Students from Southern River College’s robotics team did their school proud, finishing second and earning the Control Innovation Technical Award at the WA Robotics Playoffs (WARP) held at Curtin Stadium last month.
WARP is an annual robotics competition where student teams from schools and institutions across WA showcase robots they’ve spent countless hours constructing and programming, battling it out in challenging games designed to test their engineering skills and strategic planning.
Represented by the Blue Tongues and the Silly Bots, Southern River College competed against 25 other teams, including groups from Curtin University, Scotch College, and Hale School, and still managed to achieve impressive results despite facing various challenges.
Both teams faced technical issues with their robots on the first day but adapted quickly by the second day.
The Blue Tongues advanced to the finals, but an unexpected clash with another team’s robot caused significant damage. With generous repair support from other teams, the Blue Tongues ultimately finished as runners-up despite the setback.
John Townley, Teacher and Head Robotics Coach at Southern River College, is incredibly proud of his team’s effort, resilience and passion for engineering.
“The many hours each week and on weekends and school holidays that my students and community mentors put into preparing for the competition demonstrated the power of hard work, determination, and inspiration,” Mr Townley said.
“They did not stop at building an effective robot to play the game, they added sensors and vision targeting and code to make it score autonomously.”
The team is now gearing up for an exciting opportunity to represent WA at the FIRST Robotics Southern Cross Regional international tournament in Sydney next March.
However, with the total cost of sending ten students and four mentors to the event being $2500 per person, Mr Townley hopes to raise funds through community support.
“We do not have quite enough money yet for travel expenses, and we are fundraising to help the families who are contributing as much as they can.”
Any individuals or businesses interested in supporting the Western Blue Tongues with financial or material assistance are encouraged to contact Coach John Townley at john.townley@education.wa.edu.au.
