photo by: Derek Redd (file)

Members of the Cinnamon Toast Crunchers of Sherrard Middle School compete at the 2025 VEX Robotics “Gateway to the West” tournament this past January at the Highlands Sports Complex.

TRIADELPHIA — Robotics teams from across the nation are busy fabricating robots and strategies for the “Gateway To The West” tournament coming to Ohio County next year, but there are no more spots available.

The third annual “Gateway To The West” competition is set to happen in late January, with middle schools teams competing Jan. 28-29, and high school teams on Jan. 30-31 at The Highlands Event Center.

Registration for the high school teams took place on Oct. 10, and all 80 spots sold out in 54 seconds, according to JoJo Shay, innovation coordinator for Ohio County Schools who organizes the tournament.

In addition, there are about 90 high school teams on the waiting list for the tournament, she added.

Middle school robotics teams registered for the tournament on Oct. 8. That tournament also can host 80 teams, and Shay reported registration is filled.

“It sounds like people want to come here, and that’s great,” she said. “We’re excited that many people want to come our way.”

There are teams representing 16 states, as well as British Columbia and Ontario in Canada, Shay continued. There are teams from as far away as California, and more teams in the tournament this year from Ohio.

“Gateway To The West” will look basically the same this year as in the past two years, with teams competing on raised stages.

“What we strive to do is be very succinct and make sure that people aren’t waiting in lines, and that we are on time,” Shay said. “I think that people have really appreciated that, and that’s probably one of the reasons we are doing so well.

“We have a great team of people who come together to make that happen, and that’s our goal – to have great competition and be as organized as we can be.”

Many of the teams who registered are “repeat teams” who have been to the event before.

“That speaks a lot for our area,” Shay said. “A lot of the feedback we get is that it’s all-inclusive and there are hotels and places to eat, and it’s an easy place to be.”

As for local robotics teams, the teams from Wheeling Park High School have thus far been to three events, while the middle school students have participated in just one tournament.

“It will be exciting to see where they are by the time we get to Gateway,” Shay said.

Proceeds from the tournament go toward funding the Ohio County Schools robotics teams. Last school year, there was enough money to cover the costs of sending three high school teams and two middle school teams to the VEX Robotics Championships, which took place in May in Dallas.