BY CRAIG GILBERT
The Lively District Secondary School Robohawks were recognized nationally for the second time in two years earlier this month.
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The Lively District Secondary School Robohawks, pictured above at the FIRST competition judges (in blue), put safety first and were recognized with a safety award over 75 other teams at a national competition. |
Thanks to a tight performance in the pits and near perfect robot transportation technique, the students received the Bruce Power Safety Award at the super-regional For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robot competition in Mississauga.
The gorgeous blown-glass and granite trophy was awarded to the 10-boy, one-girl team for demonstrating great teamwork with the other competitors in the pit section as well as maintaining perfect safety even while undertaking a major repair to their robot, Talon, according to coach Rob Ongarato.
Last year, the team was selected as a wild card and offered a ticket to the grand championships in Texas, but couldn?t go due to a post Sept. 11, 2001 moratorium on international trips by the Rainbow District School Board at the time.
This time around, the team took spot 54 out of 75 teams from Calgary to Nova Scotia and five from the United States.
They were picked by one of the top 16 teams, though, to form an alliance for the semi-finals.
They tied for third in that round, which placed them 12th overall in the competition.
?It was a phenomenal experience,? said Ongarato. ?We learned a lot about building here, but the competition taught us more about strategy,
sportsmanship and teamwork.?
Though the competition is fierce, the atmosphere in the pits is very cordial, he said. Teams often call out for a specific part or a specialist for a specific problem, and the help inevitably comes running.
Barry Mikkelsen was in Grade 9 when he went to last year?s event.
This year, he said the competition was much busier since there were two arenas going full-tilt at the same time.
?There was a definite improvement on our part,? he said. ?We got more valuable experience.?
Ongarato, or ?Mr. O? as the team calls him, already has plans worked out for next year?s competition. The rules of the event won?t be available until weeks before, but the team can troubleshoot the robot and work on strategy.
Ongarato said support from main sponsors Cambrian College, Intergris Metals and Bristol Machines has been invaluable.
Team members include coach Sarah Boyko, Kyle Sarkijarvi, Kayla Ten Eycke, Spencer Linklater, Scott Smith, Ryan Marriotti, Landon Ryan, James
Bass, Dan Wyszynski, Jeff Sajatovic, Barry Mikkelsen and John Niemi.
