Maui Waena and Kalama intermediate schools’ robotics teams earn spots in state tournament

More than a dozen teams competed at the 2023-2024 Maui VEX IQ League tournament for their chance to represent Maui at the state event.

The two highest-scoring robots that earned a spot in the Hawaiʻi State VEX IQ Tournament are:

• Team 10698D from Maui Waena Intermediate School
• Team 43110A from Kalama Intermediate School

The Maui event concluded on Jan. 20. It featured 14 teams from three different schools and a nonprofit community-run team.

Other teams that received awards at the Maui competition included:

• Team 10698C, who received the Design Award
• Team 96784Y, who received the Create Award
• Team 96784Z, who received the Sportsmanship Award
• And Team 10704A, who received the Energy Award

These teams came from across the island, including schools like Kalama Intermediate, Maui Waena Intermediate, and Pukalani Elementary School.

VEX IQ releases a new game every year to keep the competition fresh. The 2023-24 season game is Full Volume where teams attempt to fill containers with cubes to score points. Extra points are generated by placing cubes of the same color in containers or by filling all the containers to the fill lines.

Students between the ages of 8 and 14 competed using robots that were designed, built, and programmed. Since November, intermediate and elementary school teams have competed in qualification matches, leading to the final VEX IQ Maui Tournament.

Despite all that, the teams that gathered Jan. 20 all spent some time mourning Kalama’s late mentor, Debbie Hisashima. “She was an incredibly hard worker and provided endlessly for the members of the program,” was how one parent described her. She was essential to the VEX IQ community and will be remembered for her dedication and care for her students.

Organizers thanked the mentors and students who visited the Maui VEX IQ League. “This event exists to help inspire students across the Maui community to go into STEM careers and to help them develop soft skills in communication and teamwork,” organizers said.

Organizers say they are grateful for the community support and are excited for the 2024-25 season to help inspire more students to pursue their dreams in STEM.

*Editorʻs Note: This story was updated to correct a misspelled name.