The four-year old FIRST Robotics Team 3044 from Ballston Spa High School recognized that it was up against some seasoned, mature, and experienced teams at the March 8 – 10 Finger Lakes FIRST Robotics Regional Competition.  An annual competition, this year’s game, Rebound Rumble, was a variation on basketball with some interesting twists.  The previous year, the team had done well and was chosen to participate in the quarter-finals.  If that performance could at least be matched, everyone would go home happy.  But that was not the case; the team and its robot actually performed better than expected, placing 14th out of 41 teams at the end of the qualifying matches.  The golden moment came along, however, when the team was selected to join two teams in the final match of the competition, which resulted in 2nd place for that alliance.  “We are a young team that has really developed,” observed Team Advisor, Teacher Greg Roberts, “and other teams are recognizing that growth and our strength when we get to competitions.”

Competing in the finals was the furthest thing from the minds of team members and mentors during the first day as they watched the robot’s turret get knocked off during a robust qualifying match and ball bearings, that were part of a sophisticated rotation mechanism, rolled all over the field. But the ability to work through tough situations with limited resources and time is something the team gets great practice at doing during the six weeks allotted to build the robot.  That practice came in handy and the robot, named Oxsanity (based on the team’s mascot, an ox), was carried off to the pit crew for emergency repairs and was back on the playing field in record time.  “Our teamwork was better than ever this year,” commented senior Jeff Carminati, “We had a catastrophic event but were able to fix it quickly and not miss our next match.”

Although the robot had the capability to shoot baskets, its real strength was its ability to balance on a slippery bridge in the center of the field – a high-scoring attribute in the 2012 robot challenge.  While other robots could not climb on to the bridge or slid off if they did make it, Oxsanity balanced well because of its strong drive train design, shape of its chassis, and low center of gravity.  In fact, Oxsanity earned the most bridge points of all of the 41 teams competing in the event.

One highlight of the FIRST program is the way team members learn how to work with each other and with members of other teams.  At competitions, teams are encouraged to meet other teams.  “Having opportunities to meet new people and new teams is a lot of fun,” said Danny Lehane, a sophomore on Team 3044.  Teams are encouraged to support their “rivals” through a spirit of “coopertition,” a term coined by FIRST to indicate cooperative competition.  This was very evident in Rochester as the teams from the Capital Region supported each other.  Besides Ballston Spa’s Team 3044, the Capital Region was represented by Team 250 from Colonie, Team 3687 from Schenectady, and Team 4203 from Oneonta.

Building a robot and competing is an expensive undertaking and most teams seek funding from businesses in their local communities.  Team 3044 is grateful for the very generous and consistent support it has received from Ballston Spa National Bank, Ballston Spa Education Foundation, Ballston Spa Central Schools, and many other corporate sponsors.

About FIRST Robotics:  Founded by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was created to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology.  The FIRST Robotics Competition is an annual competition that helps students discover the rewards and excitement of science, engineering, and technology.  Working with mentors, students have just six weeks to design, build, and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge.  Once these young inventors create the robot, their teams participate in Regional competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaborations, and the determination of students.  The 2012 season is expected to include 2,300 teams competing in fifty-two Regional events, fourteen District Competitions; one state championship; one region championship; and the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, on April 25-28.  Participants are eligible to receive nearly $14 million in scholarships from some of the finest science and engineering schools in the country.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment 2012 Rebound Rumble Game Posted on January 31, 2012 by JSTERN The Rebound RumbleSM robotics game is played between two Alliances of three teams each. Each Alliance competes by trying to score as many of the basketballs in the hoops as possible during the 2-minute and 15-second match. Balls scored in higher hoops score Alliances more points. Alliances are awarded bonus points if they are balanced on bridges at the end of the match. In matches where opponent Alliances work together to balance on the white bridge, all participating teams earn additional valuable seeding points. Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment The Edge Rock Climbing Experience Posted on December 27, 2011 by JSTERN This gallery contains 9 photos.                  The Edge is a brand new indoor rock climbing facility in Halfmoon (1544 Rte 9, Halfmoon) that not only serves as a good way to get over that fear of heights, but also to build the trust from … Continue reading → More Galleries | Leave a comment First Place at the Capital Region Nanotechnology Showcase & Contest! Posted on December 13, 2011 by Katy Martino On November 19th 2011 the Ballston Spa High School’s Robotic’s Team 3044 attended the Capital Region Nanotechnology Showcase & Contest at CNSE in Albany, NY.  WE WON FIRST PLACE! Congratulations to Team 3044!! Way to go!!! Click on the picture below to see the article posted on Ballston Spa’s High School website.   Look Here For The Saratoga Today Article Turn to Page 14 If you have made it this far you will want to see this!   Posted in Competition News, Weekly Updates | Leave a comment FLL Exhibition! Posted on December 13, 2011 by Katy Martino Ballston Spa’s High School Robotics Team 3044 had the opportunity to host the First Lego League robotics competition! Local robotics teams from the elementary schools in our district, gathered at the Milton Terrace North cafetorium to combine brains, test out their NXT Robots and work out the kinks for their anticipated competition that was held on December 10th. Teams performed a skit and did practice missions during 3 minute duels! Read more: Here And Here     Posted in Competition News | Leave a comment ← Older posts