Headed by Michael Roy-DiClemente, the AHS Computer Club is both engaged in competitions and in providing outreach opportunities to youth. Our goal is to provide meaningful technology competitions that engage youth and are financially accessible so that everyone can be involved.
A number of our members mentor elementary school Robotics Clubs. In addition, we run 2 robotics competitions, and are hoping to add a third in the future.
- The York Region VEX Tournament is designed primarily for highschool students, and is an international event run by IFI. It involves a number of programming, design and building challenges all wrapped up in an entertaining and extremely fun game.
- Robofest is designed for elementary AND highschool aged students.
It has both a traditional tournament as well as a non-game project/exhibition component. This second component is especially important in appealing to youth who identify better with technology when it is tied to larger issues (social, environmental, etc).
If you are interested in competing, visit our competition site. For information about Robofest, visit their home page.
- First Lego League is an absolutely wonderful competition aimed at elementary school students.
It provides a socially-oriented project component, and a game component. Unfortuantely, in my opinion the organization running it has a rather bloated registration fee structure.
Registration costs alone run needlessly over $400, then robot and competition elements can add another $600. As our purpose in running events is to reach ALL youth, this competition is not a perfect match for us. The calibre of the event is great however, and if we can find some sponsorship that would make the competition attractive to under-served youth we will consider this as a future event.
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