On Saturday, December 13, nine members of the Byron-Bergen High School Robotics Team, under the direction of technology teacher Rich Walker, traveled to St. John Fisher College for the Empire NY FTC Finger Lakes Qualifying Tournament. With them was the robot they had constructed and programmed, named “Bee Awesome.”
By the end of the competition, the Byron-Bergen team – Josh Bush, Ben Chaback, Clare Fraser, Matt Hilbert, Dan Jensen, Nick Kelly, Nate McCarthy, Celia Mercovich, and Josh Phelps – had dominated the games and qualified for the Empire NY Regional FTC Championship at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY on Sunday, February 8, 2015.
The “Bee Awesome” team was one of 23 teams competing from Western and Central New York State. The competing teams design, build, program, and drive a robot which must fit inside an 18-cubic-inch box and perform tasks to score points during a two-minute match on a 12-foot-square playing field.
Each team was paired with another, forming an alliance; they then competed in four qualifying matches against two other teams. Byron-Bergen and “Bee Awesome” was one of the four final alliances, partnered with The Harley School and Hornell Central School District. In the semifinals, the “Bee Awesome” team competed in the second match and scored most of the alliance’s points, allowing for wins in two matches. In the finals, the “Bee Awesome” robot competed in both matches, scoring the majority of points and allowing for a clean sweep and the Alliance Championship.
The Byron-Bergen High School Robotics Team is sponsored by Liberty Pumps of Bergen. The team plans to participate in the upcoming annual “Tech Wars” at Genesee Community College. US FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway. The FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is one of four programs of FIRST.
Provided information and photo
