By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
For the past few years, Plainwell Robotics Club director Joe Gentile and others associated with the club have been working toward the goal of hosting a tournament.
That goal became a reality on Saturday, Jan. 22, when a total of 27 teams participated in the Inaugural Plainwell Robotics Tournament at the Plainwell High School gymnasium.
Gentile, a retired chemical engineer who has been involved in robotics at Plainwell for the past decade, couldn’t have been happier with the way the day went.
“This was a huge undertaking, with dozens of volunteers giving of their time to make it happen, and I think it went great,” Gentile said. “We heard a lot of comments and compliments from people from other teams. It was a great day.”
Plainwell had a total of eight teams in the tournament, which was a combination of high school and middle school teams. Two of Plainwell’s middle school teams placed fourth and fifth, respectively, after the qualifying matches, and three of the district’s high school teams and two of its middle school teams made it to the quarterfinals of the playoff round.
In addition, the high school team known as “The Riveters” was presented with the Judge’s Award for their outstanding display of teamwork. That team consisted of Olive Justice, Livy Perrin, Sarah Russell and Serafin Taber.
“I’m really proud of all of our kids who participated,” Gentile said. “They represented the club and our community very well. I can’t thank the students and their coaches enough for their dedication, time and effort.”
The Plainwell Robotics Club competes under the umbrella of VEX Robotics, who of two world-wide robotics organizations. In order for an event to be sanctioned by VEX, it must be run by experienced judges and officials.
To make sure Plainwell met that criteria, Tim Hoyt, Jeff Gessner and Jennifer Newberry of the Jenison Robotics Club stepped in to lend a helping hand.
“Over the past few years, we’ve become pretty good friends with the people in the Jenison club,” Gentile said. “They have served as our mentors, advisors and counselors since we began planning this event.
Hoyt served as the head judge, Gessner served as the head official and Newberry provided running assistance throughout the day.
“This tournament really was a team effort,” Gentile said. “We couldn’t have done it without the help of so many people.”
The Plainwell Robotics Club currently has a total of 15 teams: four in high school, seven in middle school and four in one of the elementary schools. And Gentile expects those numbers to grow next year, as the district’s other two elementary schools have also expressed interest in forming teams.
“I’m excited about where our club is and where it’s going,” Gentile said. “For me, robotics isn’t about winning and losing tournaments. It’s about giving these kids the opportunity to solve real-world problems. So as far as I’m concerned, the more kids who participate, the better.”
And while this year’s tournament just took place, Gentile and others with the Plainwell Robotics Club are already thinking about the future.
“We definitely plan for this tournament to be an annual event and we’ve started the initial planning phase for next year,” he said.
