4-H team qualifies for state competition
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on April 6, 2016 1:46 PM
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The 4-H Roto-Raptors robotics team poses for a photo after qualifying for the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) state championship Sunday after winning the Chairman Award at the regional competition.
Members of the Goldsboro 4-H Roto-Raptors robotics team qualified for the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) state championship Sunday after winning the Chairman's Award at the regional competition. The award, presented to the team that "best represents a model for other teams to emulate," is considered the most prestigious award given at FIRST events, and automatically locks in a spot at states for the winner.
The competition involved weeks of building, coding, strategy and marketing. Participating teams were judged both based on the performance of their robot in a challenge game, called FIRST Stronghold, and on the broader involvement their programs had in their respective communities. Teams were further evaluated on everything from marketing to safety precautions, and were required to make a series of presentations.
FIRST Stronghold is a medieval-themed tower defense game in which robots from all teams, working in randomly selected alliances of three, attempt to launch foam "boulders" into the opposing team's castle to score points. To reach the castle, they must be able to get past a variety of defensive obstacles, which are changed and moved between matches.
During the Stronghold game, teams are able to pick some of the obstacles that their opponents will have to tackle. Kristen Alley, who was part of the presentation team, helped scout the other teams.
"You want to know what obstacles the other teams aren't good with, so you can pick those" Alley said. "We had the same obstacle picked against us like six times."
Although the Roto-Raptors started strong, they fell through the rankings by the end of the day. However, they were still awarded the Chairman's award for their strong overall showing and community involvement, which secured them a spot at the state championship. The process, said club leader Anne Finch, has been taxing.
"It's not cheap," Ms. Finch said. "It's thousands of dollars every time we apply for a competition."
To that end, the 4-H club is hoping to gather donations ahead of their journey to Charlotte for States. The team has received a $4000 grant to cover registration fees, If they win there, a trip to Nationals will cost even more, so the financial burden is as real as ever.
The club is also looking to add new adult robotics coaches to its team. In addition to the upper level FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) team, the club has multiple teams for kids of younger ages who are interested in the fundamentals of robotics. To learn more, contact Laura Alley at ljalley@bellsouth.net or stop by the 4-H Club at 208 W. Chestnut St.