05.01.15
The Label Printers recently sponsored Geneva High School’s Robovikes team at the FIRST Robotics Midwest Tournament. This year’s event featured a recycling theme – Recycling Rush.
Since Geneva High School, located in Geneva, IL, USA, has fielded a team, each tournament has had a sports theme and advancing through the tournament finals is determined by wins and losses. Advancing into the quarter-finals was determined by the average score of each team through all of the qualifying matches and determined by the average score of each of the top eight seeded alliances.
During the qualifying rounds, the Robovikes placed anywhere from 11th to 24th. The team made adjustments and finished the qualification matches in 13th. Due to the way that the alliances are built, they became the eighth and final seed going into the finals, tasked with building an alliance by selecting two teams whose average scores weren’t as high as the top seeds.
The Robovikes eighth seeded alliance played two quarter-final matches, beating the first and second seeded alliances’ scores in both of those matches with high-scoring games. They were pushed out of the tournament when the first and seventh seeds advanced, with the seventh seed garnering a half point more.
“To a person, all of the kids were really proud and excited at how they performed at the tournament,” says Joe Kane, director of R & D at The Label Printers’ and a team mentor. “They got better and better as it wore on and they put together an eighth seeded alliance [the Robovikes, the Ultimate Protection Squad from Milwaukee, and the Thunderbolts from Emek Hefer, Israel] that almost pulled off a huge upset.
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an annual competition that helps students discover the excitement of science, engineering, technology and the rewards a career in STEM. The FIRST Robotics Competition began in 1992 with 28 teams and a single 14-by-14-foot playing field in a New Hampshire high school gym.
“We ended our tournament with a success, not a failure,” adds Kane. “Being the underdog – no one expected us or our alliance to do as well as we did. During our quarterfinal matches, we beat the first and second seeded alliances, and that really resonated with the kids. The positive aspect of what they accomplished outweighed any negative associated with the outcome.”
Since Geneva High School, located in Geneva, IL, USA, has fielded a team, each tournament has had a sports theme and advancing through the tournament finals is determined by wins and losses. Advancing into the quarter-finals was determined by the average score of each team through all of the qualifying matches and determined by the average score of each of the top eight seeded alliances.
During the qualifying rounds, the Robovikes placed anywhere from 11th to 24th. The team made adjustments and finished the qualification matches in 13th. Due to the way that the alliances are built, they became the eighth and final seed going into the finals, tasked with building an alliance by selecting two teams whose average scores weren’t as high as the top seeds.
The Robovikes eighth seeded alliance played two quarter-final matches, beating the first and second seeded alliances’ scores in both of those matches with high-scoring games. They were pushed out of the tournament when the first and seventh seeds advanced, with the seventh seed garnering a half point more.
“To a person, all of the kids were really proud and excited at how they performed at the tournament,” says Joe Kane, director of R & D at The Label Printers’ and a team mentor. “They got better and better as it wore on and they put together an eighth seeded alliance [the Robovikes, the Ultimate Protection Squad from Milwaukee, and the Thunderbolts from Emek Hefer, Israel] that almost pulled off a huge upset.
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an annual competition that helps students discover the excitement of science, engineering, technology and the rewards a career in STEM. The FIRST Robotics Competition began in 1992 with 28 teams and a single 14-by-14-foot playing field in a New Hampshire high school gym.
“We ended our tournament with a success, not a failure,” adds Kane. “Being the underdog – no one expected us or our alliance to do as well as we did. During our quarterfinal matches, we beat the first and second seeded alliances, and that really resonated with the kids. The positive aspect of what they accomplished outweighed any negative associated with the outcome.”