Kilby Laboratory School Teams Head to VEX Robotics World Competition

Mar. 22, 2024

Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – Three of the robotics teams from Kilby Laboratory School have qualified for the VEX Robotics World Competition, which is slated for April 29 through May 4 in Dallas. Only 13 VEX World slots were available for Alabama, and the Kilby teams earned their berths after winning at the regional competition that took place recently in Auburn.
 
“It is such an amazing accomplishment to receive a bid to the VEX World Robotics Championship for the second year,” said Dr. Eric Kirkman, Director of Kilby Laboratory School. “I feel confident that last year’s experience served as a strong motivator for the returning students. Mrs. (Misty) Buerhaus and her assistants have worked so hard to build the program, and I am so proud of how she and our students go out and represent our school and community with such professionalism and sportsmanship at every competition. The best part is that our teams are still young, which makes the future of our program very bright!”

Buerhaus is the Library Media Specialist at Kilby as well as the primary robotics coach. She will be with the team as they compete against 400 other teams from across the country as well as the globe, including Asia, Africa, Europe, New Zealand, and South America.
 
The VEX Robotics World Championship, presented by the Northrup Grumman Foundation and the REC Foundation, will take place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. The event is expected to bring together the top VEX IQ Robotics Competition, VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U teams from around the globe to celebrate their accomplishments and participate in the 2023-2024 games in order to be crowned champions.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.