Congrats to TechFire for an amazing win at the inaugural MidKnight Mayhem off-season competition held in Plainsboro, NJ.  Team 225 was the 4th seeded team with a 5-2 record during qualification rounds, the 3rd seed alliance captain, and WINNER with 1st pick Team 316, 2nd pick Team 369, and backup robot Team 869 who filled in after 316 broke a wheel.  

This off-season event was great fun for everyone and provided an excellent opportunity for our newest team members to participate in a FRC compeition and allowed our rookies drivers to gain valuable experience at the controls. It was also good fun to see our mentors drive and operate the robot in the "mentors match". The robot remained intact and minimal damage was done ;).

A big thanks to our alliance partners for a great showing and to team 1923, The MidKnight Inventors, for hosting this awesome event! 

Click here to watch all the MidKnight Mayhem Matches courtesty of Team 1676 Pascack Pi-oneers

TechFire was invited to Engineering Night at the York Revolution baseball game where, in conjunction with the Engineering Society of York (TESOY), the team helped spread the word about the importance of STEM education.  Our 2013 bot, Tyrannousaucer Rex, was a big hit, shooting frisbees into the crowd and at the Revs' mascot, a furry blue and green oversized bird named "Downtown".  Attendees enjoyed seeing the bot up close, talking to TechFire students, and learning more about FIRST robotics.  In addition, TechFire student, Cory French, was recognized on the field as one of the recipients of the 2013Kable Scholarship sponsored by the Engineering Society of York.  Congrats Cory and great job 225!

Team 225 did an outstanding job spearheading "FIRST in York", an information session held at the Ralph G. and Madeline B. Swenson Engineering Center at Penn State York. TechFire students explained the progression of FIRST programs to a large group of attendees and enjoyed showing off Tyrannosaucer Rex as well as FTC and FLL bots.  Additionally, FRC Team 4266, "The Colonials" from New Oxford, PA brought their 2013 robot and were happy to have a chance to interact with the teams in the York-Lancaster area.

The event was a huge success and many students and parents have asked for more info on how to get involved with  local FIRST teams. TechFire would like to give a special thanks to Penn State York and Dr. Marshall Coyle, Associate Professor of Engineering at PSU, for hosting this event and helping spread the word about FIRST!

TechFire was invited to show off the robot and talk about FIRST at a recent event at Hempfield High School in Landisville, PA.  The team gave a presentation to the power technology, manufacturing, and drafting/design classes and enjoyed watching the bi-annual battlebot tournament hosted by the school. Students of all ages were excited to see Tyrannosaucer Rex and learn about TechFire and the various FIRST programs.  Well-done 225!

Learn More about FIRST Robotics in the York Area!  See robot demonstrations, talk to FIRST students and mentors, and take away information about how to get involved. This event is for parents, students, teachers, administrators, business leaders, and anyone else interested in getting a first-hand look at the various FIRST programs. See flyer and campus map for details!

What an amazing season! Congrats to the students for making such an awesome robot and thanks to the mentors and parents who helped them.