South Dade High Robotics Team Earns Second Place in Tournament

The South Dade Senior High School Robotics program delivered an impressive performance at a statewide competition over the weekend, earning second place overall.

The school hosted the annual Pirates Pillage, a VEX Robotics tournament that drew 22 teams and their robots from across Florida. Students designed, built, and programmed their own robots to compete in a series of challenges that tested precision, teamwork, and strategy.

This year’s competition centered around a game involving green kickballs, which teams had to collect, move, and score using their robots within a set time limit. The event required students to think critically and adapt on the fly — similar to a sporting event, but with machines responding to code and operator control instead of athletes.

The South Dade Bucs’ robot performed exceptionally well throughout the qualifying rounds, earning high marks for accuracy and speed. The team advanced through elimination matches and ultimately took home second place.

During the final rounds, they partnered with a team from American Heritage, forming an alliance that demonstrated strong communication and cooperative problem-solving.

“This was the biggest event we’ve ever hosted, and I am very proud of our team,” said robotics teacher Shawn Waring. “This is our fourth year hosting the Pirates Pillage, and it was a successful event.”

The competition also gave South Dade’s students valuable experience in leadership, engineering design, and technical troubleshooting — skills they will carry into future tournaments.

The next event hosted by the South Dade robotics program will be the Jingle Box competition on Dec. 13, which will welcome even more teams to the campus. Waring noted that the Bucs’ robotics program continues to grow each year as more students take interest in STEM fields and hands-on learning opportunities.