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Breithaupt Bulldogs Bring Home the Rookie All-Star Award

The Breithaupt Bulldogs, FIRST Robotics Competition team 9744, took to the competition field for the first time last month and came out on top with the Rookie All-Star Award. This advanced the team to the State Championship to compete against 25 other rookie teams from across the state for the opportunity to travel to Houston, TX and compete at the World Championships. 

This team is on the rise:

Proudly displaying their team members diversity, from Mexico, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic on their robot, this group worked to design, construct, and compete with their robot. What’s so impressive is the scale of what they achieved in only six weeks. Starting back in January when the game challenge was released, this team went to work to improve robot designs provided to all teams. The team works hard to develop technical and social skills that align with 21st century workforce skill sets. In the end, they showed their hard work as they joined the competition with 40 other teams to collaborate in twelve competitive two-and-a-half-minute matches. 

At the competition:

FIRST Robotics competitions bring together 40 teams from across Michigan.  Each team gets the opportunity to play twelve matches. There are six robots in each match, three per alliance, red or blue. The goal is to score, or keep the other alliance from scoring, a game piece that this season is called a note.  The note is a large foam donut that the teams need to either shoot into a tower called the speaker, or a smaller unit called the amp. The students worked on and off the field to make sure they were ready for the next match. Each match requires the teams to come together to develop a game strategy allowing the robots on the alliance to perform its best to secure the win.  The Bulldogs drive team needed to be quick on their feet to successfully block the opposing alliances from scoring while helping their alliances perform with an impressive climb that lifts their 145 lb. robot off the ground, suspended from a chain!  

What the Judges had to say:

This team excited the judges as they noticed the team’s ability to build a robot to meet the challenges of the game while also realizing that the technical stuff is fun, and challenging. The students demonstrated their skills and newfound understanding as they continued to address issues during the heat of competition and in the pits.  Everyone came away from the two-day event exhausted but excited to keep the momentum moving forward as they prepared for their next event at Renaissance High School on March 29 and 30. 

The Breithaupt Bulldogs continue to practice and learn from their first competition. This is the joy of the program, watching the students take leadership of their learning by reflecting on what went well and where they need to improve. We’re excited to watch this young team continue to rise! 

 

What is the Rookie All-Star Award? 

The Rookie All-Star award is given to the rookie team exemplifying a developing strong partnership effort within their community while implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire students to learn more about science and technology.

How to Get Involved in Robotics

Over 20 of our DPSCD teams, including the Breithaupt Bulldogs, competed at Renaissance High School in late March. To check out those recent stats, see a full schedule of upcoming FIRST Robotics events, watch livestreams and event coverage, and learn more about volunteer opportunities, check out FIRST's website. 

Want to coach robotics or start a team? Check out STEM Enrichment's site to learn more about coaching a team at your school