Southold Robotics Team Makes Hometown Proud At World Championship

SOUTHOLD, NY — The Southold robotics team made their hometown fiercely proud recently, competing in the FIRST Robotics world competition in Detroit, MI.

Team RICE 870 ended up scoring in the top five percent of the competition, and were semi-finalists, a part of of the Archimedes division, according to co-advisors Christine Schade and Bob Gammon.

"We had a great trip!" Schade said.

It was the second time in two years that the Southold robotics team headed to the world championships.

Schade was brimming with pride as she described the team's success at the SBPLI's Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics competition, held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, which opened the door for the team's trip to Detroit.

The Southold Team RICE 870 soared to a second place finish at the Hofstra competition, which took place in April. And not only did Southold score a stellar second place win, they won a wild card, which allowed them to compete in the World Championships from April 25 to April 28.

"It was a heck of a ride, for sure," Gammon said.

In Detroit, the team finished 20th out of 68 robots in its division, he said, with Southold one of the highest ranked teams from Long Island.

"We were in very good shape until one of the robots on our team broke down; that was the root cause of us not going further in the tournament," he said.

But, reflecting on the students' extraordinary success, Gammon said the experience was "great all around. For a school that graduates 67 or 68 kids a year to be competing against schools that graduate 500 and are sponsored by NASA, to be competitive with them, that was an awesome feeling for them," Gammon said.

And the kids took home not only the thrill of the competition but also, "translatable, real work skills," Gammon said. "Through the course of the competition, there are highs and lows, and the kids have to deal with both ends of the spectrum."

Each student brought home a unique life experience, based on his or her job on the team, Gammon said. For example, he said, the drive team cultivates negotiation skills; the team consists of four people, one of whom is called a "coach. We believe students should be involved so we don't have adults in those coaching positions. Students are learning how to deal with adults in competitive situations — when to be forceful and when to go with the flow."

The kids, Gammon said, "build a ton of self-confidence by the time it's all over. The robot is just a small part of the whole program."

Both Gammon and Schade said they are "incredibly proud of the way the students handled themselves on a world stage." Gammon added it was a thrill to see a Southold student standing before a crowd of 40,000, microphone in hand. "We have nothing but praise," he said.

And, Gammon said, they rocked the event, competing against 400 other teams and ending up in the top five percent.

In the months before the event, the students worked tirelessly on their robot, "Clank."

The robot, Schade said, was based on an arcade game. The name of this year's game was FIRST Power Up; the game includes two alliances of video game characters and human operators who are trapped in an arcade game, Schade said.

The goal of the game was to defeat the boss to escape; the robots did so by controlling switches and scales, earning power ups and ultimately, climbing the scale in the middle of the field. Each match was two and a half minutes long, Schade explained.

Asked how she felt about the students' tremendous success, Schade said she Gammon, who have been working with the team for four years, couldn't be more proud. She said the goal of both she and Gammon, along with a core group of dedicated mentors, including her husband Tom Schade, Eddie Chilton and Board of Education member Judi Fouchet, have been to teach the students "how to be patient — that truly hard work pays off. This is exactly why we want our kids to learn. For these kids to reap the rewards from their hard work is so incredibly gratifying. It's indescribable," she said.

Of the four years that she and Gammon have been co-chairs, the team has gone to world championships twice, an achievement that's made them both "happy and proud."

Also, during the past three years, Greenport students have also been invited to join the team. Currently, Schade said, there are 16 Southold students and 10 Greenport students on the team. "We have a great group," Schade said. "We're small, but we went to these competitions and encountered some diversity but they just persisted and got the job done — and it's just incredible."

Gammon added: "They're one harmonious team. The kids all interact," he said. "It's one big family."

The team has soared to success with the support of a proud community giving them wings, Schade said, also sending out a huge "thank you" to the many who stepped forward to help the kids compete for glory.

"We went to this competition and somebody stopped us and said, 'Your community must really love you kids, because you have such a long list of sponsors,'" Schade said.

While some teams at the competitions have one large, high profile sponsor such as Xerox, Southold's sponsors is a mighty list of local businesses who have pooled their resources to give the kids all the help they need to compete on the international canvas.

"We could not compete on the level that do without the support of the community, which is so very generous," Gammon said. "The support is just absolutely incredible."

Of the outpouring of small town support, Schade said, "It's very heartwarming. We are always in the July 4 parade and the reception we get — you need to be on the float to feel the love that the community feels for this group of kids. It's wonderful."

When word spread on social media about the team's success after the Hofstra competition, friends, family and supporters excitedly planned to meet the bus on its way home; the escort met the kids in the parking lot, to happy applause.

The team has had much to celebrate: Not only did they win the chance to compete in the world championships at the Hofstra event, but they won the "Gracious Professionalism Award," Schade said. "It's something we're equally proud of because it says a lot about the kids — what it's all about, and why we do, what we do."

And, as well as the wild card to the World Championships in Detroit, the team was awarded the Zebra Technologies Holtsville FIRST Championship Award, which covered the students' entry fees to the championship event in Detroit — Schade also sent out thanks for that support.

Southold and Greenport Schools Superintendent David Gamberg was thrilled by the team's success. "We are so proud of the students staff and families who all collaborate to make our robotics program so successful. This program is the epitome of authentic learning that brings together the arts and sciences in a meaningful and thoughtful experience."

Fouchet said, as the business mentor for the team, seeing the students blossom is an extraordinary experience. "Watching all of the pieces come together — fundraising, designing and building the robot, developing game strategy, practicing for competition and scouting other teams — is always amazing. When it results in a dedicated group of students bringing home a 11 - 0 record in qualifiers and playing in finals at the regional and receiving the Gracious Professional Award, it's phenomenal," she said.

Fouchet added that opportunity to continue onto the World Arena was something the entire team deserved.

Patch courtesy photos.