Over Winter Break, Bellarmine's Robotics team kept itself quite busy.

On February 13th, four Vex Robotics teams entered the fray at Independence High School, with spectacular results.  Half of the final six teams were Bells, of which two won: Teams 254C and 254D.  The win qualified 254D for World Championships, and gave another boost to 254C, who had already won three previous competitions.  To cap off the day, the tournament coordinators recognized two Bellarmine students (John Mueller '10 and Joseph Vokt '10) for their help in coordinating the event.

The following weekend, the Cheesy Poofs made a strong showing at two different tournaments (on the same day).  Five teams traveled to Ceres, with great success: 254C and 254F finaled, 254B semifinaled, and 254E and 254D made it to quarterfinals.  Way down south, 254A tore up its tournament in San Diego – winning it, seeding first in qualification rounds, and winning both Robot and Programming Skills (like time trials in athletic events).  The team was also asked to speak at the 2010 RAPSA Conference, promoting the importance of Robotics curriculums among high school students.

Closer to home, our FIRST Robotics team finished up its six-week build period, and put the finishing touches on what promises to be a very competitive robot.  At the Cheesy Poofs lab at NASA Ames, many students helped run a two-day scrimmage involving teams from around the Bay Area.  The robot shipped Tuesday to its first competition at the San Jose State Event Center, on March 19^th and 20^th.