New York college and high schools gathered on campus for the Vaughn College VEX U Tournament and VRC Qualifier on Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9. The college level event kicked off the series, and Vaughn’s robotics team VCAT finished in second place overall and was awarded both the excellence and robot skills champion awards. The goal of this year’s challenge “Turning Point” is to attain a higher score than the opposing team by high or low scoring caps, toggling flags, and by parking robots on the platforms.

VCAT is eagerly preparing for the Manchester Community College VEX U Qualifying Tournament in New Hampshire. The team has their sights on the Worlds Competition in April.

“Events like these increase awareness of community service for our students and prepare them with leadership and organizational skills to prepare them for their future,” said Dr. Shouling He, mechatronic engineering program coordinator and robotics team adviser.

The high school qualifier was one of the largest in the northeast, with twenty-two high schools and 46 teams in attendance to compete and display their robotic skills. The daylong event finished with KG Computech’s team Overclock from Flushing finishing first overall in the competition and receiving the excellence award which qualifies them for the state championship.