HOISINGTON — On Saturday, Jan. 20, the Hoisington Middle School Robotics team traveled to Garden City to compete in the Turn Up the Volume Tournament with a total of 74 teams.

Under the direction of Mr. Anders, one of Hoisington’s teams, Red Fury, finished in second place, earning them a spot at the state competition. The team scored 73 points.

Four of the six Hoisington teams qualified for the final round of the tournament, which included the top 28 teams. The other Hoisington teams placed third, fourth, 16th, 37th, and 55th. 

The task for the robotics teams was to maneuver their robots through the playing field while picking up small, medium, and large blocks. Forty-two blocks begin on the field in predetermined locations while the remaining 31 blocks are scattered into different locations before each match. Each size of block has its own point value. The blocks are then placed in a basket by the robot, earning the team more points based on the fill level and blocks used to fill the baskets. 

Teams also faced driving and programming challenges at the tournament. These challenges gave teams 60 seconds to score as many points as possible while showcasing their robots’ driving abilities and the teams’ programming skills.