The Twisted Botz, a local homeschool team, had a successful day of competition during the Battle By the Bay VEX Robotics Tournament held Nov. 17 in Timonium, Md. The team competed with 39 others in the high school division two.

The Botz finished the qualifying matches with a 6-0-0 record, six win points and 283 strength of schedule points, putting the team in second place. The Botz became captain of the number two alliance and chose a team from McLean and one from Callaway, Md., as its partners. Alliance number two defeated alliance number seven in the quarterfinals but lost to alliance six in the semifinals.

Although they did not win the tournament, the Twisted Botz were awarded the Excellence Award for their division. The award is the highest presented in VEX Robotics competition, and is given to a team that exemplifies overall excellence in creating a well-rounded VEX program. It also recognizes a quality robot and a “team committed to quality in everything that they do.”

The Twisted Botz are coach by Jon Thompson of Gloucester, a mechanical engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton. Jeff Miller and Hank Sierk assist Thompson with the coaching duties. The team is sponsored by engineering firms and local businesses, including Peace Frogs, Inc.