Southwest High School JROTC VEX Robotics team wins world's largest competition

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The Southwest High School JROTC VEX Robotics team took first place in the National Skills Match Championship, the world's largest robotics competition.

VEX Robotics is a STEM program that Fort Worth ISD describes as a "program that offers students the opportunity to participate in engineering, programming, and team-building activities" and "an essential element of JROTC."

Last year, the Southwest team finished the competition ranked first in Texas and seventh in the nation. They returned to the competition on May 5 this year and beat the former top team from Hawaii in the final match to bring home the gold.

"When students are provided with the tools and these types of STEM activities, the outcomes are almost always amazing. There's nothing more enjoyable than seeing a group of students like our Raiders work hard and achieve great things," said Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) George W. Vinzant, Senior Army Instructor for South High School JROTC.

Teams from over 40 countries across the world took part in the contest. The Fort Worth ISD Board of Education will honor the students at the May 17 board meeting.