Robotics teams from across the Midwest will convene for the FIRST Tech Challenge North Super-Regional robotics tournament March 15-17 at the U.S. Cellular Center/DoubleTree Hotel & Convention Center in Cedar Rapids, IA. About 70 teams from 12 states will compete Thursday through Saturday. They all advanced out of qualifying tournaments.
The three-day event spotlights the hard work of middle and high school students who have spent weeks designing and building robots in hopes of dominating the FIRST Tech Challenge, a national educational program that encourages boys and girls to discover science, technology, engineering and math concepts while participating in a fast-paced team activity.
“FIRST Tech Challenge promotes exciting, project-based learning in a fun environment,” says Rebecca Whitaker, FIRST Tech Challenge Affiliate Partner for Iowa, University of Iowa College of Engineering. “This experience gives students the knowledge and confidence they need to become innovation leaders.”
The build-up to the Super-Regional Championship starts in September, when teams receive information about the game and challenge. With the help of adult volunteers, students build robots capable of completing complex tasks.
The Super-Regional tournament follows several months of community robotics meets, where students work out technical bugs and perfect their robot’s mechanical operations. In order to advance to the FIRST Tech Challenge North Super-Regional, a team’s robot must beat out other robots at state and regional qualifying tournaments.
The FIRST Tech Challenge is open to students grades 7-12. Roughly 72 teams representing schools and communities in Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin will attend the 2018 Super-Regional competition. Winners from various categories will continue on to the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship in Houston and Detroit.
The FIRST Tech Challenge North Super-Regional competition is sponsored by Rockwell Collins, Inc. The event, which is free and open to the public, includes opening and closing ceremonies, qualifying matches, alliance selections, robot pit stop area, robot doctor station, and a RoboProm dance.
News Coverage:
Sioux City Robotics Team Heads to Super Regional, Sioux City Journal, http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/education/sioux-city-robotics-team-heads-to-super-regional/article_5a19c266-e41b-5b5a-9836-8503c8226360.html