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Local robotics teams gear up for season

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Robotics season is under way, and there are a number of local high schools busy building and preparing to enter their creations in a variety of regional competitions leading up to the international world champions at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, April 22-25.

In 2015, the largest-ever FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) season is expected to include nearly 3,000 teams from 19 countries competing in 48 district events, five district championships, and 56 regional events (in the U.S., Canada, Israel, Mexico, and Australia), as well as the FIRST championship.

Teams had just six weeks to build a robot to compete in the game, using a kit of parts provided by FIRST and a standard set of rules. The 2015 game–under the theme Recycle Rush–is played by two alliances of three robots each. Robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter. In keeping with the recycling theme, all game pieces used are reusable or recyclable by teams in their home locations or by FIRST at the end of the season.

Winning the robotics portion is one of three ways teams can advance to the finals.

Teams are comprised of professional mentors and 10 or more student members in grades 9-12. In addition, each FIRST team has one or more sponsors. These include companies, universities, or professional organizations that donate their time, talent, funds, equipment, and much more to the team effort.

Any FIRST Robotics Competition participant is eligible to apply for more than $20 million in scholarships from leading engineering colleges and universities.

One of the other ways to win at a regional competition is to compete for a series of awards honoring accomplishments in areas including engineering, design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship, and high-impact partnerships between schools, businesses, and communities.

Foshay Learning Center in South Los Angeles has a team of 40 and has been part of FIRST since 2001. According to coach Darryl Newhouse, a key part of the competition is to reach out into the broader community and share resources.

The most prestigious award is the Chairman’s Award, explained Jennifer Gertin, co-advisor with David Voracek of the 67-member Lancaster High team, which went in after school during the season to build and learn to operate their robot.

“The Chairman’s Award shows our outreach into the community and to other teams,” explained Guertin.

This award recognizes the team that best represents a model for other teams. Teams receive awards at qualifying and championship tournaments in recognition of their achievements in robot design, creativity, innovation, team performance, outreach, and enthusiasm.

According to FIRST, giving awards for outstanding achievement builds self-esteem in students and is a great way to encourage them to continue pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The highest level of achievement at an FTC competition is the Inspire Award. It incorporates elements of all other award categories and enables the winner to advance to the world championship as well.

Gertin attributes the number of students on their team to the outreach done at local middle schools by members.

Lancaster is also at the center of something Gertin calls the “Robo Prom.”

“So many teams all over the world miss their prom because of the robotics competition, that we started doing the robo prom. We sell about 2,000 tickets and next year want to add to it,” said Guertin. They have a D.J., snacks, a photo booth and next year will use some of the proceeds to establish a scholarship fund for participants.

Like many of the other participating teams, fundraising, fundraising, fundraising is one of the key activities Lancaster High engages in during the year to raise the $5,000 needed to enter each competition and provide transportation and lodging. This year the team, will attend three regional tournaments—Inland Empire, San Diego and Ventura.

Lancaster’s sponsors include the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center / Lockheed Martin / The Boeing Company / Northrop Grumman / Lancaster West Rotary / High Desert Medical Group / Antelope Valley Fair Association / Right Way Driving / Golden State Jet / JT3 / Pacific Coast Powder Coating / Lancaster Sunrise Rotary / Aeroviroment / Rocco’s Honda / AV Board of Trade / Jeffrey H. Stein DDS / Scaled Composites / Theurer Orthodontics / Project Lead The Way / Meece Car Audio / Lancaster High School / and California Cogeneration Council.

The first contest the team will attend is the Inland Empire regional taking place Feb. 26-March 1 in Rancho Mirage. Among the teams Gertin’s group will meet is a group from the Palmdale Aerospace Academy.

The Academy is partnering with sponsors including Northrop Grumman / NASA / Lockheed Martin / Choices in Learning National Foundation / College of the Canyons / Antelope Valley College / AERO Institute / Wells Fargo and the Warnack Foundation.

Three teams from China and one from Germany will also be among the competitors at the Inland regional.

Ventura, a new regional, expects 40 teams including Lancaster High, Antelope Valley High, and West Ranch High in Santa Clarita.

A 2005 Brandeis University evaluation of FIRST participants primarily from urban and low-income schools found that compared to a group of students with similar backgrounds in high school math and science, FRC participants were:

• Nearly twice as likely to major in science or engineering (55 percent vs. 28 percent).

• More than three times as likely to major specifically in engineering (41 percent vs. 13 percent), and they majored in engineering at roughly seven times the average among US college students overall.

• More than twice as likely to expect to have a science or technology-related career after college (45 percent vs. 20 percent).

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