Students put their skills to the test Sunday at the 10th Annual NYC Braille Challenge at the John F. Kennedy Jr. School in Elmhurst, Queens. Low vision and blind students competed in the events. 

“I got to see the braille challenge, and how over the years we’ve been adding more and more,” said student Lucy Ye. She's a 12th grader at Thomson Edison CTE High School, and she's taken part in the competition every year since it started.

“I just love the braille challenge because it’s a literacy competition and I do need to practice that, but it’s also great to have people from all over NYC,” Ye said.

She took a moment to explain one of the speed and accuracy assessments she had to complete.

“These are called book ports and we have an SD card there and it plays the passage and we have to listen and braille the passage as accurately and as fast as possible,” Ye said.

Students who took part in the competition were between ages 6 and 18. Pre-K and kindergarten students took part in the Braille Experience, which consists of activities for learning braille.

The students competing in the Braille Challenge who score high enough will compete in the national competition in Los Angeles.

When it comes to preparation, Gian Pedulla is one of the event's supervisors who plans the event each year and says it's a chance to celebrate braille.

"It's nice to get recognized, to work hard and to achieve and to win," Pedulla  said. "Braille to the blind, it's like print to the sighted.”

Students said the event is also a great way of building community.

"It's always a great experience, it's an amazing event,” Student Milo Sherman said.

"I see my friends. I only see them a few times of year, but we gather at these events,” Ye said.

Students who head to nationals in Los Angeles will be up against students from across the United States, Canada and additional participating countries.