COVINGTON, Ga. - Alcovy High School’s VEX Robotics Team 265T recently received word it has been invited to compete in the 2019 VEX Robotics World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, April 24-27. Alcovy’s invite comes after several years of success and the invitation to compete amongst the best teams in the world is a testament to the program’s strong competitive history.
Zack Pitts, Alcovy’s engineering teacher and robotics coach said, “This really has been a team effort amongst all our robotics students. Attending the World Championships and competing on the world stage is a once in a lifetime opportunity that the students and myself can share. I’m so proud that the students’ hard work over the last several years has paid off.”
That hard work has led Alcovy to the Georgia State Championship for the last several years where they have been among the top competitors.
According to Tim Schmitt, director of CTAE & Workforce Innovation for Newton County Schools, “a few bumps in the road at the last several state championships have cost Alcovy a World qualification spot. They’ve been so close and have deserved to go so this invitation makes it that much sweeter.”
The World Championship attendees from Alcovy are comprised of students who qualified and competed in this year’s Georgia State Championship from teams 265T and 265S. Those students include: Mahlon Phelps, Michael Adams, Demari Freeman, Austin Jensen, Blake Farmer, Devin Small, Tyler Dorsey, Mekhi Phelps and Adrian Zac-Williams.
Alcovy’s team will join 15 others from Georgia to compete at the World Championships. This event is truly an international one, where students will have a chance to compete with and against others from all over the U.S. as well as teams from China, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, Chile, Turkey, and more from all across the globe. In fact, there are over 35 countries from six different continents represented at the event comprising more than 600 high school teams.
“We’ve had teams from Mansfield, Newton County Theme School and Liberty Middle attend the World’s event for VEX IQ in the past,” Schmitt said. “Having Alcovy round out Newton County’s representation at the high school level shows that our STEM, engineering, and robotics efforts truly span from elementary to high school and I’m very appreciative of all the hard work our students and teachers are putting in.”
As Alcovy prepares for their trip to the World Championship, they are seeking donations and sponsorships to help offset the cost of the trip as well as new parts for their robots. The team has estimated they will need approximately $4000.00 to fully fund this exciting endeavor. Anyone interested in sponsoring the team should contact Zack Pitts at Alcovy High School, or Dr. Tim Schmitt, at the Board of Education.
