V5 VEX Robotics

This past week, our high school V5 VEX Robotics team traveled to Ho Chi Minh City to compete in New Year’s Mayhem, hosted by Saigon South International School. It was an impressive display of innovation and engineering.

With 66 teams arriving from across Asia, including one team traveling all the way from Kazakhstan, the competition was a rigorous three-day event centered on high-level strategy and technical skill.

While our team didn’t return with a trophy, the value of the trip was found in the hands-on experience, the growth of our students’ robotics skills, and the social connections made with other teams. In competitive robotics, the most significant progress often happens behind the scenes in the pit area and the practice fields.

Our students navigated a challenging field of competitors, participating in the main tournament bracket and the individual Skills Challenges. Here is what they gained:

• Technical Resilience: The team spent hours troubleshooting and adjusting their bot in short time frames between matches.
• International Collaboration: Our students engaged with peers exchanging design ideas and strategic planning that required clear communication and teamwork.
• Strategic Foundation: Competing against 65 experienced teams provided a masterclass in VEX robotics. The insights gained here are already being used to plan our future builds.

Success in VEX Robotics is a process of constant iteration. By testing our robot against some of the best teams in the region, our students have built a strong foundation for our program’s future. They return with a clearer understanding of what it takes to compete at this level and a renewed focus for the rest of the year.