In mid-November, the Kent Denver Robotics team attended the Berthoud Robotics Tournament in Loveland, which included 26 teams from across Colorado. Kent Denver's squad brought three robots and 13 students, including five middle school students and six first-time robotics students, and was supervised by coach Bryan Rich '06.
After a full day of competition, Kent Denver Robotics finished in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for Driver Skills and in 1st and 2nd place for Programming Skills. Robot 3946W was the highest ranked of the Kent Denver teams in the morning, going for a win loss ratio of 4-1. Team 3946R (composed of KDS middle schoolers) was chosen to the second place alliance and won the tournament in the afternoon. The Kent Denver team took home the tournament’s top honor: The Excellence Award. Top design presentation, high ranking in the morning portion of the tournament, and the skills challenges are the major factors in attaining The Excellence Award.
This tournament marks the first time Kent Denver has won in Programming Skills, Drivers Skills or Excellence as well as the first time the team has brought home more than one trophy at a single event. Team 3946W is currently ranked 14th in the world in programming skills, while Team 3946R (middle school) is ranked 17th. The team is now gearing up for the next tournament in less than two weeks in Arvada. The students hope to improve all three robots and have another strong showing.