On the Friday morning of October 7, 2011, the Hawaiian Kids took a short plane ride to Hawaii’s Big Island to participate in the Big Island VEX Robotics Invitational Tournament at Waiakea High School. Thirty-two teams all together from all over the state competed to win a spot in the championship event in Anaheim. Teams 359A and 359B were both among the 32 teams competing.

Once on the Big Island, there was still time to spare before the teams had to check their robots. So the team decided to take a visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Many students have never seen these beautiful sites before so it was something new for most of the team. After that little excursion, it was time to get down to business. Both teams were preparing their robots to pass inspection to be able to compete in the competition. The only thing teams could compete in on the first day was the Skill Challenges. There were a number of skilled robots and drivers so there was some competition for everyone. In the end, Team 359A came in first for both challenges, Robot and Programming skills. Everyone knew they were the team to beat.

All qualification matches took place on the second day of competition. Everyone worked hard to be able to compete in the final matches. Team 359A was very successful for they were ranked number one and one of two of the only undefeated teams in the whole tournament. Team 359B also worked extremely hard. They were ranked number 23 and was the second team that made up the sixth seed alliance. So both Waialua teams competed in the quarter-final matches. By the end of the finals, alliance number one came out victorious. The alliance included Waialua’s own Team 359A, Team 382A from Waiakea Intermediate School, and Team 1841A from Punahou School. All three teams were tournament champions and qualified for championships. Lessons were learned for later tournaments and it was a job well done for everyone.