The Athenian Robotics Collective came out on top in this year’s FIRST Robotics Competition at the Sacramento UC Davis Regional held March 24-25. It took first place in the overall competition as well as winning the General Motors Industrial Design Award. The Athenian School’s robotic team will now travel to Atlanta to compete in the National Championships at the Georgia Dome.
“We’re going to have a good time,” said Megan Leich, the school’s robotics instructor. “It’s about the experience. The competition is a lot of fun.”
To prepare for the Regional, Athenian students worked throughout a six-week period, which became known as the “build period.” During this process, team members learned the importance of meeting deadlines, brainstorming ideas, and planning out their actions.
“Winning the competition is a true team effort,” said Athenian parent Doris Penico.
Students were assigned different positions: the driver, who is the person responsible for moving the robot; the shooter, who directed the robot’s motion; the strategist, who decides the plan; and the human player, who throws the balls to the robot.
The FIRST Competition required participants to solve problems with a standard “kit of parts.” Bound by a set of rules, students were to construct a robot from the parts they were given.
All of the teams had to build a robot to play a game. The game was a combination of basketball and soccer, with a three-foot diameter goal eight-and-a-half feet off the ground, and move onto the ramp. Teams were judged on their ability to effectively collaborate with one another, design a functional robot, and display a sense of professionalism and maturity.
Monte Vista High School also competed in the competition. Its team successfully made it to the semifinals and finished in third place, said Randy Lam, the school’s robotics teacher.
San Ramon Valley High did not take part in the UC Davis Regional. However, its team did participate in the Portland Regional from March 2-4, and it will also compete in the National Championships in Atlanta.
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