Twenty-one students from Churchville-Chili Senior High School (CCSH) competed in the 2003 Johnson & Johnson FIRST Robotics Mid-Atlantic Regional competition held in Rutgers, New Jersey. The team placed first in their division. This was the first regional win by this team. The team also received the prestigious Motorola Award for the engineering of their robot.

The team was invited to the national FIRST Robotics competition in Houston, Texas. Due to lack of funds, the team will not be able to attend this competition. Nortel, team sponsor, had to scale back their contributions due to the economic conditions. Lack of time delayed the team from fundraising and seeking additional sponsors. According to Sharon LoBiondo, Career and Technical Education Department liaison, "We are working very hard to secure a corporate sponsor for the 2003-04 school year. We plan to win again!"

As payoff on a bet with the Robotics team, two Churchville-Chili teachers had their heads shaved. Jason Rees and Eric Krysty lost their hair to the team. Rees and Krysty bet team members if they won, the students could shave the teachers' heads.

To contribute to the Robotics team fundraising efforts for future competitions contact Sharon LoBiondo at 293-1800 ext. 2910.