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Ridgeland Robotics Team
Lynne Schneider
Even in a year with the limitations of Covid-19 precautions,
The Ridgeland High School robotics teams managed a
record-breaking season during the 2020-21 school year.
RHS robotics teams have made a name for themselves since
2016, when the robotics program was founded by teacher Bill
Richardson at Old Town Middle School for middle and high
school students. This year, the team managed the impossible,
winning not one but two awards at world competition, an
accomplishment that is practically unheard of at the international
level.
“It’s pretty amazing. We are lucky to get one (award),”
Richardson said, and added that winning two awards is
something that most teams will never see at internationallevel
competition.
Two RHS teams competed this year by invitation at the
Vex World Championships, the 6th year in a row they were
invited to world competition, and 7th year in a row to be state
champions. One team, 7536c, won the Vex World Innovate
Award for the most efficient and effective robot design process.
The other team, 7536R, won the Build Award, based on the
durability of the robot and its reliability on the competition
field.
The RHS team competed on the world stage this year with
over 150 teams from 55 different countries. Because of
Covid-19, all competition was virtual instead of in person,
adding a new difficulty for robotics teams who are accustomed
to traveling to and competing in person. In a normal year,
teams would compete in a skills-based competition and a
head-to-head competition to score as much as possible in a
game that changes every year. While many people may picture
TV shows like “Battle Bots” when they imagine competition,
the games are more like sports, with robots having to manipulate
balls and other objects to score points. Each year the competition
game changes, and Richardson said this year’s game was very
much like “a three-day Tic-Tac-Toe game.” This year, only the
skills-based competition was held because of the limitations of
virtual-only competition, but the Titan team did not let these
limitations slow them down.
A visit to Richardson’s classroom at RHS, which houses the
school’s engineering academy instantly makes the team’s long
legacy of excellence obvious. There are over 150 trophies and
banners from the state, national, and world level of competition
surrounding the classroom, which is full of equipment used to
build robots and houses the gaming area. The robotics teams
are extracurricular, and team members work extremely hard
outside of school to prepare for competition. They can be
found working and practicing most evenings during the week,
on weekends, and even during summer. Building the robots
requires skills in robotics, CAD design, mechanical design,
and other engineering skills that students learn as part of the
engineering academy. Their commitment to the team and
their love of robotics has led to many students finding their
future college and career goals.
“My best captains and leaders are all fully engaged in college,
and most are in engineering-related fields,” Richardson said.
They can be found at colleges all over the country, a fact
Richardson is very proud of. While his wife has told him at
times he is too tough as a coach, his robotics team is very clear
that they have excelled because of his coaching. Richardson
saw another award added to his distinguished career this year
when he was selected as one of the four inductees to the
REC Foundation’s STEM Hall of Fame Inspiration All-Stars,
one of the highest honors in the world or scholastic robotics
competition.
Hometown MADISON • 43