Notre Dame VEX IQ Robotics Team Finishes Third in the World

Notre Dame’s VEX IQ robotics team, 3333Q, part of the Bumblebees contingent competing at the world championships in Louisville, Kentucky, this past weekend, is bringing home a well-deserved third-place trophy. Team 3333Q is Maddy Beaudoin (6), Lee Lindsey (5), Myles Hill (5), and David Brouns (5). They joined ten other Bumblebees from Notre Dame’s lower division in Louisville and competed against 15,000 other students from around the world.

“Going into the finals, our team was in 13th place,” said Jerry Palardy, a parent coordinator who traveled with the teams to Louisville. “One of the reasons we were able to move all the way up to 3rd was because we were able to work well with our partner, a team from China.” Many other robots were good by themselves, but the robots didn't always complement each other as well as ours.”   

According to Palardy, the competition at Worlds is big. “It is held in a building the size of Cobo Center,” he said. 

Palardy said it was a great experience for the children. “Not only are they learning about technology and problem solving, but they are also learning real world skills, like working as a team, and cooperating with other teams that often don't speak English. Unlike most sports, in a robotics competition you have to work with other teams that could be from anywhere in the world.”  

Notre Dame’s other Bumblebees teams also fared well at the competition. . .

12th place in the world for programming skills: Team 3333P, The Mechanical Wizards (2nd – 4th Grade): Aaron Palardy, John Milback, Paolo Fregoli, Vlad Lovin, Oliver Kayi, Dylan Davis and Teegan McLeod

3rd highest score in a qualifications match: Team 3333X,- The X Bots (6 and 7th Grade): Charlotte Milback, Giuseppe Fregoli, Justin Davis

About VEX IQ Robotics World Championship: The VEX Robotics World Championship brings together top robotics teams to celebrate their accomplishments and participate with the best teams from around the world. The 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship included top teams from many VEX IQ Challenge events happening in cities around the world from June 2014 to March 2015. Teams played the game Highrise during the 2014-2015 season.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.