2018 Current Events

Game Description

Today the North Pacific Gyre is also home to what has been called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive island of floating debris, mostly plastic, that the gyre stirs like a giant pot of trashy soup. Though the rubber duckies have helped raise awareness about the gyre, most of what makes up the garbage patch is hardly so cute. Most of it consists of tiny plastic fragments and chemical sludge, but just about anything discarded that floats can be found there.

Further, there is a growing concern that the coral reefs around the globe are in major trouble and may be dying at a faster rate than predicted. The reefs are extremely sensitive to climate change and are struggling. So-called 鈥渂leaching鈥- a consequence of warming water is a major concern. There may be hope in a new project that proposes development of artificial reefs to lure fish and baby coral polyps to new locations. Of particular interest is the use of 3D printers to construct these reefs.
Given this background, BEST Inc. is very concerned about the impact of this pollution and climate change on our ocean and our planet. Further, this seems to be a problem that could easily lend itself to potential solutions through robotic operations. We see a need to evaluate the abilities of robots to work in the ocean environment, within the gyres themselves, to evaluate the pollution, assess effective recovery techniques and streamline the recycling process. Use of robots in the construction of artificial reefs is another area of interest. The 2018 game, Current Events, addresses these issues and will emphasize the multitude of ways engineers and scientists must work together to tackle global problems.

Event Dates

Kickoff:  September 8, 2018 WSU Hughes Metroplex

Practice Day:  October 13, 2018 WSU Heskett Center

Game Day:  October 20, 2018 WSU Charles Koch Arena

Participating Teams (* new teams)

Andover Central High School - Andover, KS

Atchison High School - Atchison, KS

Augusta High School - Augusta, KS

Bishop Carroll High School - Wichita, KS

Bluestem High School - Leon, KS

 Campus High School - Hayseville, KS

Canton-Galva High School - Canton, KS *

Circle High School - Towanda, KS

Council Grove High School - Council Grove, KS

Cunnigham High School - Cunningham, KS

El Dorado High School - El Dorado, KS

Garden City High School - Garden City, KS

 Kansas City Christian School - Prairie Village, KS

Minneapolis JR/SR High School - Minneapolis, KS *

Philadelphia Christian Academy - Park City, KS

Pike Valley High School - Scandia, KS

Robinson Middle School - Wichita, KS

Rock Creek JR/SR High School - St. George, KS

Rose Hill High School - Rose Hill, KS

Salina South High School - Salina, KS

Solomon High School - Solomon, KS

Valley Center High School - Valley Center, KS

Washburn Rural High School - Topeka, KS

Wichita Collegiate School - Wichita, KS

Wichita High School East - Wichita, KS

Wichita Homeschool - Wichita, KS

Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School - Wichita, KS

Wichita Southeast High School - Wichita, KS

Game Day Results

It was Kansas BEST Game Day at Charles Koch Arena on October 20, 2018 with 27 teams and over 525 students competing in the 19th annual Kansas BEST Competition.

These schools are being invited to represent Kansas BEST at the BEST Regional Competition in Ft. Smith Arkansas November 30th- December 1st, 2018


Wichita Homeschool
Philadelphia Christian Academy
Garden City High School
Kapaun Mt Carmel High School
Washburn Rural High School
Salina South High School

BEST Award
This is the most prestigious award presented each year. It is based on the overall evaluation of each team's project engineering notebook, marketing presentation, team exhibit and interview, spirit and sportsmanship, and robot performance.

1st Place BEST:  Wichita Homeschool
2nd Place BEST:  Garden City High School
3rd Place BEST:  Philadelphia Christian Academy

Game Award
This award is presented to the team whose robot wins the game day competitions (places in seeding rounds, and wins the elimination rounds).

1st Place:  Wichita Homeschool
2nd Place:  Washburn Rural High School
3rd Place:  Salina South High School
4th Place:  Valley Center High School

BEST Elements:
Notebook Award
1st Place:  Wichita Homeschool
2nd Place:  Council Grove High School
3rd Place:  Valley Center High School

Presentation Award
1st Place:  Garden City High School
2nd Place:  Rock Creek High School
3rd Place:  Wichita Homeschool

Exhibit Award
1st Place:  Philadelphia Christian Academy
2nd Place:  Wichita Homeschool
3rd Place:  Rose Hill High School

Spirit and Sportsmanship Award
1st Place:  Wichita Homeschool
2nd Place:  Circle High School
3rd Place:  Philadelphia Christian Academy

Kansas BEST also recognized teams with these awards:

WSU Sportsmanship (Voted on by teams)
Philadelphia Christian Academy

Most Robust Robot Design Award (Spirit AeroSystems)
This award is presented to the team whose robot demonstrates excellent reliability and minimum maintenance during the contest.
Wichita Homeschool

Founders Award (Textron Aviation)
This award is presented to the team who demonstrates effective offensive and defensive strategies and shows obvious use of the engineering design process.
Wichita Homeschool

Top Gun Award (Most Points Scored in the Preliminaries)
Wichita Homeschool

Best BEST T-Shirt Award
1st Place:  Augusta High School
2nd Place:  Council Grove High School
3rd Place:  Pike Valley High School