In appreciation for the use of practice space, TechFire visited Tekgard, Inc and gave a presentation, demo, and photo plaque to recognize the support this local engineering company has shown to our team. Tekgard employees enjoyed learning about the FIRST program and watching Phoenix in action. Great job, 225!
|
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 STEAM education. Attendees enjoyed seeing the bot up close, talking to TechFire students, and learning more about FIRST robotics. Nice work, 225! TechFire had a great time celebrating the end of the most successful FRC season in the history of our team. Good food and crazy games were preceded by a special presentation to our graduating seniors. A big thanks to the parents and mentors who helped organize this fantastic day of TechFire fun! TechFire was honored to present information about our team to the engineers at TE Connectivity in Middleton, PA. After a brief introduction about FIRST, TechFire students wowed the audience with highlights of the season and a demo of the robot. TE Connectivity representatives expressed tremendous enthusiasm about becoming involved with FIRST and hope to foster a continued partnership with TechFire. Great job, everyone! Learn more about TE Connectivity here: http://www.te.com/usa-en/home.html TechFire ended the 2015 FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®) season as a finalist the Carson* Division at the 2015 FIRST World Championship. In their best international performance to date, TechFire emerged from the qualification rounds as #18 seed and was selected by Team 4488 Shockwave from Hillsboro, OR and Team 67 The Hot Team from Highland, MI to advance to the playoff rounds. This powerhouse alliance showed amazing skill and finesse, but lost by the closest of margins in the final match, placing TechFire in the top 1.5% of FRC® teams in the world. With over 18,000 students from around the globe this event was truly a celebration of science and technology, showcasing the hard work of our future engineers and innovators. The four-day event came down to a heart-pounding conclusion Saturday night in front of a roaring crowd of more than 40,000 when teams from Texas and California played on the championship field, Einstein, and won the coveted FRC® Championship Winning Alliance. In this year’s recycling-themed game, RECYCLE RUSH, FRC® teams took to the field, where competing Alliances scored points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter. In keeping with the recycling theme of the game, all game pieces used are reusable or recyclable by teams in their home locations or by FIRST at the end of the season. TechFire mentor, Ben Martin, recapped the experience by saying, “What a ride that was! Back in the 2nd week of build season, we set the goal of ‘Get to Einstein’. We were only 12 points away from meeting that goal. 3.5 months and four medals later, this team has come so far and been more successful than I could have imagined. All the prep days in the shop and on the practice field—that’s what did it. Not a fluke, not luck, just hard work and effort. Great job to all the students, parents, mentors, sponsors, and supporters that made it happen”. After a few weeks of well-deserved time off, TechFire will be back in the shop preparing for upcoming off-season competitions and outreach events. *The FIRST Championship is the preeminent celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The names of the playing fields honor some of the greatest scientists and mathematicians. Their work continues to inspire young people of FIRST — our future science and technology leaders. This past Saturday, TechFire and 54 other FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams gathered at Lehigh University to compete at the Mid-Atlantic Robotics (MAR) Regional Championships. After two district competitions, TechFire was ranked #1 in MAR. However, the team experienced mechanical difficulty in some of the qualification matches and emerged as #7 seed going into alliance selections. TechFire was chosen by Team 316,LuNaTeCs, along with Team 203, One Tuff Team, in what proved to be a perfectly allied team of robots for the game, Recycle Rush. During the playoffs, TechFire's alliance performed poorly in the first quarterfinal match, compromising their chance to move on to the semifinals. After regrouping, the alliance was able to put up an impressive score of 212 (second highest in the playoffs and only 14 points over the required points to advance), moving them up in the standings and securing their spot in the semifinals. After scoring enough points, they advanced to the finals. In some of the most heated matches of the weekend, TechFire and their alliance partners emerged as event champions. Beyond success on the playing field, TechFire was honored to receive the Quality Award sponsored by Motorola which “celebrates machine robustness in concept and fabrication”. Additionally, TechFire student, Bethany Rispoli, received the FIRST Dean's List Finalist Award and will be recognized at the FIRST World Championship. The Dean’s List Award recognizes students who have a strong commitment to the team and their community and demonstrate technical expertise, entrepreneurship, creativity and a passion for FIRST. The winners of the MAR Championships qualify to compete at the FIRST Championships in St. Louis, MO on April 22-25, 2015. The alliance winners of eight divisions go head-to-head on the main field, Einstein, for the title of FRC World Champion. This is the 3rd consecutive year that TechFire has qualified to compete in the FIRST World Championships. CONGRATS 225 and best of luck in St. Louis! Watch the team's reaction after seeing the score of the final match! TechFire took home another blue banner from their second event of the season, the Upper Darby Mid-Atlantic Robotics (MAR) District Championship, this past weekend. One of 36 teams in attendance, Team 225 was indomitable throughout the qualification matches was the #1 seed going into the playoff rounds. Along with alliance partners, Team 2607 The Fighting RoboVikings from Warminster, PA, and Team 4460 Green MASHine from West Vincent Township, PA, TechFire emerged at event champions. In addition to an outstanding performance on the field, TechFire was honored to receive the Engineering Excellence Award sponsored by Delphi. This award celebrates an elegant and advantageous machine feature or features. This award recognizes any aspect of engineering elegance that reinforces the principles of FIRST. Click here for complete results of the competition. A big thanks to FRC Team 357 Royal Assault and to all the volunteers who made the event a fun-filled weekend of Recycle Rush! TechFire moves on to the next competition, MAR (Mid-Atlantic Robotics) Regional Championships at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, USA on April 8-11. TechFire is currently ranked #1 out of the 121 teams in MAR. Keep up the strong work, 225!  TechFire started the 2015 FRC season by winning a third consecutive blue banner at the Springside Chestnut Hill District event this past weekend. TechFire dominated the qualification rounds, remaining in first place throughout both days of competition. Along with alliance partners Team 1218 Vulcan and Team 204 Eastern Robotic Vikings, TechFire headed to the playoff matches with a creative strategy for success. As alliance captain, TechFire employed a tethered ramp connected Team 204 which allowed Team 1218 to load with ease from the feeder station. This approach proved quite successful allowing for a solid score of 153 which was enough to emerge from the final matches as event champions. In addition to an outstanding performance on the field, TechFire was honored to receive the Engineering Excellence Award sponsored by Delphi. This award celebrates an elegant and advantageous machine feature or features. This award recognizes any aspect of engineering elegance that reinforces the principles of FIRST. Team 225 is grateful for the continued support of our parents, sponsors, and community members who make victories such as these possible! TechFire will be back at the practice field this week preparing for the Mid-Atlantic District event coming up on March 27-29 at Upper Darby. Keep up the great work, 225! |
RSS Feed
