New Hudson Valley Regional FIRST® Robotics Competition Launches at Rockland Community College with Kickoff of 2017 FIRST® Robotics Competition Season
New Engineering Competition Offers Geographically Convenient Option for Hudson Valley High School Students to Design and Build Robots to Compete in Exciting Sports-like Tournament
SUFFERN, NY — January 6, 2017 — As inventor and FIRST® Founder Dean Kamen launched the 2017 FIRST® Robotics Competition season today, FIRST® NYC announced that it is sponsoring the inaugural Hudson Valley Regional FIRST® Robotics Competition, an exciting sports-like tournament with 47 competing high school teams of future technologists and entrepreneurs, to take place from March 24 – 26, 2017, at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York. This exciting event is free and open to the public.
“Because the Hudson Valley Regional (HVR) will be based in the lower-Hudson Valley, we are opening up a new geographically convenient option for students who want another competition venue that sits between FIRST® NYC and FIRST® Tech Valley, located further north in the Capitol District,” said Pat Daly, Regional Director, FIRST® NYC.
Each year’s FIRST® Robotics Competition is designed around a particular theme challenge. At today’s internationally broadcast kickoff from FIRST® headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire, teams participating in the new HVR competition gathered at New Rochelle High School to watch the live broadcast where they were shown the FIRST® STEAMWORKS℠ game field and challenge details for the first time. At the kickoff, each team received a Kit of Parts made up of motors, batteries, control system components, construction materials, and a mix of additional automation components – with limited instructions. Working with adult Mentors, students have six weeks to design, build, program, and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge. Once these young inventors build a robot, their teams will participate in one or more of the 145 Regional and District events that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students.
“We are particularly excited to cheer on our five hometown teams from Westchester, Putnam and Rockland County,” said Daly. “We hope the competition will spur greater interest from local students in robotics, prompting school systems to incorporate these programs into their after-school activities. Training and experience received by FIRST alumni positions them for careers in science, technology and engineering – all areas critical to the Hudson Valley economy.”
Yonkers High School Mechadogs
Team 5123, the Yonkers High School Mechadogs, formed in 2013, first competed in 2014. The team was founded by physics teacher Adam Thiessen, at the request of several of the school’s students. The team grew rapidly in demand among the student body, annually having more than 70 applicants. With demand evolved an objective and arduous selection process to keep the team at a logistically necessary cap of 37 members. In our third year, calculus teacher Andrea Pannell, joined in to support the team, serving as coach with Mr. Thiessen. The team has won several awards over the 3 seasons it has competed and student member STEM acuity has snowballed as it grows and is passed vertically down to new members. The team participates in numerous outreach activities promoting STEM in the community, and facilitates summer programs in robotics for local youth at the Yonkers Police Athletic League. This past June 2016, the team hosted it’s first invitational, the Hudson Valley Rally. We look forward to the continued growth of the nascent relationship we have developed with other Hudson Valley teams. Our partnerships with local businesses and organizations such as Con Edison, trendGit, and the Yonkers Police Athletics League, and support from YHS PTSA have given the students of YHS an amazing opportunity to explore STEM careers, as a majority of our graduates have chosen further pursuits in this professional arena.
Team 5123, the Yonkers High School Mechadogs, formed in 2013, first competed in 2014. The team was founded by physics teacher Adam Thiessen, at the request of several of the school’s students. The team grew rapidly in demand among the student body, annually having more than 70 applicants. With demand evolved an objective and arduous selection process to keep the team at a logistically necessary cap of 37 members. In our third year, calculus teacher Andrea Pannell, joined in to support the team, serving as coach with Mr. Thiessen. The team has won several awards over the 3 seasons it has competed and student member STEM acuity has snowballed as it grows and is passed vertically down to new members. The team participates in numerous outreach activities promoting STEM in the community, and facilitates summer programs in robotics for local youth at the Yonkers Police Athletic League. This past June 2016, the team hosted it’s first invitational, the Hudson Valley Rally. We look forward to the continued growth of the nascent relationship we have developed with other Hudson Valley teams. Our partnerships with local businesses and organizations such as Con Edison, trendGit, and the Yonkers Police Athletics League, and support from YHS PTSA have given the students of YHS an amazing opportunity to explore STEM careers, as a majority of our graduates have chosen further pursuits in this professional arena.
The community is encouraged to attend this free event. For more information, visit www.nycfirst.org/nycfirst-events/hudson-valley-regional. Parents, prospective mentors and students interested in getting involved or starting a team to compete in 2018, may direct email to: frcteams@firstinspires.or, and visit: http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/start-a-team
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About FIRST®
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, FIRST® designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $30 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST® LEGO® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. for Grades K-4. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST®, go to www.firstinspires.org
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, FIRST® designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $30 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST® LEGO® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. for Grades K-4. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST®, go to www.firstinspires.org
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