FIRST® Tech Challenge Competition for MICDS Robotics Teams

MICDS’s FIRST® Tech Challenge all-female Rampunzel team as well as our coed Technoramic and Rampage teams competed in their first meet, the Rover Ruckus Challenge, last Saturday at St. Louis Community College–Wildwood. The robotics teams are comprised of 8th – 12th graders. At the competition, teams completed various moon themed tasks both autonomously and by remote control against other Saint Louis Metro based teams.

Despite several mechanical issues early in the meet, Rampage ended up placing 3rd, followed by Technoramic in 6th and Rampunzel in 8th. Our teams will be ranked in the North East Conference, which consists of teams in the northeast region of Missouri (roughly splitting the state by MO 63 and I-70). The top ranked teams at the end of the meet season advance to the East Conference Qualifier on February 9th, 2019 with opportunities to advance to the State Championships in March.

Our FIRST® Tech Challenge teams will be headed back to the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Robotics Lab to improve and refine their robots in preparation for their next meet at St. Joseph’s Academy on January 11th at 5 p.m. Great job robot enthusiasts and keep at it!

FIRST® Tech Challenge robotics teams are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Guided by adult coaches and mentors, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and sharing ideas. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and can be programmed using a variety of languages, including Java. Teams also must raise funds, design and market their team brand, and do community outreach. Each season concludes with regional championship events and an exciting FIRST® Championship.