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TRIADELPHIA - The first ever "Gateway To The West" robotics tournament is now over, and organizers say it certainly was beneficial for Ohio County Schools and its robotics programs.
JoJo Shay, innovation coordinator for the school district, said the exact amount taken during the four-day tournament isn’t known yet but will be determined in the coming days.
"In the first year, obviously you have to make a lot of purchases," she explained. "I have to do all the math, but we definitely will make money.
"That money will go toward our robotics programs and sending our kids - if they make it - to the worlds."
The VEX Robotics World Championships will happen this spring in Dallas, Texas.
Among the expenditures for the first "Gateway To The West" tournament was the investment in the three raised arenas used for the competition. Now the next challenge for Ohio County Schools will be taking them apart and finding a place to store them, according to Shay.
"I'm going to figure all this out in the coming week, but right now I'm just going to go take a nap," she said.
The risers will not have to be purchased again if Ohio County Schools is granted the tournament next year, and the school district does intend to apply.
Feedback from the teams that attended was good, and the tournament appeared to run smoothly, Shay said.
"What I'm excited about is that really things we will change will be tweaks, and not big changes," Shay said. "We're lucky we had a lot of very good, dedicated people who are good at planning and organizing and we spend a lot of time doing that.
"The big pieces have run well. It's just a few little things."
This could include an additional table being set up at the skills field to keep teams moving, or more signage may be needed in some areas, she continued.
Shay said she also was happy with the level of competition the tournament attracted.
"For the first year, I think we attracted some really great teams from across the U.S. and Canada," she continued. "That gives us a great reputation.
"People who compete well came here."
"The Gateway to the West" is a signature event of the international VEX VRC Robotics Competition. The winning high school and middle school teams at the tournament automatically won a spot at the world championships.
Last year, Ohio County Schools sent about 40 students and seven teams to the world championships.
On Saturday, three teams from Wheeling Park High School made it past the qualifying rounds to the elimination rounds, but no local teams took home any awards.
High school teams winning the tournament were from Virginia and Tennessee, while middle school students taking home the banners earlier in the week were from Ontario, Canada and Massachusetts.
The team from Wheeling Central Catholic High School didn't advance, but remained happy as a team during the competition.
"It's really interesting. We learn a lot of new things - new things everyday," said senior Abby Hall. "It's a good challenge trying to figure out solutions to problems in robotics."
Part of the robotics challenge is that a team must form an alliance with a second team as part of the competition, providing competitors a chance to meet students from other parts of the country.
Elijah Chapman, also a senior, said sometimes the second team can be friendly and talkative, and sometimes they aren't.
"There are some teams who only talk occasionally for strategy purposes," added junior Kamari Morgan.