Feb. 10th, 2024 – Hailey, Idaho – On Saturday February 10th, the Wood River Middle School 6th and 7th grade robotics team of Noah Nielson, Mason Vanderbeek, Jacob Blacker and coach Jeremy Silvis took first place at the Idaho VEX IQ Robotics Championship held in Rigby Idaho. The WRMS team was ranked in (2nd) second after qualifying matches, and then allianced with a team from Caldwell Idaho to post a high score of 86 points in the Teamwork Challenge Finals match. The team’s score of 86 points was the highest score recorded in Idaho this year. 

This year's robotics challenge is called VEX IQ Full Volume and is played on a 6’x8’ rectangular field and the primary objective of the game is to place blocks into goals. Points are awarded based on the number, type, and height of blocks in each goal. In the Teamwork Challenge, an alliance composed of two (2) robot teams work together to score as many points as possible in a sixty (60) second match 

Jeremy Silvis, Teacher and Robotics Coach from Wood River Middle School says, “This team was extremely consistent all day throughout their qualifying matches, which is not typical in robotics. Everything came together for them in their Finals match when they scored 86 points allianced with a team from Caldwell. I am very proud of what these boys accomplished.” 

The Blaine County School District’s K-12 robotics program (known as BCB Bots), which is taught by Engineering and Design teachers, was the first of its kind in the state and has represented Idaho at the World Robotics Championship many times over the past 15 years.