GDC Robotics Teams Power Up for Statewide Success!

Two teams of Gawler and District College B-12 Robotics Club members recently took on SA Power Networks’ inaugural “Power Up!” competition — a brand-new statewide showdown of coding, creativity, and cutting-edge robotics.

Facing off against schools from across South Australia, our students put their problem-solving and programming skills to the ultimate test through a series of high-pressure, high-tech challenges.

The standout favourite of the day? A robot obstacle course featuring none other than “Spot” — a $40,000 state-of-the-art robot dog! Teams had to navigate Spot through a maze of obstacles in the fastest time possible. Our Year 10 team, “It’s Free Real Estate!” (Kayne Riley, James Fischer, Shayden Lee and Fletcher Deakes), absolutely smashed it — clocking in the fastest time of the entire event! Hot on their heels was the Year 11 crew, “The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!” (Seth Nemeth, Mitchell Todman, Rhylee Rygucki and Nikki May), who impressed with their speed and precision.

Beyond the obstacle course, students tackled tasks like tracking a virtual person online, solving a simulated energy crisis, and debugging an AI’s code — each challenge testing a different mix of logic, creativity, and collaboration.

Judges were blown away by the GDC teams’ ability to think outside the box and devise solutions no one else had attempted. Their teamwork shone brightest, though — earning “It’s Free Real Estate!” the prestigious Best Teamwork Trophy