Norwalk's team headed to Worlds

Joe Centers, Norwalk Reflector, Ohio
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 24—NORWALK — It was Texas-sized sendoff for Norwalk High School's robotics team, which is headed to Dallas Tuesday for the Vex Robotics World Championships.

Nate Whaley, who teaches at both the middle school and the high school, is the team's adviser.

"As we get ready to depart for Dallas in the morning, I just wanted to thank everyone for their support of the kids and our program," Whaley said.

"I wanted to share with everyone the live stream link for our competition. We will be competing on Wednesday and Thursday in the Opportunity Division, each division has its own link. As soon as the match schedules are released, I will send out another email so that you know about when we will be playing."

The Reflector will publish the schedule once it is available

Here is the livestream:

https://www.vexworlds.tv/#/channels/jmhkmkbdwsh3fg4pfoqn

To qualify for the world championships the team first had to qualify for the state championships.

"They finished 10th in the state in the individual skills, which was high enough to win an invitation to the world competition," Whaley said.

He said the Norwalk team headed to Dallas will be high school students Thomas Chime, Tyler Esbenshade and Grayson Kiser. They will compete against kids from all over the world.

"It is like the Olympics," Whaley said. "There will be teams from Singapore, China, the Middle East, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico."

There are a total of 800 spots in the world championships. The United States gets 200 of those spots, Whaley said.

The robotics competition is like a high-tech game of disc golf. Robots compete head-to-head in an arena to see which team can put the most discs in a basket. There are other skill tests as well.

"They have to pick up discs off the floor and shoot them across the field into what looks like a Frisbee golf basket," Whaley said.

"We have great support from our community," Whaley said, adding that students themselves do not have to pay to participate.

Sponsoring the robotics team are: Firelands Federal Credit Union, VFW Post #2743, Intelliworks HT, Vacationland Federal Credit Union, Norwalk Eagles, Norwalk Concrete Industries, Extol of Ohio, American Timber & Steel, Lake Erie Construction Company, American Legion Post #41, Norwalk Lions Club, Norwalk Kiwanis Club, Norwalk High School Academic Boosters, Dave's Food Mart, and Dan-Mar.