|
|
|
Although the robotics season does not get under way for many high school teams until later in January, one area team already knows it is headed to nationals.
For the second consecutive year, the Metro HomeSchool Robotics team ranked among the finalists in the Frontier Trails Regional BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) Competition. This qualifies the team to move onto the National Championship April 13-14 in Orlando, Fla. The team placed third out of 40 teams at the regional competition Dec. 10-11 in Fort Smith, Ark.
In addition to its national qualification, the team received a first place award in Web Page Design; second place for the Founders Award for Creative Design and the Top Gun Award, given to the team that earns the top score in a single round during the competition.
“We are very excited for the team this year. They had a great experience at the regional competition,” said Mark Mohler, Metro HomeSchool parent and volunteer. “They did not place as high as they did last year, but there were a few malfunctions that happened at the end. I think they will do well, however, at nationals.”
BEST is a nonprofit, volunteer organization based at Auburn University in Alabama. BEST features two competitions – a head-to-head robotics contest in which teams compete in three-minute rounds and a BEST Award competition, which recognizes the team that best “embodies the BEST concept.”
Metro HomeSchool Robotics – which includes more than 35 students from Blue Springs, Independence, Grain Valley, Lee’s Summit, Pleasant Hill, Kansas City, Shawnee, Kan., and Overland Park, Kan., was the first team to win the first place BEST Award at the 2010 National Championship. To be eligible for the award, the team had to create a technical notebook, a trade-show display booth, give an oral presentation, demonstrate spirit and sportsmanship during the competition and design and build a robot that could compete.
“It felt very good to qualify for nationals again,” said Trevor Stacy, Metro’s student team leader. “We made a few mistakes, but we were still able to qualify. Now we will be refining our design and getting a lot of driver practice in to be ready for nationals.”
Similar to the FIRST Robotics competition, which begins in January, teams have six weeks to build their robot. It then has to perform a series of tasks in game-like scenarios at both the regional and national competition.
“I have learned a lot about teamwork and leadership by being on the robotics team,” Stacy said.
“We learn to work with other people, and learn how to get things done and done quickly. I feel good about our chances at nationals because we work really well together as a team.”
Although the robotics season does not get under way for many high school teams until later in January, one area team already knows it is headed to nationals.
For the second consecutive year, the Metro HomeSchool Robotics team ranked among the finalists in the Frontier Trails Regional BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) Competition. This qualifies the team to move onto the National Championship April 13-14 in Orlando, Fla. The team placed third out of 40 teams at the regional competition Dec. 10-11 in Fort Smith, Ark.
In addition to its national qualification, the team received a first place award in Web Page Design; second place for the Founders Award for Creative Design and the Top Gun Award, given to the team that earns the top score in a single round during the competition.
“We are very excited for the team this year. They had a great experience at the regional competition,” said Mark Mohler, Metro HomeSchool parent and volunteer. “They did not place as high as they did last year, but there were a few malfunctions that happened at the end. I think they will do well, however, at nationals.”
BEST is a nonprofit, volunteer organization based at Auburn University in Alabama. BEST features two competitions – a head-to-head robotics contest in which teams compete in three-minute rounds and a BEST Award competition, which recognizes the team that best “embodies the BEST concept.”
Metro HomeSchool Robotics – which includes more than 35 students from Blue Springs, Independence, Grain Valley, Lee’s Summit, Pleasant Hill, Kansas City, Shawnee, Kan., and Overland Park, Kan., was the first team to win the first place BEST Award at the 2010 National Championship. To be eligible for the award, the team had to create a technical notebook, a trade-show display booth, give an oral presentation, demonstrate spirit and sportsmanship during the competition and design and build a robot that could compete.
“It felt very good to qualify for nationals again,” said Trevor Stacy, Metro’s student team leader. “We made a few mistakes, but we were still able to qualify. Now we will be refining our design and getting a lot of driver practice in to be ready for nationals.”
Similar to the FIRST Robotics competition, which begins in January, teams have six weeks to build their robot. It then has to perform a series of tasks in game-like scenarios at both the regional and national competition.
“I have learned a lot about teamwork and leadership by being on the robotics team,” Stacy said.
“We learn to work with other people, and learn how to get things done and done quickly. I feel good about our chances at nationals because we work really well together as a team.”
