Yantai robotics team earn top honors at the Wuhan VEX IQ Competition

On January 9–10, our middle school robotics team traveled to Wuhan Yangtze International School to participate in the 2026 WYIS VEX IQ Regional Competition. Representing robotics in Yantai, eight middle school teams from Yantai Huasheng competed for invitations to the national competition, showcasing the growing strength of Yantai robotics on a regional stage.

Since the beginning of the school year, all eight teams have invested tremendous time and effort into designing, building, and refining their robots. Students spent countless hours after school and even came to school on Saturdays to work closely with their coach, ensuring their robots could successfully perform the required tasks and achieve competitive scores. This dedication reflects the strong foundation of hands-on STEM learning and robotics education in Yantai.

Throughout the process, teams faced many challenges due to limited engineering experience, including difficulties understanding pneumatic systems and fitting components within strict size constraints. These obstacles provided valuable learning opportunities and helped students develop resilience, problem-solving skills, and engineering confidence.

During the tournament, the teams practiced every night, striving to gain even a single additional point. As a result of their perseverance, six out of the eight teams advanced to the final matches. One all-girls team practiced intensely before the finals and achieved their highest team score. However, when their match began, they realized they had forgotten to attach a crucial component needed to operate their robot’s claw. Although the team was understandably heartbroken, their detailed engineering notebook—containing thorough explanations of their robot design and development process—earned them the Design Award and secured their qualification for the national robotics competition in Shanghai next month.

Overall, our students performed exceptionally well. Our teams received the Teamwork Champion Award (Teamwork First Place), Skills Champion (Individual First Place), Teamwork Second Place, and the Design Award. In addition, a special Mentor of the Year Award was presented to their coach, Mr. Kim. As a result, four middle school teams will advance to the national competition, further strengthening the reputation of Yantai robotics at the national level.

We are proud of our middle school robotics teams and their outstanding achievements, and we wish them continued success as they represent robotics in Yantai at the national competition next month.