Granby Memorial Robotics Team Scrimmages at Suffield

The 25 students members and several adult mentors of the Granby Memorial High Grunts could be seen performing mechanical and computer triage on their robot at the Suffield Shakedown, the 11th annual FIRST Robotic Scrimmage at Suffield High School on Saturday.

Indeed, during the first two runs on a modified basketball court, the team had trouble getting the balls that were situated on a ramp.

Once a robot - controlled via joystick by team members behind plexiglass - gets a ball off the ramp, it must shoot the ball through one of several baskets situated on the course.

Anyone who has ever played basketball knows its tough to shoot baskets if you don’t have a ball with which to play. To solve the ramp problem, the Granby robot was built with a steel arm that was designed to tilt the ramp, but the arm wasn’t strong enough and kept bending back while on the court.

But such setbacks are part of the charm and learning process for the kids, who get more out of the competition than just advancing to regionals and nationals.

“We try to have the kids do as much as possible,” said Dan Rethke, a retired Hamilton engineer who has been served as a mentor for the Granby Memorial team for all three years of its existence. “You win when you learn. … We try to teach gracious professionalism.”

The teams are given a kit and a finite amount of time within which to work before the regional competition at the Connecticut Convention Center March 29 - 31. Some 32 teams competed on Saturday as a tuneup for the big event.

Rethke didn't hesitate when asked what the kids get the most out of by learning to design and program their own robot.

“Learning to work together,” Rethke said. “This isn’t like basketball where everyone is assigned to a specific task. We build on the talent you already have in computers, mechanics and software. It’s multitasking.”

Senior team member Rob Flanigan, who recruited several team member, agreed.

“You learn how to work well with others,” Flanigan said. “You learn to think outside the box and how to deal with stressful situations with others.”