The Mount Vernon H.S. Robotics Club competes in the FTC Qualifying Tournament this Saturday, Nov. 19, at Linn Mar H.S. The opening ceremony is at 11:00 a.m. with matches starting at 11:30. The finals are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The top few finishers qualify for the Iowa State Championships on Feb 25, which then determines who qualifies for the World Championships at St. Louis in May. There are 65 Iowa teams registered and 1,878 teams registered from around the world.

Mount Vernon has two teams competing again this year: Team #458, Activate Go Initiative! led by program manager, Nicholas Liberko, and Team 3549, Classified, led by program manager Catie Sheehy.

To be successful, the teams must design, build, and program a robot to score more points than their opponents. They also are competing for awards by virtue of their engineering notebook, community service, spirit, “gracious professionalism,” and other qualities. The video below tells about the game:

FTC “Bowled Over!” Game video:
http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc/2011-2012-game-info

Featured Picture (names of team members from left to right):
Alex White, Paul Chihak, Macon McInnes, Matt Peiffer, Mildred Chihak, Hunter Lind, Nicholas Liberko, Robert Banwart, Gage Lockner, Sara Lyon, Aubrey Lyon, Catie Sheehy, Drew Keller, Kate Baumler, Renny Klein, Halima Chambo, and Ashley Neal

Club mentors: Chris Lyon, Gary Scott, Jerry Sheehy, Cheryl Sheehy, Daniel Riechers, Ryan Moffitt, DeAnn Scearce, Dave Keller, Laurie Keller. Club sponsor: Richard Scearce

If you would like more information regarding this tournament or our club contact Richard Scearce at (319) 360-4640 or at [email protected].

Robotics Club is seeking financial support for parts, tools, and tournament registrations. If you would like to donate, make out a check payable to the M.V. Robotics Club and send to:
Mount Vernon HS
731 Palisades Rd.
Mount Vernon, IA 52314