This year, the Waialua VEX team participated in the 4th annual Pan Pacific VEX Tournament which took place from December 1-3, 2011 a the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Students from all over Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, China, and Taiwan came to compete in this weekend-long competition. Altogether there were 105 teams competing for a chance to qualify in additional international and national VEX championship tournaments. In the end, it brought together teams from around the world and a number of schools from Hawaii qualified to move on to the championship competition.

The Pan Pacific VEX Tournament was sponsored by the Robotics Organizing Committee, Friends of Hawaii Robotics, University of Hawaii College of Engineering, and the Hawaii Convention Center. Thursday, December 1, served as a preparation day for all teams. Once Friday and Saturday came around, it was down to business for everyone. The second day of the tournament was strictly qualification matches and skills challenges. The final day consisted of qualification and elimination matches and the awards ceremony. Team 359A and 359B both did a tremendous job. Team 359B, in an alliance with 1973D (Mililani High School) and 254B (Bellarmine College Prep), came out as tournament finalists and qualified for the 2012 VEX Robotics Middle and High School World Championship along with the U.S. national VEX Robotics Championship for middle and high school as well. Their friends, Team 359A, were the Robot Skills Winner and the Programming Skills Finalist and qualified for the same championships as well.

All the teams at this event tried their absolute best and worked extremely hard. Some teams came out on the top and others didn’t, but it’s all about the experience and having a good time. As Team 359’s motto states, “It’s not about winning; it’s about teamwork, commitment, and responsibility.” In the end, The Hawaiian Kids ended on a good note. Now that the teams qualified for further events, they are working hard to improve their robots. They are preparing to take on teams from all over the globe and hopefully come home triumphant.