Children and youth compete in the local Robotics Olympiad competition
Hugo participates in the senior category of the local competition of the important World Robot Olympiad competition at the Es Pratet Sports Center. Together with two other teammates, the 14-year-old will face another team in the same category and the winner, both by time and score, will then be able to qualify for the national team to be held in Almeria next September.
“We have to get the maximum number of points in two minutes,” explains Hugo, not losing any detail of the route his robot makes on the table by stacking and moving small Lego pieces.
“I started when I was 10, but I’ve been attending the workshop since I was eight. The competitiveness and being able to be with friends while creating new projects is what I like the most,” says Hugo.
His mother, Verónica, watches him from the stands and does not hesitate to assure that the world of robotics brings great benefits to young people, such as giving them great patience and teaching them to work as a team. “These are kids who develop a lot of patience because it’s very detailed work, many hours and it never goes as expected. “Passion trumps frustration,” he says.
Javier’s two children are part of the Eivissa Educational Robotics Club and it’s “quite an experience”, he says. It also highlights how this activity allows your kids to learn math and even computer or electronic programming. “We signed them up and they loved it. Even though it looks complicated at first glance, you just get into this little world and make montages bit by bit,” he recalls.
The Eivissa Educational Robotics Club has been organizing this event for the seventh year, which is attended by children and young people between the ages of 8 and 19. Spread across six tables and without losing concentration for a second, teams adjust their robots waiting for the moment to compete.
David Solà, trainer and teacher of the Robotics Club, emphasizes that this year 22 teams are competing in all categories and recalls how they were able to participate several times in the Robotics Olympiad in countries such as India or Costa Rica.
“They come here to engage, to learn, because this is educational robotics and it provides the same values as any other sport. Robotics is very beneficial for children because it is like a mixed bag where you can find everything: from mathematics to electricity. They also learn something very important today, like computational thinking,” he says.
Long gone are the days when young people interested in robotics were described with inappropriate words, according to Solà.
“It’s just another hobby,” he concludes.
