Whitby Collegiate Students Finish Fourth in the World at VEX Robotics Championship in the United States
Four of our students recently represented New Zealand at the VEX World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, competing at the America's Centre alongside 832 teams from 60 countries across 414 Middle School and 418 Elementary School divisions.
Max Tai (Year 10), Hardy Hilbron (Year 8), Yiqi Liang (Year 8), Wui Sing Jaden Wang (Year 7).
The results were outstanding. Max Tai's team qualified fourth in their division and advanced to the division playoffs, where they partnered with a team from China to defeat the two top-seeded teams and claim the division title. They went on to finish fourth in the world in the grand finals, held at the Dome.
Hardy Hilbron and Yiqi Liang's team also reached the playoffs, finishing sixth in their division. Wui Sing Jaden Wong's team placed 25th out of 83 teams in an exceptionally competitive field.
Throughout the competition, our students demonstrated a high standard of skill across coding, robotics, and problem-solving, and were recognised by fellow competitors and officials alike for their sportsmanship and conduct. They represented New Zealand with distinction.
The VEX Robotics Competition challenges students to design, build, programme, and operate robots to compete at tournaments, testing skills across coding, engineering, and problem-solving under genuine competition pressure. Throughout the event, all four of our students were recognised by judges, coaches, and fellow competitors for their sportsmanship, professionalism, and positive representation of New Zealand.
What Max, Hardy, Yiqi, and Wui Sing Jaden achieved in St. Louis is a reflection of what Whitby Collegiate works to build in every student: the resilience to compete at the highest level, the respect to do so with integrity, and the belief that hard work and dedication can bring great results. Their achievement is an inspiration to every student at the school, and a reminder that the work done in classrooms and beyond the gates of Whitby Collegiate has the potential to make an impact anywhere in the world.
