|
GHS team wins
FIRST world title
April 21, 2008
Greenville Herald Banner
By Brad Kellar
Herald-Banner Staff
A team of local
high school students - and their robot - are world champions
after winning Saturday's FIRST (For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology) competition in
Atlanta, Ga.
The Robowranglers,
sponsored by Innovation First and L-3 Communications
Integrated Systems, participated in the championship event
at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga, during which there were
340 teams competing, all regional winners and award winners.
The Robowranglers had to come from behind to claim victory
on Saturday, said team member Chris Follett, who was unable
to attend the competition, but kept tabs on the team by
watching the championship on television.
"I was almost
passing out," Follett said of the comeback. "It was a
wild ride the whole way through."
Follett noted
there were 1,500 teams that participated in FIRST
competitions this year across the United States and from
countries around the world.
The Robowranglers
only won three of their first seven matches during the early
part of the weekend, leaving the team seeded 57th out of 86
robots in the Galileo Division.
Still, it is nice
to have friends.
"The number one
seed, the Simbots from Ontario, and our partners from our
regional gold medal performance in St. Louis, the
Thunderchickens from Michigan, used the last pick of the
draft to bring the Robowranglers into the number one
alliance," Follett explained.
There were eight
teams of three robots in the elimination rounds. The
Robowranglers and their alliance went on to win the three
elimination rounds of the Galileo Division by 2-0 shutouts
each, Follett said, to win the gold medal in divisional
play.
The three other
division-winning alliances from the "Curie", "Archimedes"
and "Newton" divisions then met "Galileo" on the center
field at the Georgia Dome, named "Einstein", for one more
round of semi-finals to determine the championship alliance.
After the
Robowranglers and their alliance suffered a loss in the
first semi-final, when the Thunderchicken robot was tipped
over, the Alliance swept the next two contests, winning the
semi-final 2-1, then the final 2-0.
"This is the first
championship won by the Robowranglers since 1993, the second
year of the competition when there were no regional events
but only the championship event," Follett said, thanking the
major sponsors of the Robowranglers, L-3 Communications
Integrated Systems, Greenville High School and Innovation
First, Incorporated, whom Follett said provided the team
with lots of support.
"They gave us a
place to work, and let us use their tools and engineers and
a lot more," Follett said, adding Saturday's victory was
especially sweet for the team's sponsor at the high school.
"Vanessa Pope is
going to retire this year so it is very fitting that she go
out with a championship medal," Follett said.
At the
championship event it was announced there will be a Regional
FIRST Event in Dallas, next year.
"This will be a
great opportunity for local schools to take part and see
what FIRST is all about," Follett said.
|
