One of the high school robotics teams we are sponsoring this year for FIRST just shared some exciting news with us — and we want to spread the word on the web! Our group of Heritage High robot-makers extraordinaire — team name: The Patriots — took home the Inspire Award for best overall team at a FIRST Tech Challenge regional qualifier this past weekend. Awesome job!
The trophy means this group of students had the most well-rounded team out of the few-dozen that competed in the competition. Their coach and robotics teacher Robert Pardi told us the Inspire Award is the top prize at regionals. Why did they win? Pardi said the students were recognized for their up-to-date journal of robot building, plans and strategies. The students also stay engaged in the local community, he said. All those things contributed to the prize.
"It was phenomenal," said Pardi of the honor. "It's confirmation that we're on the right track."
The recognition has boosted the students' resolve, he added. Now they're all fired up about the next big contest — the Northern California Robotics Championship coming up on March 4. Seeing other high school teams in action gave Pardi's students a better idea of how to strategize, so they can go into the next championship with renewed confidence and a fine-tuned approach.
“They were literally jumping for joy — they couldn’t believe it," said Pardi about his students' reaction to the news. "We thought we’d walk away with one award, but now they’re blown away that they got the top prize. It's great. This ranks us as one of the top teams in California."
If the team fares well at the March event, they'll get to go to the final championship in St. Louis, Missouri. So the stakes are high!
From all of us here at Bishop-Wisecarver, a big congratulations to students Zach Crosley, Michael Kintscher, Holly Kraeber, Brittany Kintscher, Joseph Cliscagne and Jacob Olsen for their exceptional work this week! For more details about the upcoming competition, check out www.norcalftc.org.
