Pope County Library System VEX Team Double Qualifies For The Arkansas VEXIQ Middle School Championship

The Pope County Library System VEX team, Power Supply, has secured an invitation to the Arkansas VEX IQ Competition (VIQRC) Middle School State Championship in Russellville, Arkansas, on March 11, 2024. During the month of February, Power Supply took home the Design Award at the Panther Palooza tournament in Clarksville and won top honors (the VIQRC Excellence Award) at the Little Hurricane Valentine Classic in Jonesboro. Power Supply, ranked ninth in the state, will now attempt to qualify for the VIQRC World Championships.

The Pope County Library System VEX IQ teams are comprised of homeschool students aged 11 to 15. With guidance from their coach and mentors, these students build a robot using simple, snap-together VEX IQ parts to solve an engineering challenge that is presented each year in the form of a game. Teams work together to score points in Teamwork Matches and show off their individual skills in driver-controlled and programming Robot Skills Challenges.

The VIQRC fosters student development of teamwork, collaboration, critical thinking, project management, and communication skills required to prepare them to become the next generation of innovators and problem solvers.

Amanda Baillie, Assistant Director at the Pope County Library System and the team’s coach said, “We are very proud of what our homeschool teams have accomplished this year. A successful, well- rounded VEX program takes a lot of time and dedication from the students, and I’m happy to see their hard work paying off. We are the first library led team to make it to the state middle school championship, and we may be the first fully homeschooled team in Arkansas. These students take representing the library system and the homeschool community very seriously and are excited for the opportunity to represent both at the state tournament.”

The Robotics Education and Competition Foundation (RECF) manages the VEX IQ Competition that many schools participate in around the world. RECF’s mission is to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, affordable, and sustainable robotics engineering programs.

VEX competitions make up the world’s largest and fastest-growing competitive robotics programs for elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges around the world. More than 23,000 VEX teams from 58 countries participate in over 2,300 events worldwide.

More information about the VEX Robotics Competition is available at roboticseducation.org.