Southwest Virginia High School Robotics Team Shines with Solar

Ridgeview High School’s robotics team Squatch Watch from Clintwood, Va., won several awards at their regional FIRST Tech Challenge last December, advancing to the state finals.

The tournament brings together 7th to 12th grade students to construct and program robots to compete against robots built by students from other schools. FIRST participants across the nation can also apply for exclusive scholarships.

Last May, Squatch Watch won a $500 mini-grant from environmental nonprofit organization Appalachian Voices, the publisher of this newspaper, for solar panels to power their robots.

Squatch Watch will be traveling to Richmond in February to compete in the state finals and possibly advance to the East Super-Regional and World Championship.
— Kevin Ridder