Team 7350 Watt NXT Advances to East Coast Super Regional Championship!

Team 7350, Watt NXT, has advanced to the FTC East Coast Super Regionals again! On Sunday, February 26th, 2017, Watt NXT competed alongside 48 of the best teams from New Jersey at the 2017 FTC New Jersey State Championship and took home the 2nd Place Inspire Award and the 1st Place Connect Award. The team had competed at the 2017 FTC Pennsylvania State Championship in York, Pennsylvania the previous day and had already advanced to the East Coast Super Regionals in Scranton, Pennsylvania! The East Super Regional Championship will be held from March 17-19, 2017.

Watt NXT is a FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team based in Edison, New Jersey. The team consists of fifteen members who are focused on designing, constructing and programming a successful and innovative robot. The team also works towards broadening the reach of FIRST and spreading robotics to communities with limited exposure to robotics. Watt NXT also strives to increase the diversity in FIRST by encompass students from international communities with limited exposure to STEM education and robotics. The team is a firm believer that, in the words of Dean Kamen, “robotics is a sport for the mind”, and the team works closely with the Muscular Dystrophy community to bring students with physical disabilities robotics opportunities. The team is also continuing their multi-year program of increasing diversity in STEM by motivating and inspiring students with physical disabilities.

At the New Jersey State Championship, the team won the Inspire Award, 2nd Place for embodying the challenges of the FTC program and serving as a model FIRST Tech Challenge Team. The judges used match performances, observations made during interviews and in the pit area, the team's Engineering Notebook, and performance on the playing field to come to the decision. Watt NXT also won the Connect Award at the New Jersey State Championship which took place at West-Windsor Plainsboro North High School in Plainsboro, New Jersey. The team was awarded the Connect Award for connecting the dots between community, FIRST, and the business world. The award is given to the team that the judges felt most connected with their local community and the engineering community. The best team is more than the sum of its parts, and recognizes that their schools and communities play an essential part to their success. The recipient of this award is recognized for helping the community understand FIRST, the FIRST Tech Challenge, and the team itself. In addition, the team that wins this award is aggressively seeking engineers and exploring the opportunities available in the world of engineering, science and technology. Watt NXT was also nominated for the Motivate Award because they exemplified the essence of the FIRST Tech Challenge competition through team building, team spirit and exhibited enthusiasm. The team celebrated their team, their individuality and their spirit through team attire, and exhibits their outstanding team spirit. Watt NXT’s enthusiasm and spirit motivates others to embrace the culture of the competition and FIRST. The team has also made a collective effort to make FIRST known throughout their school and community.

At the competition, team member Cassandra Carr was selected as one of the three Dean’s List Finalists from New Jersey and will be traveling to the World Championship in St. Louis in April to compete for the coveted “Dean’s List Winner” title. Member Jack Ryan was also awarded the New Jersey FTC Young Volunteer Award for his service to New Jersey FTC and his volunteering efforts at every NJ FTC event this season and his contribution to the community and other FIRST teams.

Coaches Jim Carr and Dr. Gregory Ryan are very proud of the team's victory. The team has qualified to the FTC East Super Regional for their fourth year in a row and will be competing alongside 72 of the best FTC teams on the East Coast for a chance to compete at the 2017 World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

Individuals and organizations wishing to learn more or to contribute to WATT NXT may contact the team at www.wattnxt.org or email the team at info@wattnxt.org.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to helping young people discover and develop a passion for robotics, science, engineering, technology, and mathematics. This organization consists of more than 130,000 Mentors, Coaches, and Volunteers from more than 80 countries.