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DSS team gets robotic at BCIT competition

The Delta Secondary robotics team took eighth place in a competition at BCIT last Saturday.

The Delta Secondary robotics team took eighth place in a competition at BCIT last Saturday.

Students Doug "Electric Eskimo" Bailey, Justin "The Solution" Ciminelli, Colin "Der Leiter" Leitner, Owen "Pitter" Patterson, Mike "Robo" Rybaltowicz, and Christine "Make it Happen" Soares designed and built a robot to compete in the VEX series of international robotics competitions.

The team spent countless hours at lunch and after school to create the robot, noted DSS technology education teacher Duncan Cowen.

"In a few short months, they went from a group of individuals with no significant robotics experience, to a cohesive engineering and tactical unit capable of competing on the international stage in the VEX Gateway arena," Cowen said in an e-mail to the Optimist.

The DSS team placed 8th out of 19 teams in its division at the VEX competition at BCIT.

"They amazed and astounded me with their passion, their determination, and their ability to find their own, individually specialized skills to contribute to the team," Cowen said. "All of them have shown they have what it takes to go far. I was honoured to be a small part of their accomplishment."

The Pacific Youth Robotics Society hosted the competition, dubbed the British Columbia VEX Championship.