By Cynthia Heraud, Event Coordinator/Forsythe Middle Shool PLTW teacher
Skyline High School opened its doors to 42 Michigan High School First Robotics Competition Teams on March 15th-17th. The excitement was evident as teams flooded the school on Friday night to set up their pits and undergo robot inspection. Anticipation filled the hallways as teams helped one another prepare for the competition weekend ahead.
According to First in Michigan, First Robotics Competition is more than just robots: “Geared for high school students, the FIRST Robotics Competition combines the excitement of a varsity sport with the real-world experience of building a robot. The robot is more than a science project. Teams produce a commercial product that is designed, machined, programmed, and marketed to win. Along the way, students sample a variety of STEM fields to see where their true passion lies. Working side-by-side with industry mentors, FIRST gives students on-the-job experience and the chance to build skills not possible in a traditional classroom setting.”
Ann Arbor Public Schools had three teams competing this past weekend. Not only did our three Ann Arbor Public Schools make it to the finals, but so did four other Washtenaw County-based teams. This is how they ranked overall: 3rd – Bellevillains #6615; 5th -Steiner Steel Storm #5067; 7th- Skyline Eagle Evolution #3322; 9th- Pioneer Phi Hi Samurai #1076; 10th- Community Zebrotics #5708; 12th- Greenhills Lawnmowers #5530; 19th- The Byting Irish FGRHS #7660.
Senior Captain of Skyline Team #3322 Eagle Evolution Simran Kheterpal said: “The Ann Arbor event was a great experience for the Skyline team. We ended up as finalists on the 4th-seeded alliance, and we enjoyed getting to play with so many Ann Arbor teams that we have community connections with. Thank you so much to all the volunteers who made this event possible and those who came to watch and support us.”
Skyline Head Coach Laura Schaffer added: “It was an amazing experience for Skyline to host a FIRST in Michigan district event with 42 teams and spectators filling the arena and parking lot. Every match was intense as we cheered on so many of our neighboring teams to strategize, innovate, cooperate, and compete at the highest level. We were so proud of our Skyline Robotics team for their unrelenting fight to the finals. With so many top-ranked teams in our area,I know we will be seeing many of these teams again at the State Championship in April.”
Tom Pachera, the Director of Career and Technology at Ann Arbor Public Schools, was honored that First in Michigan asked AAPS to host this significant competition. Pachera enabled a strong team to pull this event together and worked enthusiastically and endlessly to see its success.
“Mr. Pachera will do anything to support the work of STEM and Robotics in the district because he knows the importance this plays in students’ achievement and future endeavors,” said Cynthia Heraud, the event coordinator of the competition.
George Lancaster, Head Coach of Team #5078 Zebrotics from Community High School commented: “This weekend’s event was a great example of everything that makes FIRST a great experience. I love the collaboration between teams as they support each other; knowing they may be opponents one match and teammates the next makes everyone want to lift up each other. We helped other teams fix wiring problems one minute and then needed help with replacement bearings when ours failed another minute. It was great to see the support for the rookie team from the crowd and other teams as that new team arrived with their robot still in the box and left with it able to compete. Skyline was a great place to hold the event with outstanding facilities in the competition area, pits, and lunchroom.”
Bill Van Loo, Pioneer Team #1076 Pi Hi Sumarai commented: “The level of competition at this weekend’s tournament was fierce, with high schools from Washtenaw County and beyond battling it out Saturday and Sunday. Our team had a great time competing at the tournament. All the volunteers put in a tremendous amount of work, and we appreciate their support!”
The level of gracious professionalism shown by teams was tremendous at this event. A Rookie Team (consisting of one child) came without a working robot, and the teams banded together to help this one-person team get a bot working in no time. This child from team #9672 had a grin on his face all weekend! He was ecstatic when his robot finally could shoot a note (orange ring) to score!
Gail Alpert, the President of First in Michigan, noted: “That’s the magic of a culture of gracious professionalism: compete like crazy on the field and help everyone off the field. Our teams feel it is an honor to help each other grow.”
