Cleveland Middle School Robotics
Donation protected
Did you see the movie, Spare Parts, staring George Lopez about a group of teens from Arizona that beat the odds and built a robot that went on to win a robotics competition? Well, a similar storyline is developing in Albuquerque, New Mexico at Cleveland Middle School (CMS). Cleveland Middle School has a robotics after school club. A team of five boys, aged 11 to 13, worked to build a VEX EDR robot that could compete in a competition called, "In The Zone".
The competition is played on a 12’x12’ square field with two alliances – one “red” and one “blue” – composed of two randomly selected teams. Each match consists of a fifteen second autonomous period followed by one minute and forty-five seconds of driver-controlled play.
The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance by stacking cones on goals, by scoring mobile goals in goal zones, by having the highest stacks, and by parking robots.
The CMS students' robot design was scrapped and completely re-built after they realized they did not have the most current competition rules and guidelines in early January. Over the course of two weeks, the students were able to double the time they met after school to re-design and re-build their robot. A mere two days before the first competition, the coding for the robot finally resulted in the robot being able to move by remote control.
In contrast, most school teams had worked over the course of a semester to design and build their robots but the CMS team was able to reboot and compete at a competition on January 27, 2018 at the University of New Mexico. The CMS team surprised everyone by not only competing but ultimately winning the tournament championship at UNM!
Building on their success at the UNM tournament, the CMS team was committed to improving their robot design for the next competition on February 10th at New Mexico State University. Over the course of two weeks, the CMS team was able to design and build a mobile goal lifter for their robot that made their robot much more competitive than their first design. The CMS team went on to make the Top 5 at the NMSU competition, with the next closest middle school team ranked in 18th place. (The VEX EDR competition includes middle school and high school teams.) The CMS team only lost one match in the qualifying rounds. Their alliance with two high school teams was narrowly defeated in the championship round.
At the awards ceremony at NMSU they were happy to learn that they received the Create Award for their ability to overcome design challenges. Despite coming in second place at NMSU, the CMS team was also awarded the Middle School Excellance Award. In addition to winning this prestigious award, the CMS team was stunned to learn that this award had qualified them to attend the VEX World Competition in Louisville, Kentucky!
After celebrating their monumental achievments, reality began to set in. The CMS robotics team learned that their win at UNM had qualified them to attend the Create National Championship in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Since CMS is a public school, and the team was not expected to qualify for the Create National Championship or the VEX World Championship, there is no funding to send them to compete at either tournament. The boys made the difficult decision to only attend one competition, the VEX World Championship. The CMS robotics team must raise $1,000 for the registration fee for the VEX World Competition by March 12th. Airfare to Louisville, Kentucky for the five boys is another $2,000. Hotel accomodations and meals is another $2,000. The CMS robotics team must raise $5,000 to attend the VEX World Competition April 24-28, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky.
As parents, we are committed to ensuring that this amazing group of middle school boys is given the opportuntity to compete against teams from Asia, Europe, Australia and South America but we need the community's support to make it happen.
Please help support the CMS robotics team with a financial contribution. Every dollar raised for the team will show the boys how much the adults in our community believe in them. We are also accepting frequent flier miles from Southwest Airlines and American Airlines to help get the boys to Louisville.
Thank you for supporting the five amazing middle school boys that make up the Cleveland Middle School robotics team. They are the top ranked middle school VEX EDR team in New Mexico and are ranked in the top 25 percent of all middle school teams in the world! We know they will make their school, city and state proud in Louisville, Kentucky!
The competition is played on a 12’x12’ square field with two alliances – one “red” and one “blue” – composed of two randomly selected teams. Each match consists of a fifteen second autonomous period followed by one minute and forty-five seconds of driver-controlled play.
The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance by stacking cones on goals, by scoring mobile goals in goal zones, by having the highest stacks, and by parking robots.
The CMS students' robot design was scrapped and completely re-built after they realized they did not have the most current competition rules and guidelines in early January. Over the course of two weeks, the students were able to double the time they met after school to re-design and re-build their robot. A mere two days before the first competition, the coding for the robot finally resulted in the robot being able to move by remote control.
In contrast, most school teams had worked over the course of a semester to design and build their robots but the CMS team was able to reboot and compete at a competition on January 27, 2018 at the University of New Mexico. The CMS team surprised everyone by not only competing but ultimately winning the tournament championship at UNM!
Building on their success at the UNM tournament, the CMS team was committed to improving their robot design for the next competition on February 10th at New Mexico State University. Over the course of two weeks, the CMS team was able to design and build a mobile goal lifter for their robot that made their robot much more competitive than their first design. The CMS team went on to make the Top 5 at the NMSU competition, with the next closest middle school team ranked in 18th place. (The VEX EDR competition includes middle school and high school teams.) The CMS team only lost one match in the qualifying rounds. Their alliance with two high school teams was narrowly defeated in the championship round.
At the awards ceremony at NMSU they were happy to learn that they received the Create Award for their ability to overcome design challenges. Despite coming in second place at NMSU, the CMS team was also awarded the Middle School Excellance Award. In addition to winning this prestigious award, the CMS team was stunned to learn that this award had qualified them to attend the VEX World Competition in Louisville, Kentucky!
After celebrating their monumental achievments, reality began to set in. The CMS robotics team learned that their win at UNM had qualified them to attend the Create National Championship in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Since CMS is a public school, and the team was not expected to qualify for the Create National Championship or the VEX World Championship, there is no funding to send them to compete at either tournament. The boys made the difficult decision to only attend one competition, the VEX World Championship. The CMS robotics team must raise $1,000 for the registration fee for the VEX World Competition by March 12th. Airfare to Louisville, Kentucky for the five boys is another $2,000. Hotel accomodations and meals is another $2,000. The CMS robotics team must raise $5,000 to attend the VEX World Competition April 24-28, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky.
As parents, we are committed to ensuring that this amazing group of middle school boys is given the opportuntity to compete against teams from Asia, Europe, Australia and South America but we need the community's support to make it happen.
Please help support the CMS robotics team with a financial contribution. Every dollar raised for the team will show the boys how much the adults in our community believe in them. We are also accepting frequent flier miles from Southwest Airlines and American Airlines to help get the boys to Louisville.
Thank you for supporting the five amazing middle school boys that make up the Cleveland Middle School robotics team. They are the top ranked middle school VEX EDR team in New Mexico and are ranked in the top 25 percent of all middle school teams in the world! We know they will make their school, city and state proud in Louisville, Kentucky!
Organizer
Samuel P. Slimp
Organizer
Albuquerque, NM
