Published May 10, 2019
By GAIL LOWE
MELROSE — The iRaiders robotics team at Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School finished 40th out of 94 teams in their division at the recent VEX World Championship in Louisville, Ky.
“We had a blast,” said team member Adam Nagar about the event.
THE ROBOTICS TEAM from Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School recently traveled to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the VEX World Championship competition. Team members from left: Liam Brown, Adam Abdow, Adam Nagar and Sydney Medina. In front, kneeling: Ronan Melville. (Courtesy Photo)
A total of 24,000 teams have competed all year in worldwide VEX tournaments, and just under 900 teams made it to the World Championship. Broken down, there were 188 middle school teams, 584 high school teams and 90 college teams.
The teams battled each other over three days to crown the best of the best.
“While we did not qualify for the final rounds, our team finished number 40 out of 94 teams in our division – a great achievement for our seventh-graders who are new to the world of VEX,” said Avi Nagar, father of team member Adam Nagar.
In these competitions, each match is between two alliances, each comprised of two teams. So, in each match they are paired up with another team.
“It was a great experience to be paired up with international teams and having to work up strategies with students from China, Paraguay or from right next door in Billerica,” said the younger Nagar.
The entire team offer their thanks to all who supported them and to everyone who donated to their recent fundraiser.
“A special thanks to Sylvain Lauzon, who mentored and led the team throughout the year,” said Avi Nagar.
The iRaiders are now looking forward to improving their program and working on the 2020 challenge.
