Top VEX Robotics Teams from Great Lakes Region Battle it Out in Grandville

On December 14 and 15, the Grandville High School RoboDawgs will play host to top robotics teams from around the Midwest. This 1st annual Midwest Elite VEX tournament will take place at Grandville Middles School and include top teams from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. Tournament Champions will take home the Old Brass Boots, a pair of antique brass boots introduced as traveling trophies at this year’s event.

Competition rounds run from 9am – 5pm on Saturday, and the tournament will conclude with playoff rounds from 9am – noon on Sunday.

This event is the first invitational of its kind in North America, and an impressive list of teams will come to Grandville to compete and hone their robots and skills in preparation for the 2020 World Championship. Competitors this weekend have won dozens of local and regional events, and their State and World Championship appearances include:

Elyria Robotics (Ohio)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Ohio State VEX Championship Semi-Finalist

Crown Point Robotics (Indiana)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Indiana State VEX Championship Semi-Finalist
• 2018 Indiana State VEX Championship Semi-Finalist

Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School Robotics (Ohio)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 VEX World Championship Excellence Award
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2017 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Ohio State VEX Championship Champion
• 2019 Ohio State VEX Championship Champion Excellence Award
• 2019 Ohio State VEX Championship Champion Create Award
• 2018 Ohio State VEX Championship Champion
• 2018 Ohio State VEX Championship Champion Design Award

Neuqua Valley Wired Cats (Illinois)

• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 Illinois State VEX Championship Semi-Finalist
• 2018 Illinois State VEX Championship Champion Judges Award

Cornerstone (Indiana)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2017 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Indiana State VEX Championship Semi-Finalist
• 2019 Indiana State VEX Championship Build Award
• 2018 Indiana State VEX Championship Finalist
• 2018 Indiana State VEX Championship Amaze Award

Fox Valley Robotics (Illinois)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2017 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Illinois State VEX Championship Finalist
• 2019 Illinois State VEX Championship Excellence Award
• 2019 Illinois State VEX Championship Robot Skills Champion
• 2018 Illinois State VEX Championship Finalist
• 2018 Illinois State VEX Championship Amaze Award
• 2018 Illinois State VEX Championship Robot Skills Champion

Chicago State University Robotics (Illinois)

• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor

North Union High School Robotics (Ohio)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2017 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Ohio State VEX Championship Finalist
• 2019 Ohio State VEX Championship Amaze Award
• 2019 Ohio State VEX Championship Robot Skills Champion
• 2018 Ohio State VEX Championship Semi-Finalist
• 2018 Ohio State VEX Championship Excellence Award
• 2018 Ohio State VEX Championship Judges Award

Brookside High School Robotics (Ohio)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2017 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Ohio State VEX Championship Champion Build Award
• 2018 Ohio State VEX Championship Semi-Finalist

Matea Valley Robotics (Illinois)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor

Hudsonville Robotics (Michigan)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2017 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Michigan State VEX Finalist
• 2018 Michigan State VEX Championship Champion
• 2018 Michigan State VEX Championship Build Award
• 2018 Michigan State VEX Championship Innovate Award

Grandville High School RoboDawgs (Michigan)

• 2019 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2018 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2017 VEX World Championship competitor
• 2019 Michigan State VEX Championship Finalist
• 2019 Michigan State VEX Championship Excellence Award
• 2019 Michigan State VEX Championship Robot Skills Champion
• 2018 Michigan State VEX Championship Champion
• 2018 Michigan State VEX Championship Excellence Award
• 2018 Michigan State VEX Championship Judges Award

Event schedules and detailed information for spectators will be released on the Grandville RoboDawgs blog (https://robodawgs.wordpress.com/), webpage (http://robodawgs.org/), and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheRoboDawgs/).

Grandville Public Schools has been a leader in educational robotics for more than 22 years. On November 5, 2019, local voters approved fund construction of the country’s first built-for-purpose robotics competition arena.

Beginning with one high school robotics team in 1998, the program has now grown to include more than 90 teams based at the District’s Robotics & Engineering Center. More than 700 students participate on Grandville robotics teams, designing, building, and programming robotics for competitions around the world. Grandville fields eighteen JrFLL teams serving students in second and third grades. The District’s Lego League and VEX IQ programs field 27 teams made up of fourth through sixth graders. These students go on to participate VEX Robotics program at the middle school and high school. Grandville High School also fields teams that compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition. The Grandville High School RoboDawgs have built and flown autonomous aerial drones for seven years and this year will launch more than new 30 RECF Aerial Drone teams. Our high school teams build autonomous vehicles to compete on land, water, and in the air.

For more information, contact RoboDawg Head Coaches: Mike Evele or Doug Hepfer – 231124@email4pr.com