Saratoga County 4-H Robotics Program captures FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifier
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » The Saratoga County 4-H Robotics Program claimed the title at the recent FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Qualifier.
The Saratoga County 4-H Robovines FTC 6955, team made up of youth from across Saratoga County, showcased their robotics knowledge and skills at the qualifier held recently at Corning-Painted Post High School. For their efforts, the team set the mark with the top score in New York state this year. The Robovines team is now qualified for the FTC Regionals at Mohawk Community College on March 6.
The team earned second place Motivate, third place Control, and second place Innovate distinctions. The team was also acknowledged with the Inspire Award, a judged award given to the team that best embodies the ‘challenge’ of the FIRST Tech Challenge program. The team that receives this award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and a role model FIRST team. This team is a top contender for many other judged awards and is a gracious competitor.
The Inspire Award winner is an inspiration to other Teams, acting with Gracious Professionalism® both on and off the Playing Field. This team shares their experiences, enthusiasm and knowledge with other team, sponsors, their community, and the judges. Working as a unit, this team will have shown success in performing the task of designing and building a robot.
The final part of the qualifier competition involved two teams making up an alliance to compete together against a second alliance. The grouping paired the Robovines with Mechanical Meltdown, a team of youths from Central New York. The alliance won both the semifinals and finals to win the overall Robot Game. The alliance currently has five out of the top ten scores in New York state.
“What an amazing day for an amazing group of kids,” Robovines FTC 6955 Coach Lisa Russell said. “It was very exciting to see all of their hard work pay off at this competition. I look forward to where the youth will take this moving forward. We thank Saratoga County 4-H for this opportunity.”
4-H Youth Development actively involves youth in opportunities that help them learn to lead, build their communities, connect with Cornell University, and connect with each other.
For more information about the 4-H Youth Development of Saratoga County and its Robotics Program contact the Saratoga County 4-H Office at (518) 885-8995 or visit www.ccesaratoga.org.