South Portland High School’s FIRST Robotics Team at the
2013 Granite State Regional Competition
The South Portland High School’s FIRST Robotics Team, The Riot Crew, along with three other Maine teams competed in the 2013 Granite State Regional March 1st and 2nd. The Riot Crew displayed their highly-effective robot during the qualifying rounds to earn a spot in the elimination rounds. We played hard but were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Team 133, Bonney Eagle Robotics Team (BERT), was eliminated in the semifinals. Teams 172, Falmouth/Gorham Robotics Team (Think Pink) and Team 3609, Southern Maine Boys and Girls Club (The Duct Tape Bandits) were on opposing alliances in the finals. The Duct Tape Bandits with their alliance prevailed and won the battle.
The FIRST Robotics Competition partners professionals with high school students to solve an engineering design problem in an intense and competitive way. In 2013, over 50,000 students are involved on over 2,300 teams from 11 countries to compete in 59 regional competitions across 3 countries. The competitions play out like high-tech spectator sporting event, building the students’ skills in problem solving, brainstorming, teamwork and project-focused work.
Beginning in September, the South Portland Riot Crew met for training and teambuilding. In January, all FIRST teams received this year’s game description and rules along with their shipment of parts which included batteries, motors, and a PC. Each team had six weeks to design and build a robot capable shooting baskets and performing the other game functions and then learn how to operate it.