Seven teams from campuses in the Tustin Unified School District and four teams from the Orange Unified School District are headed to a global robotics competition in Kentucky next month.
Coming off big wins at their respective state-level contests, the local squads will join approximately 1,400 student-led robotics teams from around the world at the VEX Worlds 2017 robotics championship in Louisville. The event takes place April 19 through April 25.
Tustin Unified’s Beckman and Foothill high schools will send a total of four teams to the championship, while three have qualified from Orchard Hills School, including two teams of fifth-graders and a middle school team. They’ll be accompanied by teacher-coaches Siu Sit from Beckman High, Jeff Farr from Foothill, and Nancy Chung, Megan Englebrecht and Liz Root from Orchard Hills.
With robotics competitions supported by the Tustin Public Schools Foundation, TUSD is the only Orange County district sending middle and high school teams to the event.
Meanwhile, Orange Unified will also be well-represented at the VEX Worlds.
Two teams from Crescent Elementary School with the monikers “15A Scoring Machine” and “15B Crescent Crossover” will be led by Jennie Bond and Natalie Carias. OUSD’s Anaheim Hills Elementary School will send “The Vexperts” as well as “The Gummy Bears,” which is an all-girl squad.