Cayman International School topped a field of seven local high schools in the 2023 FIRST Tech Challenge, a robotics competition with a renewable energy theme celebrating achievements of young people in robotics.

CIS edged John Gray High School in the final round to claim the annual Minds Inspired event, which asked teams to consider how technology and innovation can help solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.

“It’s rewarding to see how robotics programmes are growing in schools since we launched the FIRST Tech Challenge in the Cayman Islands five years ago,” said Glenda McTaggart, Dart’s senior manager education programmes, who coordinates Cayman’s participation in the FIRST Tech Challenge and at FIRST Global, the international finale of the robotics season which brings together teams from 180 countries. “Robotics offers so many benefits to kids for their education and future careers,” said McTaggart. “In addition to the technical skills required to design, build, program and operate the robot, it also teaches communication, problem-solving and teamwork.”

There were 112 students participating from two islands, as Cayman Brac's Layman E. Scott High School entered a team for the first time. John Gray High School and Cayman International School both entered a record four teams this year.

In addition to awards for the winning and runner-up alliances, the FIRST Tech Challenge also presents an award for excellence in innovation and engineering design, which was won by CIS. St. Ignatius and Cayman Prep won the Team Spirit Award, and the Inspire Award went to CIS for being a strong ambassador for the programme and an inspiration to other teams. The Judges Choice Award for outstanding effort was given to John Gray High School.

Selection for the national team

Cayman Islands National Robotics team coach Desmond White was watching performances at the FIRST Tech Challenge carefully, as students participating are eligible for the Cayman Islands National Robotics team. Teachers nominate students for selection by an interview panel that includes a mixture of sponsors and engineering professionals.

“The standard of competition is increasing every year,” said White, who was a coach on the team that went to FIRST Global in Geneva last October. “We reuse the kit components every year, so it’s interesting to see how designs evolve to suit the different tasks required by this year’s theme. Half the skill is in programming the robot to complete the autonomous part of the challenge, then it’s down to the operator to navigate the obstacles and other robots in the arena in real time. It’s not an easy feat. I’m impressed by the skill on display today.”

The venue and theme for 2023 FIRST Global Challenge are yet to be announced. Selection for the Cayman Islands National Team will begin in April, with the international tournament taking place in the fall.

3.02MBMemory Usage148msRequest Duration
Joomla! Version5.2.3
PHP Version8.2.27
Identityguest
Response200
Templatemindsinspired
Database
Server
mysql
Version
8.0.40-azure
Collation
utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci
Conn Collation
utf8mb4_general_ci
$_GET
[]
$_POST
[]
$_SESSION
array:1 [ "joomla" => "***redacted***" ]
$_COOKIE
[]
$_SERVER
array:125 [ "PHP_EXTRA_CONFIGURE_ARGS" => "--enable-fpm --with-fpm-user=www-data --with-fpm-group=...
session
array:3 [ "counter" => 1 "timer" => array:3 [ "start" => 1743753977 "last" => 1743753977...
registry
array:3 [ "data" => [] "initialized" => false "separator" => "." ]
user
array:21 [ "id" => 0 "name" => null "username" => null "email" => null "password" => "***r...
  • afterLoad (73.79KB) (1.28ms)
  • afterInitialise (1.1MB) (29.25ms)
  • afterRoute (159KB) (32.9ms)
  • beforeRenderComponent com_content (99.12KB) (3.37ms)
  • Before Access::preloadComponents (all components) (33.33KB) (1.48ms)
  • After Access::preloadComponents (all components) (114.07KB) (1.06ms)
  • Before Access::preloadPermissions (com_content) (1.7KB) (17μs)
  • After Access::preloadPermissions (com_content) (57.26KB) (808μs)
  • Before Access::getAssetRules (id:371 name:com_content.article.125) (1.15KB) (16μs)
  • After Access::getAssetRules (id:371 name:com_content.article.125) (7.38KB) (261μs)
  • afterRenderComponent com_content (361.13KB) (41.33ms)
  • afterDispatch (2.28KB) (251μs)
  • beforeRenderRawModule mod_menu (Main Menu) (358.76KB) (6.14ms)
  • afterRenderRawModule mod_menu (Main Menu) (180.41KB) (5.55ms)
  • beforeRenderModule mod_menu (Main Menu) (704B) (10μs)
  • afterRenderModule mod_menu (Main Menu) (5.12KB) (416μs)
  • beforeRenderRawModule mod_menu (Sub Menu) (800B) (83μs)
  • afterRenderRawModule mod_menu (Sub Menu) (3.86KB) (161μs)
  • beforeRenderModule mod_menu (Sub Menu) (704B) (5μs)
  • afterRenderModule mod_menu (Sub Menu) (2.11KB) (50μs)
  • afterRender (74.61KB) (6.03ms)
  • 1 x afterRenderComponent com_content (361.13KB) (27.93%)
    41.33ms
    1 x afterRoute (159KB) (22.23%)
    32.90ms
    1 x afterInitialise (1.1MB) (19.76%)
    29.25ms
    1 x beforeRenderRawModule mod_menu (Main Menu) (358.76KB) (4.15%)
    6.14ms
    1 x afterRender (74.61KB) (4.07%)
    6.03ms
    1 x afterRenderRawModule mod_menu (Main Menu) (180.41KB) (3.75%)
    5.55ms
    1 x beforeRenderComponent com_content (99.12KB) (2.28%)
    3.37ms
    1 x Before Access::preloadComponents (all components) (33.33KB) (1%)
    1.48ms
    1 x afterLoad (73.79KB) (0.87%)
    1.28ms
    1 x After Access::preloadComponents (all components) (114.07KB) (0.72%)
    1.06ms
    1 x After Access::preloadPermissions (com_content) (57.26KB) (0.55%)
    808μs
    1 x afterRenderModule mod_menu (Main Menu) (5.12KB) (0.28%)
    416μs
    1 x After Access::getAssetRules (id:371 name:com_content.article.125) (7.38KB) (0.18%)
    261μs
    1 x afterDispatch (2.28KB) (0.17%)
    251μs
    1 x afterRenderRawModule mod_menu (Sub Menu) (3.86KB) (0.11%)
    161μs
    1 x beforeRenderRawModule mod_menu (Sub Menu) (800B) (0.06%)
    83μs
    1 x afterRenderModule mod_menu (Sub Menu) (2.11KB) (0.03%)
    50μs
    1 x Before Access::preloadPermissions (com_content) (1.7KB) (0.01%)
    17μs
    1 x Before Access::getAssetRules (id:371 name:com_content.article.125) (1.15KB) (0.01%)
    16μs
    1 x beforeRenderModule mod_menu (Main Menu) (704B) (0.01%)
    10μs
    1 x beforeRenderModule mod_menu (Sub Menu) (704B) (0%)
    5μs
26 statements were executed, 3 of which were duplicates, 23 unique41.39ms442.46KB
  • SELECT `data` FROM `o3mk9_session` WHERE `session_id` = ?565μs17.02KBParams/libraries/vendor/joomla/session/src/Handler/DatabaseHandler.php:250Copy
  • SELECT `session_id` FROM `o3mk9_session` WHERE `session_id` = :session_id LIMIT 1314μs16.98KBParams/libraries/src/Session/MetadataManager.php:187Copy
  • INSERT INTO `o3mk9_session` (`session_id`,`guest`,`time`,`userid`,`username`,`client_id`) VALUES (:session_id, :guest, :time, :user_id, :username, :client_id)6.23ms1.66KBParamsCopy
  • SELECT `extension_id` AS `id`,`element` AS `option`,`params`,`enabled` FROM `o3mk9_extensions` WHERE `type` = 'component' AND `state` = 0 AND `enabled` = 1615μs16.84KB/libraries/src/Component/ComponentHelper.php:399Copy
  • SELECT `id`,`rules` FROM `o3mk9_viewlevels`321μs16.44KB/libraries/src/Access/Access.php:955Copy
  • SELECT `b`.`id` FROM `o3mk9_usergroups` AS `a` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_usergroups` AS `b` ON `b`.`lft` <= `a`.`lft` AND `b`.`rgt` >= `a`.`rgt` WHERE `a`.`id` = :guest448μs17.03KBParams/libraries/src/Access/Access.php:868Copy
  • SELECT `folder` AS `type`,`element` AS `name`,`params` AS `params`,`extension_id` AS `id` FROM `o3mk9_extensions` WHERE `enabled` = 1 AND `type` = 'plugin' AND `state` IN (0,1) AND `access` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2) ORDER BY `ordering`906μs19.82KBParams/libraries/src/Plugin/PluginHelper.php:294Copy
  • SELECT `m`.`id`,`m`.`menutype`,`m`.`title`,`m`.`alias`,`m`.`note`,`m`.`link`,`m`.`type`,`m`.`level`,`m`.`language`,`m`.`browserNav`,`m`.`access`,`m`.`params`,`m`.`home`,`m`.`img`,`m`.`template_style_id`,`m`.`component_id`,`m`.`parent_id`,`m`.`path` AS `route`,`e`.`element` AS `component` FROM `o3mk9_menu` AS `m` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_extensions` AS `e` ON `m`.`component_id` = `e`.`extension_id` WHERE ( (`m`.`published` = 1 AND `m`.`parent_id` > 0 AND `m`.`client_id` = 0) AND (`m`.`publish_up` IS NULL OR `m`.`publish_up` <= :currentDate1)) AND (`m`.`publish_down` IS NULL OR `m`.`publish_down` >= :currentDate2) ORDER BY `m`.`lft`1.77ms34.79KBParams/libraries/src/Menu/SiteMenu.php:166Copy
  • SELECT `c`.`id`,`c`.`asset_id`,`c`.`access`,`c`.`alias`,`c`.`checked_out`,`c`.`checked_out_time`,`c`.`created_time`,`c`.`created_user_id`,`c`.`description`,`c`.`extension`,`c`.`hits`,`c`.`language`,`c`.`level`,`c`.`lft`,`c`.`metadata`,`c`.`metadesc`,`c`.`metakey`,`c`.`modified_time`,`c`.`note`,`c`.`params`,`c`.`parent_id`,`c`.`path`,`c`.`published`,`c`.`rgt`,`c`.`title`,`c`.`modified_user_id`,`c`.`version`, CASE WHEN CHAR_LENGTH(`c`.`alias`) != 0 THEN CONCAT_WS(':', `c`.`id`, `c`.`alias`) ELSE `c`.`id` END as `slug` FROM `o3mk9_categories` AS `s` INNER JOIN `o3mk9_categories` AS `c` ON (`s`.`lft` <= `c`.`lft` AND `c`.`lft` < `s`.`rgt`) OR (`c`.`lft` < `s`.`lft` AND `s`.`rgt` < `c`.`rgt`) WHERE (`c`.`extension` = :extension OR `c`.`extension` = 'system') AND `c`.`published` = 1 AND `s`.`id` = :id ORDER BY `c`.`lft`713μs19.2KBParams/libraries/src/Categories/Categories.php:375Copy
  • SELECT `id` FROM `o3mk9_content` WHERE `alias` = :segment AND `catid` = :id547μs17.1KBParams/components/com_content/src/Service/Router.php:263Copy
  • SELECT * FROM `o3mk9_languages` WHERE `published` = 1 ORDER BY `ordering` ASC573μs16.39KB/libraries/src/Language/LanguageHelper.php:177Copy
  • SELECT `id`,`home`,`template`,`s`.`params`,`inheritable`,`parent` FROM `o3mk9_template_styles` AS `s` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_extensions` AS `e` ON `e`.`element` = `s`.`template` AND `e`.`type` = 'template' AND `e`.`client_id` = `s`.`client_id` WHERE `s`.`client_id` = 0 AND `e`.`enabled` = 1526μs16.22KB/administrator/components/com_templates/src/Model/StyleModel.php:775Copy
  • SELECT `id`,`name`,`rules`,`parent_id` FROM `o3mk9_assets` WHERE `name` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2,:preparedArray3,:preparedArray4,:preparedArray5,:preparedArray6,:preparedArray7,:preparedArray8,:preparedArray9,:preparedArray10,:preparedArray11,:preparedArray12,:preparedArray13,:preparedArray14,:preparedArray15,:preparedArray16,:preparedArray17,:preparedArray18,:preparedArray19,:preparedArray20,:preparedArray21,:preparedArray22,:preparedArray23,:preparedArray24,:preparedArray25,:preparedArray26,:preparedArray27,:preparedArray28,:preparedArray29,:preparedArray30,:preparedArray31,:preparedArray32,:preparedArray33,:preparedArray34,:preparedArray35,:preparedArray36,:preparedArray37,:preparedArray38,:preparedArray39,:preparedArray40,:preparedArray41,:preparedArray42,:preparedArray43,:preparedArray44)890μs26.33KBParams/libraries/src/Access/Access.php:357Copy
  • SELECT `id`,`name`,`rules`,`parent_id` FROM `o3mk9_assets` WHERE `name` LIKE :asset OR `name` = :extension OR `parent_id` = 0688μs19.19KBParams/libraries/src/Access/Access.php:301Copy
  • SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `o3mk9_content`1.51ms16.89KB/libraries/vendor/joomla/database/src/Mysql/MysqlDriver.php:442Copy
  • UPDATE `o3mk9_content` SET `hits` = (`hits` + 1) WHERE `id` = '125'7.05ms56BCopy
  • SELECT `a`.`id`,`a`.`asset_id`,`a`.`title`,`a`.`alias`,`a`.`introtext`,`a`.`fulltext`,`a`.`state`,`a`.`catid`,`a`.`created`,`a`.`created_by`,`a`.`created_by_alias`,`a`.`modified`,`a`.`modified_by`,`a`.`checked_out`,`a`.`checked_out_time`,`a`.`publish_up`,`a`.`publish_down`,`a`.`images`,`a`.`urls`,`a`.`attribs`,`a`.`version`,`a`.`ordering`,`a`.`metakey`,`a`.`metadesc`,`a`.`access`,`a`.`hits`,`a`.`metadata`,`a`.`featured`,`a`.`language`,`fp`.`featured_up`,`fp`.`featured_down`,`c`.`title` AS `category_title`,`c`.`alias` AS `category_alias`,`c`.`access` AS `category_access`,`c`.`language` AS `category_language`,`fp`.`ordering`,`u`.`name` AS `author`,`parent`.`title` AS `parent_title`,`parent`.`id` AS `parent_id`,`parent`.`path` AS `parent_route`,`parent`.`alias` AS `parent_alias`,`parent`.`language` AS `parent_language`,ROUND(`v`.`rating_sum` / `v`.`rating_count`, 1) AS `rating`,`v`.`rating_count` AS `rating_count` FROM `o3mk9_content` AS `a` INNER JOIN `o3mk9_categories` AS `c` ON `c`.`id` = `a`.`catid` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_content_frontpage` AS `fp` ON `fp`.`content_id` = `a`.`id` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_users` AS `u` ON `u`.`id` = `a`.`created_by` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_categories` AS `parent` ON `parent`.`id` = `c`.`parent_id` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_content_rating` AS `v` ON `a`.`id` = `v`.`content_id` WHERE ( (`a`.`id` = :pk AND `c`.`published` > 0) AND (`a`.`publish_up` IS NULL OR `a`.`publish_up` <= :publishUp)) AND (`a`.`publish_down` IS NULL OR `a`.`publish_down` >= :publishDown) AND `a`.`state` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2)736μs21.55KBParams/components/com_content/src/Model/ArticleModel.php:215Copy
  • SELECT `c`.`id`,`c`.`asset_id`,`c`.`access`,`c`.`alias`,`c`.`checked_out`,`c`.`checked_out_time`,`c`.`created_time`,`c`.`created_user_id`,`c`.`description`,`c`.`extension`,`c`.`hits`,`c`.`language`,`c`.`level`,`c`.`lft`,`c`.`metadata`,`c`.`metadesc`,`c`.`metakey`,`c`.`modified_time`,`c`.`note`,`c`.`params`,`c`.`parent_id`,`c`.`path`,`c`.`published`,`c`.`rgt`,`c`.`title`,`c`.`modified_user_id`,`c`.`version`, CASE WHEN CHAR_LENGTH(`c`.`alias`) != 0 THEN CONCAT_WS(':', `c`.`id`, `c`.`alias`) ELSE `c`.`id` END as `slug` FROM `o3mk9_categories` AS `s` INNER JOIN `o3mk9_categories` AS `c` ON (`s`.`lft` <= `c`.`lft` AND `c`.`lft` < `s`.`rgt`) OR (`c`.`lft` < `s`.`lft` AND `s`.`rgt` < `c`.`rgt`) WHERE (`c`.`extension` = :extension OR `c`.`extension` = 'system') AND `c`.`access` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2) AND `c`.`published` = 1 AND `s`.`id` = :id ORDER BY `c`.`lft`717μs18.94KBParams/libraries/src/Categories/Categories.php:375Copy
  • SELECT `m`.`tag_id`,`t`.* FROM `o3mk9_contentitem_tag_map` AS `m` INNER JOIN `o3mk9_tags` AS `t` ON `m`.`tag_id` = `t`.`id` WHERE `m`.`type_alias` = :contentType AND `m`.`content_item_id` = :id AND `t`.`published` = 1 AND `t`.`access` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2)643μs18.27KBParams/libraries/src/Helper/TagsHelper.php:388Copy
  • SELECT `c`.`id`,`c`.`asset_id`,`c`.`access`,`c`.`alias`,`c`.`checked_out`,`c`.`checked_out_time`,`c`.`created_time`,`c`.`created_user_id`,`c`.`description`,`c`.`extension`,`c`.`hits`,`c`.`language`,`c`.`level`,`c`.`lft`,`c`.`metadata`,`c`.`metadesc`,`c`.`metakey`,`c`.`modified_time`,`c`.`note`,`c`.`params`,`c`.`parent_id`,`c`.`path`,`c`.`published`,`c`.`rgt`,`c`.`title`,`c`.`modified_user_id`,`c`.`version`, CASE WHEN CHAR_LENGTH(`c`.`alias`) != 0 THEN CONCAT_WS(':', `c`.`id`, `c`.`alias`) ELSE `c`.`id` END as `slug` FROM `o3mk9_categories` AS `s` INNER JOIN `o3mk9_categories` AS `c` ON (`s`.`lft` <= `c`.`lft` AND `c`.`lft` < `s`.`rgt`) OR (`c`.`lft` < `s`.`lft` AND `s`.`rgt` < `c`.`rgt`) WHERE (`c`.`extension` = :extension OR `c`.`extension` = 'system') AND `c`.`access` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2) AND `c`.`published` = 1 AND `s`.`id` = :id ORDER BY `c`.`lft`710μs18.94KBParams/libraries/src/Categories/Categories.php:375Copy
  • SELECT DISTINCT a.id, a.title, a.name, a.checked_out, a.checked_out_time, a.note, a.state, a.access, a.created_time, a.created_user_id, a.ordering, a.language, a.fieldparams, a.params, a.type, a.default_value, a.context, a.group_id, a.label, a.description, a.required, a.only_use_in_subform,l.title AS language_title, l.image AS language_image,uc.name AS editor,ag.title AS access_level,ua.name AS author_name,g.title AS group_title, g.access as group_access, g.state AS group_state, g.note as group_note FROM o3mk9_fields AS a LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_languages` AS l ON l.lang_code = a.language LEFT JOIN o3mk9_users AS uc ON uc.id=a.checked_out LEFT JOIN o3mk9_viewlevels AS ag ON ag.id = a.access LEFT JOIN o3mk9_users AS ua ON ua.id = a.created_user_id LEFT JOIN o3mk9_fields_groups AS g ON g.id = a.group_id LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_fields_categories` AS fc ON fc.field_id = a.id WHERE ( (`a`.`context` = :context AND (`fc`.`category_id` IS NULL OR `fc`.`category_id` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2)) AND `a`.`access` IN (:preparedArray3,:preparedArray4)) AND (`a`.`group_id` = 0 OR `g`.`access` IN (:preparedArray5,:preparedArray6)) AND `a`.`state` = :state) AND (`a`.`group_id` = 0 OR `g`.`state` = :gstate) AND `a`.`only_use_in_subform` = :only_use_in_subform ORDER BY a.ordering ASC726μs20.29KBParams/libraries/src/MVC/Model/BaseDatabaseModel.php:164Copy
  • SELECT `c`.`id`,`c`.`asset_id`,`c`.`access`,`c`.`alias`,`c`.`checked_out`,`c`.`checked_out_time`,`c`.`created_time`,`c`.`created_user_id`,`c`.`description`,`c`.`extension`,`c`.`hits`,`c`.`language`,`c`.`level`,`c`.`lft`,`c`.`metadata`,`c`.`metadesc`,`c`.`metakey`,`c`.`modified_time`,`c`.`note`,`c`.`params`,`c`.`parent_id`,`c`.`path`,`c`.`published`,`c`.`rgt`,`c`.`title`,`c`.`modified_user_id`,`c`.`version`, CASE WHEN CHAR_LENGTH(`c`.`alias`) != 0 THEN CONCAT_WS(':', `c`.`id`, `c`.`alias`) ELSE `c`.`id` END as `slug` FROM `o3mk9_categories` AS `s` INNER JOIN `o3mk9_categories` AS `c` ON (`s`.`lft` <= `c`.`lft` AND `c`.`lft` < `s`.`rgt`) OR (`c`.`lft` < `s`.`lft` AND `s`.`rgt` < `c`.`rgt`) WHERE (`c`.`extension` = :extension OR `c`.`extension` = 'system') AND `c`.`access` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2) AND `c`.`published` = 1 AND `s`.`id` = :id ORDER BY `c`.`lft`5.32ms18.94KBParams/libraries/src/Categories/Categories.php:375Copy
  • SELECT `m`.`id`,`m`.`title`,`m`.`module`,`m`.`position`,`m`.`content`,`m`.`showtitle`,`m`.`params`,`mm`.`menuid` FROM `o3mk9_modules` AS `m` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_modules_menu` AS `mm` ON `mm`.`moduleid` = `m`.`id` LEFT JOIN `o3mk9_extensions` AS `e` ON `e`.`element` = `m`.`module` AND `e`.`client_id` = `m`.`client_id` WHERE ( ( (`m`.`published` = 1 AND `e`.`enabled` = 1 AND `m`.`client_id` = :clientId AND `m`.`access` IN (:preparedArray1,:preparedArray2)) AND (`m`.`publish_up` IS NULL OR `m`.`publish_up` <= :publishUp)) AND (`m`.`publish_down` IS NULL OR `m`.`publish_down` >= :publishDown)) AND (`mm`.`menuid` = :itemId OR `mm`.`menuid` <= 0) ORDER BY `m`.`position`,`m`.`ordering`1.51ms18.34KBParams/libraries/src/Cache/Controller/CallbackController.php:51Copy
  • SELECT SUM(CASE WHEN `a`.`next_execution` <= :now THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS due_count,SUM(CASE WHEN `a`.`locked` IS NULL THEN 0 ELSE 1 END) AS locked_count FROM `o3mk9_scheduler_tasks` AS `a` WHERE `a`.`state` = 1679μs17.1KBParams/administrator/components/com_scheduler/src/Model/TasksModel.php:465Copy
  • SELECT `session_id` FROM `o3mk9_session` WHERE `session_id` = ?524μs16.61KBParams/libraries/vendor/joomla/session/src/Handler/DatabaseHandler.php:277Copy
  • UPDATE `o3mk9_session` SET `data` = ? , `time` = ? WHERE `session_id` = ?6.16ms1.53KBParamsCopy