TAS Hosts 14th Formosa VEX Robotics Competition

At Taipei American School, we were delighted to host the Formosa VEX High Stakes 2024 Competition for the fourteenth year. This tournament welcomed 32 teams from the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.  

Our Tigers in Middle and Upper School competed in challenges of skill and design and achieved remarkable success! Five Upper School teams ranked in the top seven and three Middle School teams placed in the top 15. One particularly thrilling moment came when an alliance of TAS Grade 9 students triumphed over their older TAS peers to be crowned Tournament Champions in a contest that went all the way to the third and final match.

The most prestigious honor, the Excellence Award, was won by TAS Grade 12 Team 4253R, who competed in the final as defending champions. TAS teams also secured the Tournament Championship, Design Award, and Robot Skills Championship, among other accolades. The two-day tournament was a resounding success, showcasing every team’s ingenuity, creativity, and competitive spirit in a positive, exciting, and welcoming environment.

Team robotics offers countless benefits, and competitions like VEX are the pinnacle of this experience. By designing and building robots to tackle challenging scenarios, team robotics provides an outstanding platform for acquiring technical skills and developing strategies for team-based problem-solving. Students with diverse and specialized abilities collaborate on large-scale projects, learning to overcome complex challenges together.

These activities promote exploration, self-advocacy, and, through tournaments, allow students to benchmark their achievements against international competition standards. Regardless of whether they pursue robotics in the future, participants gain invaluable lifelong skills in programming, design, fabrication, and project management.

During the event, the Upper School Gymnasium buzzed with energy, filled with teams, cheering spectators, and the thrilling sounds of competition. Bells rang, buzzers sounded, and play-by-play announcers delivered exciting commentary, filling the entire building with an electric atmosphere. Win or lose, it was a positive and unforgettable experience for all.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made this stellar event such a success. A special thanks goes out to our TAS students, faculty, staff, visiting guest teams, and their dedicated mentors for their hard work and enthusiasm. We look forward to hosting this incredible competition again next year.