The two robotics teams from Mount Vernon High School competed Saturday, Nov. 16, in an FTC-Iowa qualifying tournament held in Mount Vernon. Out of the 24 teams competing, only 4 earned a spot at the upcoming state tournament. Two of those spots went to Mount Vernon’s teams and each received a major award from a panel of judges. Both teams are coached by math and science teacher Richard Scearce.

After the qualification matches were completed, Mount Vernon’s Team 458 and 3549 were in 1st and 5th place respectively. Since the top 4 teams choose alliance partners, Team 458 selected team 3549 to be their alliance partner and that team swept through the semis and finals to win the championship. As captain the of winning alliance, Team 458 qualified for state. Due to finishing 2nd in the Inspire Award, Team 3549 also qualified for state. Team 458 also won the prestigious Rockwell Collins Innovate Award (see award criteria below).

Slideshow of photos from the event:

Two Match Videos:

Team 458 & Team 3549 are allies in this finals match:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXnmD7Z_Ut4&feature=youtu.be

Finals match from the front:

Team 458 in finals performing a flawless autonomous program only to discover that they forgot to load the block (they still won the match):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcsO-8gJFAg&feature=youtu.be

Robotics teams dancing Gangnam Style:

Cha Cha:

Mount Vernon Robotics Team Rosters:

FTC Team 458 Activate Go Initiative!
Paul Chihak, Macon, Jarred Jackson, Alex White, Josh Lynch, Robert Banwart, Kai Walberg, Katlynn Elsbury

FTC Team 3549 Born To Be Wired!
Drew Keller, Everett Thompson, Gage Lochner, Tony Kraus, Laura Player, Isaiah Exley-Schuman, Nathaniel Barnhart, Mackenzie Smith, Adam Gage, Matt HermsenWhite, Chris Cripe, Joe Godfrey

Mentors: Dave Keller, DeAnn Scearce, Lisa White, Gary Scott, Chris Lyon, Dave Cripe, Hunter Lind

Major Sponsors: Mount Vernon First Presbyterian Church, AmyRose Photography, Gary’s Foods, Mount Vernon Bank, Hills Bank, Lochner Construction, Intermec Foundation, JoAnn Scearce, Jeff & Julie Wenzel, Jeff Walberg.

Rockwell Collins Innovate Award

The Rockwell Collins Innovate Award celebrates a team that not only thinks outside the box, but also has the ingenuity and inventiveness to make their designs come to life. This judged award is given to the team that has the most innovative and creative robot design solution to any or all specific field elements or components in the FTC game. Elements of this award include elegant design, robustness, and ‘out of the box’ thinking related to design. This award may address the design of the whole robot, or of a sub-assembly attached to the robot. The creative component must work consistently, but a robot does not have to work all the time during matches to be considered for this award. The team’s Engineering Notebook should be marked with journal entries to show the design of the component(s) and the team’s robot in order to be eligible for this award, and entries should describe succinctly how the team arrived at that solution.

Guidelines for the Rockwell Collins Innovate Award:

Team demonstrates respect and Gracious Professionalism to all
Robot or robot sub-assembly must be elegant and unique in its design
Creative component must work reliably
Team must submit an Engineering Notebook with an Engineering Section
Robot is stable, robust and controllable
Robot design is efficient and consistent with team plan and strategy
Inspire Award

This formally judged award is given to the team that truly embodied the ‘challenge’ of the FTC program. The team that receives this award is chosen by the judges as having best represented a ‘role-model‘ FTC Team. This team is a top contender for all other judging categories and is a strong competitor on the field. The Inspire Award Winner is an inspiration to other teams, acting with Gracious Professionalism™ both on and off the playing field. This team is able to communicate their experiences, enthusiasm and knowledge to other teams, sponsors, and the Judges. Working as a unit, this team will have demonstrated success in accomplishing the task of creating a working and competitive robot.

In past seasons, the winner of the Inspire Award at each tournament level has received an automatic invitation to the next tournament level. Once a team has won an Inspire Award at a Championship, they are no longer eligible to win the Inspire Award at additional championship tournaments they may attend. Similarly, once a team wins an Inspire Award at a Qualifying tournament, they are no longer eligible to win the Inspire Award at subsequent Qualification tournaments within the same region.

Guidelines for the Inspire Award:

Team must demonstrate respect and Gracious Professionalism both for team members and fellow teams
Team is a strong contender for all Judged awards. The Inspire Award is based on the guidelines for all of the Judged Awards
Engineering Notebook must be submitted, and must include an Engineering Section, a Team Section and a Business or Strategic Plan. The entire Engineering Notebook must impress the judges
Team demonstrates and documents their work in their community spreading awareness of the team, FIRST, and FTC within the community
Team displays good communication and teamwork skills within the team as well as with their alliance partners
Team communicates clearly about their robot design and strategy to the judges
Team presents themselves well in the judges’ interview
Robot and team effectively competes in the game challenge and impresses the judges
Team and robot consistently perform well during matches