Schools

Visitation School's Robettes Arrive at FIRST Robotics Championships in St. Louis, MO

The team will compete in robotics matches against the best teams in the world.

The Convent of the Visitation robotics team arrived in St. Louis, MO Wednesday to compete at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship through Saturday.

The FIRST program, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” was founded by the inventor of Segways, Dean Kamen, in 1989. Robotics teams are often sponsored by corporations like Boston Scientific and Lockheed Martin, who also supply mentors to guide teams through the build process before lively robotics competitions kick off in the spring.

The Robettes, as the team is called, qualified for the first time in the team’s history early in April by edging out the competition in.

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“It’s fun. I feel like everyone’s really energetic and excited,” said Robette Maddie Palmer, 10th grade, “It’s really fun because there are lots of teams from around the world."

The competitions have also drawn high-profile guests. Both Minnesota state senators and the governor attended the regional competitions in April. At the championship level, performing artist Will.I.Am will put on a concert for the competitors Friday night.

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Visitation science teacher and team advisor Melissa Murray said that the team was able to fully repair their robot Wednesday night from the of regional competition.

Thursday has been dedicated to practice and qualifying rounds.

Competition is broken into four divisions named after famous scientists: Archimedes, Curie, Galileo and Newton. The Robettes are competing in the Curie division, appropriate for the all-girls team, one of few in the nation.

There are 350 teams in their field alone, according to Murray.

While competition gets underway, spirits are high.

“It’s wonderful. The girls are excited—pretty low stress,” said Murray. “The robot works and that was pretty much our main goal.”

To check on the team’s division progress, open this link and search for “2177,” the team number. They will compete in an alliance of three as either the blue team or the red team in each match. The score of the red or blue team in a match determines if the teams within the alliance are awarded a win or a loss.

You can also follow the Robettes on Twitter @theRobettes.


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