South Coast Baptist College hosted its first SCBC VEXcellence Robotics Event on Saturday 5 September, bringing students, coaches, families and volunteers together for a full day of building, coding, problem-solving and competition.
The Multi-Purpose Gym was transformed into a robotics arena, hosting both the VEX IQ Robotics Competition and a VEX V5 Workshop.
For VEX IQ teams, weeks of designing, building and coding were put to the test through qualification matches, Robot Skills challenges and finals. Between rounds, students returned to their workspaces to troubleshoot mechanisms, refine code and reconsider strategy before heading back onto the competition field.
The day culminated in two major awards. Team 79420F, Nuclear Mangoes from Carey Baptist College, was named Robot Skills Champion, achieving a combined score of 80 across Driving Skills and Autonomous Coding Skills.
Nuclear Mangoes also joined Team 9087A, PVS Robotics Club Overkill from Pioneer Village School, to win the Teamwork Champion Award, recording a score of 67 in the Teamwork Challenge Finals.
Alongside the IQ competition, the V5 Workshop gave students the opportunity to network, build and refine their robots during the early stages of the V5 season. Most teams spent the majority of the day continuing to develop their designs, while some were able to test their robots on the field and gather valuable feedback for future improvements.
This highlighted one of the most valuable aspects of robotics: the first solution is rarely the final one. Students needed to identify problems, test ideas, make changes and try again — often working through challenges that only became apparent once their designs moved from concept to construction.
These experiences align closely with the broader purpose of SCBC’s GATE Program, providing students with authentic opportunities to develop problem-solving, collaboration, communication and resilience beyond the classroom.
As the College’s first VEX Robotics event, the day marked an exciting step in the growth of robotics at SCBC. We are grateful to the staff and volunteers who gave up their Saturday to support the event, as well as the coaches, families and visiting teams who contributed to such a positive atmosphere. Congratulations to all students who competed, built, experimented and persevered throughout the day. We look forward to building on the success of our first SCBC VEXcellence event as our robotics program continues to grow.
