VEX ROBOTICS TEAM FINISHES JUST SHORT OF WORLD TITLE

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May 24, 2021

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

Notre Dame Middle School team comprised of one eighth grader and two seventh graders ends up in second place at this past weekend's VEX Robotics world championship. 

Notre Dame's VEX Robotics team 3333W, or “Power of the Square,” completed a robotics season for the ages after a full week of competition during the 2021 VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) world championship by finishing just short of winning the entire event. The Notre Dame team, eighth-grader Brooklyn Haddad, and seventh-graders Dino Acciavatti and Kevin Carter, were allied with a team from Singapore for last week's match.

Jerry Palardy, Notre Dame's robotics mentor and coach, who likened the world competition to college basketball's annual championship tournament, said he was super proud of the students' performance given all the pressure in competing against the world's best.

"The VEX Robotics World Championship is kind of like March Madness, except it's in May, the players are robots instead of people, and they are playing a complicated tic-tac-toe game instead of basketball," Palardy said. "To adapt to pandemic restrictions, the event was virtual this year. Each team played on their home field and all the teams in a match were brought together via a live webcast. VEX developed an amazing new virtual system called Live Remote Tournament (LRT) to make it all possible."

Team 3333W advanced to the world championship by winning the Michigan State Championship in March, and before that, winning a local tournament to get into the state finals.

The world championship tourney started early last week with two days of qualification matches where partners and opponents are randomly assigned for each match. Teams are grouped into divisions and then play seven matches within their respective divisions. There were eight divisions in middle school this year. 

"Our team went 7-0 in qualifications, making them the No.-1 seed in their division," Palardy said. "Being the No.-1 seed allowed them to pick their alliance partner for the playoffs, and they chose team 8059D, or “Blank,” from Singapore. The eight alliances from each division advance to the playoffs."

The third day of the world championship began the division playoffs which, like the NCAA March Madness, includes brackets for each division with 64 teams in a "one and done" elimination. Notre Dame's team 3333A swept through their division, moving past teams from China, Russia, Hong Kong, Australia, South Korea, England, Canada and the United States. 

The Notre Dame/Singapore alliance eventually beat the winners from the opposing division and advanced to Saturday's final four where they made quick work of their semifinal opponent, a team from China called "China’s Best," which got them in the finals.

Palardy said Notre Dame/Singapore alliance's final opponent, which was based in Cupertino, California, had ties to Google and Apple and was heavily favored.  

"Our alliance put up a good fight, and almost pulled off an upset, but came up just short," he said.

"Notre Dame has had many great robotics teams over the years," Palardy added. "Some of our high school FIRST robotics teams have placed as high as second in the world before, but this is the first time we've had a VEX Robotics team make it to the finals, make the final four or even win their division. It was a great accomplishment! We had a fantastic group of kids in robotics this year and they really deserve accolades for doing so well."

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

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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. Notre Dame Preparatory School 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 schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools 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 National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.