Madill robotics team breaks Ontario's top 50 - April 18, 2019

BY DENNY SCOTT

The F.E. Madill School Iron Stallions robotics team made it to the quarter-finals at the FIRST  (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics provincial championship in Mississauga over the weekend.

The squad, which was 68th in the province entering the competition, travelled to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga to compete in the Ontario tournament from April 10-13, but were eliminated with two losses in the quarter-finals.

As a result, according to Jenny Clark, a chaperone on the trip, the team entered the tournament in 67th place, but finished 49th overall in the province, earning 126 district points.

The tournament tasks students to compete against a large field of competitors under strict rules, and with limited resources. Just getting to the tournament requires a team to work together to build and code robots that will perform prescribed tasks.

There are 11 members of the Madill squad, Clark explained, six of whom are at every meeting and practice getting ready for the next competition, while the others find time to help out around other obligations like part-time jobs and classes.

Governor Simcoe Secondary School’s Simbotics team was the champion for the event, earning 395 district points.