A three-team alliance -- More Martians, Team 70 of Goodrich; Lightning Robotics, Team 862 of Canton; and Foley Freeze, Team 910 of Madison Heights -- won the Kettering University FIRST Robotics District Competition in Flint Saturday, March 2.
More than 3,000 people attended the two-day district competition on March 1-2 to watch 40 of the state's best high school robotics teams compete inside Kettering's Recreation Center. Kettering’s district contest is one of 11 tournament sites in Michigan. Winning teams qualify for state and national tournaments in April.
FIRST Master of Ceremonies Grant Cox called the event outstanding. “This has been a phenomenal two days and the crowd’s enthusiasm and spirit were beyond phenomenal,” he said. “What a fabulous start to Michigan’s district games!”
Taking second-place honors was a three-team alliance -- Chimeras, Team 1684 of Lapeer; Dreadbots, Team 3656 of Dexter; and PoHo Robos, Team 3667 of Port Huron.
The coveted Chairman's Award went to Truck Town Thunder, Team 68 of Ortonville. The Chairman's Award is considered the most prestigious honor awarded by FIRST Robotics.
Other awards presented at Kettering's FIRST Robotics District Competition this weekend were:
Engineering Inspiration: Lightning Robotics, Team 862 of Canton
Rookie All-Star: Flat Mountain Mechanics, Team 4819 of Mount Pleasant
Industrial Design: Dreadbots, Team 3656 of Dexter
Quality: Chimeras, Team 1684 of Lapeer
Engineering Excellence: Enginerds, Team 2337 of Grand Blanc
Innovation in Control: Desperate Penguins, Team 1504 of Okemos
Creativity: G.R.A.Y.T. Leviathons of Fenton
Entrepreneurship: Metal & Soul, Team 2604 of Capac
Team Spirit: Gearheads, Team 1189 of Grosse Pointe
Gracious Professionalism: Super Power, Team 326 of Romulus
Imagery: Foley Freeze, Team 910 of Madison Heights
Highest Rookie Seed: Flat Mountain Mechanics, Team 4819 of Mount Pleasant
Industrial Safety: Truck Town Thunder, Team 68 of Ortonville
Judges' Award: Big Mo, Team 314 of Flint
Rookie Inspiration: S.C.O.T.S., Team 4776 of Howell
Watch YouTube videos on robot matches.
Photo Galley of 2013 District Games Photographer Dan Ernst
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a national effort to inspire careers in engineering, science and technology. This year’s game is Ultimate Ascent, a fast-paced game played on a court 27 feet wide by 54 feet long, where robots throw colorful frisbees into slots positioned at different heights and then climb a tall tower for extra points.
Michigan's FIRST Robotics state championship will be in Ypsilanti April 11-13, and the national championship games are in St. Louis, Mo., April 25-27. Read more on FIRST in Michigan.
Teams in the 2013 Kettering district were:
Team 68, Trunk Town Thunder, Ortonville
Team 70, More Martians, Goodrich
Team 302, The Dragons, Lake Orion
Team 314, Big Mo, Flint
Team 322, F.I.R.E., Flint
Team 326, Team Super Power Eagles, Romulus
Team 468, Aftershock, Flint/Clio/Flushing
Team 703, Phoenix, Saginaw
Team 818, Steel Armadillos, Warren
Team 862, Lightning Robotics, Plymouth/Canton
Team 894, Chargers, Flint
Team 910, Foley Freeze, Madison Heights
Team 1189, Gearheads, Grosse Pointe
Team 1243, Dragons, Swartz Creek
Team 1322, G.R.A.Y.T. Leviathons, Fenton
Team 1502, Technical Difficulties, Chelsea
Team 1504, Desperate Penguins, Okemos
Team 1506, Kettering’s Metal Muscle, Genesee/Oakland CountiesTeam 1684, Chimeras, Lapeer
Team 2048, Pink Panthers, Detroit
Team 2337, Enginerds, Grand Blanc
Team 2604, Metal & Soul, Capac
Team 3322, Eagle Imperium, Ann Arbor
Team 3415, Rams , Montrose
Team 3421, Tachyon Techs, Marysville
Team 3534, House of Cards, Davison
Team 3535, Galak Tech Invaders, Attica
Team 3568, RoboEagles, Linden
Team 3656, Dredbots, Dexter
Team 3667, PoHo RoBos, Port Huron
Team 3668, TroBots, Whitmore Lake
Team 3707, BUG, Brighton
Team 3773, TechTrons, Tecumseh
Team 4216, BLUE OPS, Jackson
Team 4294, StarTrec from Lansing
Team 4382, SHS Trojans, Saginaw
Team 4405, The Atoms Family, Canton
Team 4776, Scots, Howell
Team 4819, Flat Mount Mechanics, Mt. Pleasant
Team 4838, Panthers, River Rouge
Kettering University is a nationally ranked Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Business university in Flint, Mich. Kettering has been hosting FIRST Robotics events since 2000. About 20 percent of all Kettering University students engaged with FIRST Robotics prior to arriving on campus, making Kettering University a national leader in FIRST's Varsity Sport of the Mind. Read more on Kettering University.