Van Horn Secondary’s Robotics team, Team 2613, the Protobots, participated in the 2015 Dallas Regionals FIRST Robotics Competition held at the Irving Convention Center on Feb. 26-28.
Van Horn students attending the meet included: Michael Robinson, Brianna Sanchez, Ana Santa Cruz, Kyle Seyffert, Luna Urias and Joseph Vorheis. The coaches for this group are Joy Scott and Adrian Norman.
There were 44 teams participating in the event, including teams from Oklahoma, Colorado and Nevada as well as a number of teams from the Dallas and Houston areas.
In the finals of the event the Van Horn Protobots were chosen by one of the top ranked teams of the events, Team 624, the Cryptonites, from Katy, to be on their alliance for the final matches. The third alliance member was Team 118 the Robonauts from League City. After a hard fought series of matches in the finals, this trio of alliance members were the top point earners in the game of “Recycle Rushâ€.
The champion teams were awarded trophies, medals, banners and the opportunity to participate in the Robotics National Finals in St. Louis on April 22-25.
Each year the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) Foundation sponsors regional events throughout the United States in FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students. Every year the game challenge is different and students have six weeks to design and build a robot capable of participating in the official matches. Each match lasts two minutes and 30 seconds.
Robots must be built according to FIRST Robotics Competition rules and they must undergo many rigorous inspections before being allowed to compete. The emphasis of FIRST is on helping high school students have an authentic experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Problem-solving opportunities abound during the six-weeks build season, as well as during the competition. The FIRST foundation offers numerous scholarships and is working to organize FRC groups in many other countries.
