Kettering University’s VEX U team, KUdos, won the sportsmanship award in their first trip to the VEX Robotics World Championship held in Dallas on April 27-29. Connor O’Keefe and Jonathan Houston were elated by the honor which will be the motivation to do better in the coming year’s competition. The Sportsmanship Award is given to teams who are respectful, helpful, and courteous to everyone both on and off the field. The team participated in this year’s challenge called Spin Up using two robots and finished at 41st place overall out of 96 teams.
KUdos’ experience in the competition gave them the chance to learn valuable lessons to improve in the future. They plan to work more on computer-aided design (CAD) modeling ahead of the next build, improve the reliability of the bots, and work more on developing a good autonomous routine. Winning the Jury’s Award in the January competition was also an achievement for the team.
KUdos’ participation in the VEX U competition also allowed them to bond as a team and with other participants. The experience was fun, exciting, and memorable. Hence, they are now looking for new members to join their team. Kettering University even offers scholarships for active competitors or mentors in VEX or other competitive robotics organizations.
Kettering University hosted the state championship in February and has partnered with the nonprofit Robotics Education Race (REC) Foundation, whose mission is to increase student interest and engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), to host a VEX competition. The university is also the Field Sponsor of the World Championships, and Dan Mantz, a Kettering University graduate, is the CEO of REC.