the after-school club; 10 will attend the championship in April.
The Ravens went undefeated March 5 in the qualifying rounds, finishing 6-0, with their robot ranked second out of 60 teams. Though upset in the quarterfinals, they were awarded a spot as one of 12 teams representing Indiana in the VEX Worlds. Robotics coach and IPA math teacher Andrew Mundell said, “Qualifying for this event is validation of all the hours of work these students have put into the robot (named Blastoise). They have been meeting regularly since last summer, and they have undergone many ups and downs throughout the season to get to this point.”
Mundell continued, “Our motto this year has been ‘made stronger by every failure’ because we want to respond to difficulties with a positive attitude. Once we identify a flaw in our robot, we can use that to direct ourselves in improving it. The students have shown pride in their work, while simultaneously never being satisfied and always working to improve.”
The IPA team reached this landmark opportunity by having one of its two teams go undefeated on Feb. 6 at the KIDS Inc. Winter State Qualifier Tournament. The team went 8-0 and was part of the tournament-winning alliance. Weeks earlier, two IPA-engineered robots competed in the 4th Annual Indianapolis VRC VEX Robotics Championship. Irvington took home two major awards: top score in the Driver Skills Challenge, in which robots compete individually; and the Mayor Ballard Excellence Award, the highest award given in the entire event for the best overall robot. Notably, this award includes a $10,000 per year scholarship to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for all students on the team who apply and are accepted to this prestigious learning institution.
Qualifying for the VEX Worlds is one thing, getting there is another, as this is not a budgeted school expense. So Mundell and his aspiring engineers are fundraising through a St. Patrick’s Day $2 per student “green and jeans” day, carwash, and hosting a video game tournament on April 8 at IPA. Mundell & Associates, Inc., has pledged to match any funds raised. The estimated cost of the trip to Louisville is $2,000. If interested in supporting the Ravens in their pursuit of robotics greatness, contact Mr. Mundell at amundell@ics-charter.org.