On April 14 to 16, Huntsville High School’s (HHS) Hoya Robotics team competed at the 2022 FIRST Ontario Provincial Championship – their third time at this provincial championship. The team qualified for this competition after placing in the top 20 across the province at the Ontario District Competition in March.
During a successful first day, they sat in sixth place. On day two, the team experienced some troubles and fell to 36th place. After preliminary rounds, the top eight teams form alliances with other teams for the playoffs. The Hoyas joined together with the OP Robotics from Stoney Creek and the Simbiotics from St. Catharines. The alliance was dominant in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, winning each best-of-three series in two consecutive games and tallying a tournament-high score along the way. In the finals, the alliance had to play a tiebreaker match but ultimately came out ahead.
“I am incredibly proud of how the TLDSB teams who competed this year. For our team to be playing at that level was phenomenal. Each match was incredibly strategic and our robot consistently delivered the points we needed to win,” said HHS Robotics teacher, Ian McTavish. “The community mentors, parents/guardians, and corporate sponsors are what makes us successful. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported our team.”
The Hoya Robotics team is made up of 40 students in Grades 9 to 12. 20 students attended the competition. The win earns the team a spot in the world championships, however, due to logistics, they have had to decline the opportunity.
“Our goal is to qualify and compete at the world championships next year,” said McTavish. “The team has actually already started designing our off-season robot so we can develop the skills we need in hopes to compete at that level again next year.”
