The School District 71 Robotics Club has put the Comox Valley on the global robotics map after an impressive performance at the 2025 VEX Robotics World Championships in Texas — the best showing by any Valley team in more than five years.
This year, two teams from the Valley, who had been friendly competitors throughout the season, joined forces and competed together in the high school division of the event. More than 800 teams from around the world in the high school division converged to showcase their technical skills, strategy, and teamwork.
There were 10 divisions in the high school category, each with 80 teams, explains Mikayla Roddam, a teammate and Grade 12 student in SD71. Globally, more than 20,000 teams vie for a coveted spot at worlds, meaning just getting there puts a team in the top 10 per cent worldwide.
Last year, the club competed in the championship, but Roddam says this year was different.
" It was definitely a little bit of a challenge. There was more competition in some ways, but then also there was less because a lot of the really good teams from other schools had also graduated. It just felt like the new beginning of a new kind of season, of the younger kids starting to get better. But I'd say that the challenge of change in our club is going to be apparent this coming year - we had eight students go to worlds this year, and six are graduating."
The two teams that came together for the championship are: 7842F (including team members Zane Radawiec, Benoit Vaillant and Laurian Blatchford) and 7842Z (consisting of team members Roddam, Connor Gallagher, Sebastian Graham, Liam Bugslag and Ira Turner).
Teammate Vaillant credits the success of robotics in the Valley to teachers and mentors.
"It's history - the people who have been supporting us have been supporting us for years. Vancouver Island has been doing robotics for our entire lifetimes. So they've had 17, 18 years to learn how to be good coaches and good mentors, and we've seen incredible talent, even before us ... We have just built up on generational knowledge."
The VEX Robotics World Championships is more than just a tournament for the Valley team members; it’s a celebration of innovation, problem-solving, and global community. Students not only compete but also exchange ideas with peers from around the world.
"We were with a team from Mexico and then we were with a team from Saudi Arabia," says Grade 11 teammate Radawiec.
"We continue to make contact with that team from Kuwait. They post on their social media about a connection with them. We even talk about next year's challenge with them. I don't know any other hobby in high school where you can have conversations online with teams from across the world."
