The Robohawks Ready to Bring It All Home

An unprecedented number of student-driven teams will converge in St. Louis Wednesday through Saturday for the world's largest science and technology competition, which will award nearly $15 million in scholarships. It will be the first time the event's organizers—FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) nonprofit organization—will host the international competition in St. Louis.

FIRST activities will be held at various times at the Edward Jones Dome at America's Center. Events scheduled Thursday through Saturday are free and open to the public.

The FIRST Championship combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources and time limits, teams build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. 

Nearly 11,000 young American and international students, who have worked alongside more than 90,000 coaches, mentors and volunteers, have earned the right to compete at this championship. 

The Hazelwood Central Robohawks are looking to write the perfect ending to an amazing season this weekend as they compete for FIRST at the Edward Jones Dome.

The for the first time on March 19. The victory left them with a sense of confidence and relief they've kept heading into this weekend.

“It was really exciting winning the regional,” junior Luther Banner, one of the Robohawks three team captains, said. “It was a relief getting over that hump. My first two years on the team we were so close, and now that we’ve finally gotten a taste of that success, we’re hungry for the whole thing.”

Banner joined the team his freshman year when his physics teacher, Cathy Sylve, convinced him to give it a shot after he was done with football for the year. She just so happened to be the founder and school sponsor of the team at the time.

“When I joined, I didn’t really know what I was getting into,” Banner said. “Once you dib and dab through it, you see the whole point. I started to see what we could build together, and the sense of pride you feel when you finally have the finished product in your hands is amazing.”

Sylve started the team in 2007 after she had worked with a group of students on building a robot for Science Olympiad. She had such a great time she bought a kit of her own, and approached Frank Smith, the Hazelwood Central principal at the time, on the idea of forming a team.

“It was just so much fun, and the kids really enjoyed working on these robots,” Sylve said. “It just kind of snowballed from there.”

Thanks to the donations of parents and school boosters, the team first competed during the 2007 school year, winning the Rookie All Star award that year and getting an automatic bid to the national championship. That was the team’s first and only trip to the national championship until this year.

“The teams I’ve been on the previous two years were both great, but we just kept coming up short,” Banner said. “Our team this year, we’ve had a great sense of confidence that’s really helped us compete.”

The team met after school from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. for six weeks prior to the regional championship putting together the robot. Seven mentors guided the team of 21 students as they worked on designing, programming and building their robot. They were even willing to sacrifice their weekends to finish the job, putting in up to eight hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

“These kids are so amazing, and seeing what they can do given the proper tools and a little direction is mind-blowing,” Sylve said. “We have athletes, band kids, student council kids, engineers and even kids in our special education programs all coming together to do something amazing.”

Sylve retired from teaching at the end of the 2009-2010 school year, and Katie Allen, a math teacher at Hazelwood Central, has taken over as the school sponsor. This is her second year with the team, and she has enjoyed every minute of it.

“This is a very worthwhile cause, and it’s just so much fun building robots!” Allen said. “FIRST is a fantastic group for getting these kids involved in engineering. Dean Kamen (founder of FIRST and inventor of the Segway) put it best at the regional championship when he said, ‘This is the only sport where everyone can go pro.’”

As for this weekend, Banner wants his team to stay focused and confident. The team members have come a long way this year, and he wants them to remember that while they’re on the floor at the Edward Jones Dome.

“We’ve just got to play the game,” Banner said. “We’ve accomplished a lot, and no matter what happens, we’re going to be proud of this year.”