The Norristown Area School District Robotics Team is made up of students from Norristown Area High School and two of our middle schools, East Norriton and Eisenhower Science and Technology Leadership Academy. There are 5 teams that compete within the NASD team.
Every spring, VEX Robotics Competition releases game information for the following school year. This school year’s game was “Over Under,” where student teams built robots to compete on a 12x12 foot square field. The field is divided into two zones, a red zone and a blue zone. The goal was to use “acorn-shaped triballs” to score points. At the start of a match, robots have to operate without any input from their drivers. Then the drivers control the robots for the rest of the match. Points are scored by having triballs in your offensive zone or in the opposite team’s netted goal. Check out the full "Over Under" game description here.
Students begin working on their robots at the start of the school year. The competition season then begins in December and ends in March/April. There are multiple parts to a robotics competition, including the actual event, the notebook explaining their entire process, and an interview with the judges. This competition season, NASD took home an array of awards for their incredible work in all of these areas.
255A: Design Award
255D: 3 Design Awards and Innovate Award
255M: Think Award, Design Award, Excellence Award, Tournament Finalist, Robot Skills 2nd Place, Tournament Champion, and Robot Skills Champion
255X: 2 Tournament Champions
255Y: Sportsmanship Award, Judges Award, Design Award, Innovate Award, and Tournament Finalist
In early April, the team visited the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, where they were recognized in both the House and Senate for their win at the VEX Eastern Pennsylvania State Championships! Later in the month, the team traveled to Dallas, Texas to compete in the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championship competition. While they were unsuccessful in claiming a world title, the experience was incredibly enriching. The team had an absolute blast, creating lasting memories and invaluable lessons to take with them. The team also got to meet some amazing professionals including Grant Cox, Chairman of the VEX Robotics Game Design Committee.
Students with Grant Cox, Chairman of the VEX Robotics Game Design Committee
Student carrying robot to playing field. Students making adjustments to their robot.
NAHS Student placing triball onto robot during game play. Photo courtesy of VEX Robotics World Championship Photography.
VEX Robotics Competition has already released the game information for next year! The 2024-2025 Game is “High Stakes.” Check out the full “High Stakes” game description here.
With this year’s competition season coming to a close, the NASD Robotics Team is eager for next season! We are so incredibly proud of these students and their amazing work. Thank you to their team advisors, Tom Auman and Angel Patel, for their dedication to these students and providing them a space to grow and explore the world of robotics. Stay tuned for next year’s competition season where NASD hopes to bring home even more awards and will continue to exemplify #NASDproud and #BeTheLeader
Meet the Teams!
(From left to right) 255X: X-Men, 255D: Dinos, 255M: Midnight Moon, 255A: Aliens, 255Y Yetis