FRYEBURG — Innovation, problem-solving and excitement were on full display last Saturday, Jan. 25, as Fryeburg Academy welcomed 100-plus students from nine different schools from around Maine and New Hampshire to its first hosted VEX V5 Robotics Competition.

The daylong event was held in FA’s Ada Cram Wadsworth Arena, where 21 robotic teams competed with the assistance of many volunteers.

“We had over 20 parent, student and faculty volunteers,” says Dave Sartory, FA’s technology integrator and robotics club advisor. “There was a massive outpouring of support from the coaches and volunteers from Kennett High School’s robotics program, who helped us navigate the complexities of hosting our first major event. The day would not have been as successful without their help.”

At the competition, four FA teams competed with Fryeburg Academy’s Team C (Ava Chadbourne ’21, Sam Stoker-Ball ’22, Mel Boeker ’22 and Roze Schenstrom ’22), earning an invitation to the Maine State Championships being held in South Portland on March 14, 2020.

The Academy’s rookie team, Where’s Peter? (Yeet Ercan ’20, Andrii Obertas ’21 and Quang Nguyen ’21) made it to the final eliminations.

Kennett High School’s power alliance of Team #5106A Alpha and #5106C Checkmate earned Tournament champion trophies.

“While we didn’t ultimately earn a trophy at the tournament,” continues Sartory, “We’re still a young team, and we competed against some outstanding schools with established robotics programs today. I look forward to continuing building FA’s robotics program and working with our club to gain more experience.”

Currently, Fryeburg Academy has 20 active team members (13 competing and seven volunteer students). Additionally, the Academy’s newly offered robotics classes already have over 36 students who are learning the VEX robotics system — a hands-on learning curriculum and robotics kit designed to teach high school students problem-solving, coding and engineering.

To learn more about VEX Robotics, visit https://www.vexrobotics.com/.