36 teams of high schoolers compete in robotics competition

A robot battle took over the Arena Building on Saturday in Cape Girardeau as 36 teams of high school students competed in the final of three qualifiers for the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competition state championship.

Construction of the robots begins months in advance for most teams, shortly after they receive a kit containing software, motors, sensors, controllers, gears and other building materials.

Teams compete head-to-head in a 12-by-12-foot enclosed square where they remotely direct their robots to place racquetballs in crates, stack the crates and roll bowling balls into certain areas to earn points. The theme of the match was "Bowled Over."

Competitions like the FIRST Tech Challenge are designed for student teams to develop strategies and build robots based on sound engineering principles, according to the organization that runs the events. Awards are given for points in competition as well as for community outreach, design and other real-world accomplishments. Participation can help earn scholarships for students.

Andrew Margherio, a science teacher at Marion High School in Marion, Ill., brought a 10-member team of students who named themselves the Transistor Titans.

"This is really good for them if they have interest in engineering, and it's firsthand experience," he said.

It was the first time the school sent a team to a robotics competition. Some of his students skipped their lunch to work on their robot leading up to the match to make sure everything was perfect, he said. One of the competition's smallest teams, the three-member Red Hot Techie Peppers from Kansas City, Mo., won two awards and qualified for the state championship. Their coach, Rebecca Kidwell, said this year was the "first foray" for the students.

"I learn a lot, it's fun and, well, it's pretty much just amazing," said Chris Hareth, a junior, while wearing a hat that looked like a chili pepper, as he worked on the team's robot, Hatch.

Local schools that sent teams were Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City, Chaffee, Leopold, Sikeston and Advance.

Interest in robotics for Chaffee is growing every year, said Jaron McMurry, an industrial arts teacher at Chaffee High School. Three teams of between eight and 10 students represented Chaffee, the most representation for any school on the roster.

The teams did well in the competition throughout the day, McMurry said. His students worked on their robots three or four nights per week and played against each other for practice, he said.

All three Chaffee teams were named as finalists or overall winners in several categories of the competition. Cape Girardeau Central High School also received an award for being the team most connected with the local and engineering community.

Cape Girardeau's Cape Tiger Tron team and Chaffee's N.B.I. team qualified during the event to compete in the state championship, set for Feb. 25 in Rolla, Mo.

eragan@semissourian.com

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