Attended by thousands of fans, families, educators and industry leaders, the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition San Diego Regional (www.sandiegoregional.com) awarded several teams with honors that rewarded design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship and high impact partnerships between schools, businesses and communities. Held at the Valley View Casino Center on March 2nd - 4th, the 56 high school student teams competed to earn a spot at the FIRST Championship held April 25-28, 2012, in St. Louis, Mo.
With the hope of winning one of the several coveted awards, high school students worked with professional mentors to design and build a robot over a six week period that solved a problem using a kit of parts and a standard set of rules. This year’s game, “Rebound Rumble” had robots participating in a basketball style game where teams had two corner and one center goal to throw balls into.
“Each team rose to the challenge through a combination of teamwork, creativity, strategic thinking and gracious professionalism. ” said David Berggren, FIRST Robotics Regional Director for Southern California. “Out of six years of competitions in San Diego, this year we saw the largest turn out to date. The cheering from students, mentors, fans and first time FIRST spectators added to the excitement and fun of the competition and the aisles on the arena floor were filled with people visiting with teams and their robots. With the continued support from the San Diego community, this robotics competition will continue to grow and inspire students to study math, science and engineering.”
Students participating in FIRST are eligible to apply for over $14 million dollars in scholarships from leading universities, colleges and companies. Scholarship announcements are made at the FIRST championship in St. Louis. Since its beginning, FIRST has significantly improved students attitudes towards math, science and teamwork. The student’s interest in pursuing internship and employment opportunities in science and engineering has increased, especially with those companies that participate in the FIRST program.
Winners of the FIRST Robotics 2012 San Diego Regional Awards include:
(**Denotes awards where teams / individuals qualify to participate in the FIRST Championship to be held in St. Louis, MO in April)
Regional Chairman’s Award** (highest award of the competition*) - Team #1538, The Holy Cows, from High Tech High School in Point Loma. This is their 4th year in a row winning this award at the San Diego competition.
Regional Champions** - Team 3255, Super NURDs, from San Pasqual High School, in Escondido; Team 4161, T-Birds, from Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa; Team 3476, Code Orange, from River Springs Charter School and Heritage Christian School in Dana Point.
Engineering Inspiration Award** (second highest award of competition) - Team #1622, Team Spyder, from Poway High School in Poway
Rookie All-Star Award** (highest rookie award) - Team #3965, Sultans, from Santana High School in Santee
Regional Finalists - Team #399, Eagle Robotics, from Lancaster High School in Lancaster; Team #1138, Eagle Engineering, from Chaminage College Preparatory in West Hills; Team #2339, Robolopes, from Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster
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Woodie Flowers Finalist Award - Bill Berggren, with Team #1538, The Holy Cows from High Tech High in Point Loma
Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award - Sandra Hodge, with Team #2599, Full Throttle, from Sweetwater Union High School District
FIRST Dean’s List Finalist Award - Linda Lam, with Team #812, Midnight Mechanics, from The Preuss School in La Jolla; Loren Preciado, with Team #2193, Epic Robotics, from Hilltop High School in Chula Vista
Engineering Excellence - Team 3476, Code Orange, from River Springs Charter School and Heritage Christian School in Dana Point
XEROX Creativity Award - Team #2485, W.A.R Lords, from Francis Parker High School in San Diego
Imagery Award - Team #2839, The Daedalus Project, from Escondido Charter High School in Escondido
Rookie Inspiration Award - Team #4322, Vanguards, from El Modena High School
Website Award - Team #1372, Lambda^3, from Mira Mesa High School in San Diego
Chrysler Team Spirit Award - Team #2102, Team Paradox, from San Dieguito Academy High School in Encinitas
General Motors Industrial Design Award - Team #1661, The Griffitrons, from Buckley High School
Johnson & Johnson Gracious Professionalism Award - Team #599, Robodox, from Granada Hills Charter High School
Coopertition Award - Team #3967, Trojans Robotics Club, from Castle Park High School
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship - Team #3008, The Falcons, from Kalani High School on Oahu
Motorola Quality Award - Team #399, Eagle Robotics, from Lancaster High School in Lancaster
Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control Award - Team #702, Bagel Bytes, from Culver City High School in Culver City
Highest Rookie Seed Award - Team 4161, T-Birds, from Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa
Underwriters Laboratories Industrial Safety Award - Team #1622, Team Spyder, from Poway High School in Poway
Judges’ Awards - Team #1572, Hammer Heads, from Kearny High School in San Diego
*The Chairman’s Award is the most prestigious award of the event and recognizes the team that embodies the goals and purpose of FIRST and best represents a model for other teams to emulate.
**Denotes awards where teams qualify to participate in the FIRST Championship to be held in St. Louis, Mo.
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ABOUT FIRST®
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and more than $15 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC® ) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC® ) for high-school students, FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL® ) for 9 to 14- year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S. and Canada) and Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLLTM) for 6 to 9-year-olds. Gracious ProfessionalismTM is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.
