Last weekend the RMHS Robockets competed at the Chace Athletic Center at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island in the FIRST Regional Robotics Competion 2014, and teamed up to come away with top honors. Of 39 teams competing at an elaborate game of "Aerial Assist" at Bryant, just three, including the RMHS Robockets, succeeded in the final round on Saturday, coming up with a big win, and bringing gold medals back to Reading.
In this second year of participation in FIRST Robotics, the students look forward to accompanying their robot to more competitions this spring. Admission to the FIRST competions is free of charge, including the upcoming March 28 – 29 event at Northeastern's Mathews Arena.
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Other teams partnering with the Robockets for the win were Air Strike, from Newport, RI, and The Nutrons, from Boston, Mass. This is the Robockets' second year of competition.
AERIAL ASSIST is played by two competing Alliances of three robots each on a flat 25’ x 54’ foot field, straddled by a truss suspended just over five feet above the floor. The objective is to score as many balls in goals as possible during a two-minute and 30-second match. The more Alliances score their ball in their goals, and the more they work together to do it, the more points their Alliance receives.
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The RMHS Robockets are sponsored by the Reading Educational Foundation (REF), Reading Boosters, Textron Systems, Teradyne, Reading Co-operative Bank, Reading Rotary, Keurig, Epsilon-Alliance Data, Boston Welding of Woburn, and Reading Memorial High School, the Robockets are made up of RMHS Students, math teacher Charles Strout, and mentors from the Reading community. Following the stellar performance of their Robot last weekend, which was built by the team over the last several months, the Robockets will next compete in Boston at Northeastern University later this month.
A fundraiser will be held at Zinga on Haven St. in Reading on April 4th from 4 – 8 pm. Partial proceeds of the event will go toward future competitions and support for the robot in this important STEM initiative at the high school. FIRST Robotics competitions are known for showcasing and developing the talent of our students, and the “future of engineering.” in America.
The RMHS Robockets team members are listed below. Students participating in the event at Bryant University are underlined in the team list and are shown in the team photo. RMHS Robockets team includes Seniors Sam Bacon, Nathan Strack, and Jon Asgerisson; Juniors Caitlin Mahoney, Brian Craven, Chirag Patel, Stephen Ryan, Chris Calder, Liam Gillen-Hughes, Simone Norder, and Jenna Choi; Sophomores Paulaine Goldsmith, Tim Fitzgerald, Andrew Sack, Tim Repetto, Will Swanson, Kevin Smith, Noah Hennings, Jonathan Schwartz, Michael Jacobs; and freshmen Jared Whitney, Ben Cooper, Will Meyers, Jacob Beckley, Ryan McCubbin, Ali Ahmed.
The Robockets welcome all inquiries regarding fundraising and sponsorship participation. In this regard, feel free to contact David Ventola, dpventola@comcast.net, 781-779-1240.
Follow the Robockets on Twitter at @frc4761, on Facebook(FRC Team 4761 The Robockets), and at their website, www.robockets.org.
