TEAM ‘TORQUE’ STUDENTS TAKE SILVER AT ROBOTICS COMPETITION, AS GHS HEADS TO BARRIE THIS WEEKEND FOR SECOND REGIONALS GO

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST — Team 6864 and “Torque” are back at it in Barrie this weekend with silver medals around their necks and hanging off their robot.

The GHS GryphTech Robotics after school club team navigated their way to silver in North Bay on the weekend.

With only five members facing teams with twice and thrice as many high school student competitors.

“The kids worked hard and joyfully from 10 a.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Sunday night — after months of preparation,” said Bill Bagshaw one of their mentors and transportation co-ordinator.

“We had many system failures and got back up and dusted ourselves off after each one.  Of the 25 high school teams competing, we were very excited to be among the six to take home medals.”

But they won’t be off to the provincials due to the cost this year.

Unless they can raise another $10,000.

Which would make them “over the moon,” said Christie Buckley, one of their adult mentors.

Top, left, mentors Aiden Courville and Emily Steel and students Yvette Smith, Colton Courville, William Ruddel, Kalyn Brown, Gwen Smith  with mentor Bill Bagshaw. PHOTOS GHS

She added they have to compete in at least two regional/district events and score high enough to qualify for provincials.

“We scored high enough in that one event to have been invited to compete at provincials in Mississauga on April 3-5.

But they’ve chosen to end competiton at Barrie and save for the next round, which kicks off next January.

“Maybe we can raise ourselves enough funds that we can accept the invitation all the ways to the World Competition in Texas. Who knows.

And re: North Bay:

🏆 Event Outcome (North Bay)

  • The winning alliance included:
    • Team 4152 – Hoya Robotics (our mentor team – Huntsville High School)
    • Team 6864 – GryphTech Robotics (our team, Gravenhurst High School)
    • Team 1305 – Ice Cubed

📊 Our Team’s Performance (6864)

From the official district breakdown:

  • Total District Points (so far): 28
  • Points from North Bay event:
    • Qualification: 7
    • Alliance selection: 1
    • Playoff performance: 20
  • No awards yet this season

👉 Translation:

  • We had a solid playoff run (20 pts)— that comes from going deep and winning.

📍 Current Ontario District Ranking

  • Rank: 55th out of ~170 teams
  • Total points: 28
  • This is mid-pack after one event
  • Totally normal — many teams jump significantly after their second event

🧭 What This Means

  • Winning alliance = big credibility boost to use to keep the momentum building for next year

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