Sultana and El Camino Real Charter High School Robotics Teams Secure Berth in State Championship Competition After Battling 22 Teams in the Inaugural VEX/Project Lead the Way Inland Empire Challenge

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently high school robotics teams from Los Angeles' El Camino Real Charter High School and Hesperia's Sultana High School recently defeated 22 other Southern California robotics teams at the inaugural VEX/Project Lead the Way Inland Empire Challenge. A second team from Sultana High School received the Excellence Award after placing highest in the preliminary round. As a result, all three squads earned guaranteed spots in the Southern California VRC High School State Championship this February, where they will compete to represent the state of California at the World Robotics Championships in Louisville, KY. Verizon FiOS in Southern California underwrote the Oct. 25 robotics tournament, hosted at Martin Luther King High in Riverside.

Fueled by a love for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), 24 of Southern California's most dynamic middle school and high school student robotics teams competed in the inaugural tournament.

"Some of Southern California's brightest students competed in this tournament, and the intense competition revealed that. Without the backing of Verizon FiOS SoCal this regional tournament wouldn't have happened, and Southern California's representation in the State tournament couldn't have been guaranteed," said Mike Martin, Tournament Coordinator and Martin Luther King High School robotics team coach and engineering teacher.

The Southern California division of Project Lead The Way (PLTW) introduced Martin to Verizon FiOS SoCal in order for Martin to secure the funding needed to hold a VEX/PLTW robotics tournament. Project Lead the Way is a not-for-profit organization that facilitates STEM initiatives in public schools.

"Verizon FiOS SoCal is inspired by these robotics students. They thrive on technology and are truly tomorrow's innovators. We were honored to underwrite the cost of the competition, and are proud that we helped ensure Southern Californian's place in the state championship," said Senior Marketing Events Manager for Verizon FiOS SoCal, Collette Combre. Combre, who was on hand to volunteer at the tournament, also formally presented Martin Luther King High with a $5,000 donation from Verizon FiOS SoCal to underwrite the regional tournament.

To view the tournament highlight video and photo albums, click here:  www.FiOSSoCal.com

About the Verizon FiOS SoCal Campaign
A key facet of the FiOS SoCal Campaign is support for local causes. Part of Verizon's philosophy of sharing its success with the communities where its employees live and work. Verizon believes in making a positive impact on the communities it serves. To learn more about Verizon FiOS; discover daily locations of the FiOS SoCal Experience fleet; find ways to support local community causes; and learn how to win custom entertainment experiences, visit www.FiOSSoCal.com. To learn when the team will be in your neighborhood, follow us on Twitter @VerizonCA and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/VerizonCA.

About VEX Robotics
VEX Robotics is a leading provider of educational and competitive robotics products to schools, universities and robotics teams around the world. The company's three product lines, VEX IQ, the VEX Robotics Design System and VEXpro, are backed by 250 man years of experience supporting educational robotics programs and designed to be affordable, accessible and scalable. The company also partners with the non-profit Robotics Education & Competition Foundation to support the world's largest and fastest growing competitive robotics program for elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges around the world. The VEX IQ Challenge, the VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U were designed to give a diverse group of students the chance to celebrate their accomplishments and share their passion for robotics with each other. In 2013-2014, over 10,100 teams from 33 countries have participated in over 750 competitions worldwide.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 103 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries. A Dow 30 company with more than $120 billion in 2013 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 176,900. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDpIFLEPU7I
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141104/156381
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141104/156382

For More Information, contact
Cindy Kosydor, 312-784-1608

SOURCE Verizon FiOS of Southern California

Related Links

http://www.vex.com/