Hawai`i Hosts Nation's Largest Botball Robotics Tournament

The Governor told the students that by participating in robotics programs, they are learning teamwork and other important skills they will need to be leaders in the world in the years to come.

"Nothing great that's being invented these days is invented by one person," said Governor Lingle. "It's because a team got together and figured it out and that's what this competition is about - bringing everyone's talent together as a team to compete."

This year's competition focused on alternative energy. Each participating team was able to build two robots, which worked together to score by moving game pieces, representing alternative energy sources, such as windmills and biofuels, to other parts of the playing field.

The final results of the Hawai`i Regional Botball Robotics Tournament are as follows:

Overall
1st Hawai`i Preparatory Academy
2nd Hanalani School
3rd Waiakea High School
4th Waiakea Intermediate
5th Academy of the Pacific

Double Elimination
1st Hanalani School
2nd Hawai`i Preparatory Academy
3rd Academy of the Pacific
4th Waiakea Intermediate

Seeding Rounds
1st Hawai`i Preparatory Academy
2nd Hanalani School
3rd Waiakea High School

Documentation Awards
1st Hawai`i Preparatory Academy
2nd Moanalua High School
3rd Hilo High School

Website Challenge
Highlands Intermediate

Other Special Awards

Outstanding Onsite Presentation: Dole Middle School
Spirit of Botball: Wahiawa Intermediate
Most Effective Strategy: Hilo High School
Most Tenacious: Kailua Intermediate
Rookie Team: Castle High School
Most Airborne: Stevenson Middle School
Judges Award: Hawai`i Prepatory Academy
Best Engineering: Hanalani School
Best Programming: Moanalua High (283)
Best Design: Waiakea High School
ACE Award: Highlands Intermediate
Most Promising: Moanalua High School
Best Defense: Kealakehe High School
Imua Award: Olomana School
KISS Award: Kahuku High School
Perseverance Award: Nanakuli High School

In addition to the Hawai`i Regional, tournaments are held in 12 other regions across the United States, as well as in Egypt and Qatar. The Botball season culminates with the 2009 Global Conference on Educational Robotics, July 1-5 in Leesburg, Virginia.

Botball is one of six robotics programs in the ROC (Robotics Organizing Committee), which is active in Hawai`i's public, private and charter schools, at the elementary through high school levels. The other five programs include: FIRST Robotics, FIRST LEGO League, VEX, Underwater ROV and Micro Robotics. Each program is designed to engage students of a particular age and interest.

Robotics participation by Hawai`i students of all ages has grown tremendously in the past two years. In late 2007, Hawai`i schools were host to only 95 teams in some form of robotics programming. Today, there are more than 300 programs thriving in Hawai`i's elementary, middle and high schools.

Robotics is a critical component of the Lingle-Aiona Administration's Hawai`i Innovation Initiative because it engages students in STEM education and fosters students' teamwork, communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will better prepare them to enter the workforce, regardless of what career they choose.

• View a photo gallery from this event.