St. Mary Central High School: Hosts 2009 Wisconsin VEX Robotics Championship

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Annamarie Engelhard

Director of Advancement

Twin City Catholic Educational System

920-722-7796 ext. 201

aengelhard@tcces.k12.wi.us

Neenah: St. Mary Central High School (SMC) will host the 2009 Wisconsin VEX Robotics Regional Championship Tournament on Saturday, March 21. This regional tournament will provide an opportunity for 24 teams from Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Nebraska to compete and potentially qualify for the VEX World Championship in Dallas. The public is invited to come, watch the competition and see some of the regions best high school robotic teams compete.

Dedicated to taking robotics competitions to the next level, the VEX Robotics program is designed for middle and high school students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. VEX Robotics is an engaging outlet for students around the world to test their robot building skills and compete against one another all while promoting careers in engineering and technology.

At the 2009 Wisconsin VEX Robotics Championship high school robotic teams will compete in matches and form alliance teams to compete against other alliance teams in a 20 second autonomous round and two minute operator control round. There are also two side competitions, a Programming Skills Competition that requires the teams to write a computer program to control the operation of a robot and an Operator Skills Competition where the teams manually control their robot to perform specific operations.

“This is a very exciting event that appeals to a wide audience. Youngsters enjoy seeing the robots and learning about this great high school co-curricular opportunity while science and engineering professionals enjoy seeing how we are fostering interest in these careers. The March 21st tournament is an excellent opportunity for our community to see some of the brightest high schoolers in the Midwest in action,” said Mr. Greg Cheslock, SMC Technology and Engineering Club Coach.

There will be several other activities for attendees that are not directly involved in the competition. The Brown County Sheriff’s Department will be demonstrating their bomb disposal robot. Attendees will have the opportunity to try a RC Flight control simulator and drive robots.

Admission to the 2009 Wisconsin VEX Robotics Regional Championship Tournament is free. The public is welcome to attend this event that will appeal to all ages. Doors will open at 7:30 a.m. for team check-in and registration, the qualifying matches will begin at approximately 9 a.m. and the finals round will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m.

The 2009 Wisconsin VEX Robotics Regional Championship Tournament is sponsored by Faith Technologies, Inc., Miller Electric and Miron Construction.

St. Mary Central, a regional Catholic high school, is part of Twin City Catholic Educational System (TCCES). The system also includes St. Margaret Mary and St. Gabriel Elementary Schools in Neenah, as well as St. Mary Elementary and Seton Catholic Middle School in Menasha. TCCES is dedicated to the individual development of students by providing an education focused on faith, academics and service.

For additional information about this event, to arrange interviews with participants or to coordinate press coverage of the tournament, please contact Ann Engelhard, Director of Advancement at 920-722-7796 ext. 201 or aengelhard@tcces.k12.wi.us.