Rapid City robotics team to compete in world tournament

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Six students from a Rapid City high school are heading to Kentucky to compete in an international robotics tournament.

The Rapid City Stevens High School students are among robotics teams from more than 40 countries who will attend the VEX Robotics World Championship in Louisville this week. The tournament draws students from middle schools, high schools and universities to design and build a robot to compete in an engineering challenge.

Senior Ian Helgeson told the Rapid City Journal that the team has been working on its robot since September.

“It’s a pretty special privilege,” he said. “It’s only 520 teams out of the entire world that get to go, so it’s really cool to be able to do this.”

Jason Reub, a teacher and the Rapid City team’s coach, said participating in the tournament helps students apply math and science concepts, but also gives students an opportunity to develop team-building skills.

The robotics team fundraised about $9,000 this year, Reub said. They are sponsored by about 30 groups, from the Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center to Coca-Cola.

The students will compete in preliminary rounds Thursday and Friday to win a spot in the final round, which will be held Saturday.

“I think we’re definitely going to be able to compete against the best of them,” Helgeson said.

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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com