FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Bill Duncan, FIRST
410-350-5031
wduncan@usfirst.org
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS RECOGNIZED FOR OUTSTANDING
ACHIEVEMENTS AT FIRST ® ROBOTICS COMPETITION
Teams from Maryland, New York and Virginia advance to Championship,
Others Win Honors for Design, Sportsmanship, Partnership
COLLEGE PARK, MD, APRIL 7, 2014 ― More than 2,000 students, mentors, fans, educators
and industry leaders joined the action at the University of Maryland Comcast Center on
Saturday as high school robotics teams competed for invitations to the FIRST Championships in
St. Louis, April 25-27. The Chesapeake Regional FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of
Science and Technology) Robotics Competition featured 54 teams of students and technical
mentors from Maryland, 6 other states, Washington, D.C. and Ontario, Canada, vying for honors
and recognition that reward design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship, and highimpact partnerships between schools, businesses, and communities.
With the hope of winning coveted awards, high school students worked with technical mentors
over a six week period to design, build and program robots to play this season’s game, AERIAL
ASSIST™, a 3-on-3 game of passing balls to teammates and scoring goals. The action in the
elimination rounds on Saturday grew particularly intense as teams worked together in threeteam alliances.
Six teams advanced to the FIRST Championships, three of them from Maryland. The most
prestigious honor at the competition, the Chairman’s Award, which recognizes the team that
embodies the goals and purpose of FIRST and best represents a model for other teams to
emulate, went to Team 1629, Garrett Coalition (GaCo) from Northern and Southern Garrett High
Schools in Garrett County, Maryland.
The Regional Winners were a three-team alliance led by Team 1629 GaCo, joined with Team
2363, Triple Helix from Menchville High School in Newport News, Virginia and Team 623,
Cougar Robotics from Oakton High School in Oakton, Virginia. Other teams earning spots at the
FIRST Championship included Team 329, Raiders from Patchogue-Medford High School in
Medford, New York and Team 4949, Robo Panthers, a rookie team from Parkdale High School
in Riverdale, Maryland.
Dean Darryll Pines of the Clark School of Engineering helped welcome the Chesapeake
Regional FIRST Robotics Competition to the University of Maryland for the first time, and
announced several dedicated scholarships for FIRST students. Maryland Senator Ben Cardin,
Congresswoman Donna Edwards, and NASA Associate Administrator and astronaut John
Grunsfeld were among the dignitaries attending the event.
Nearly 200 volunteers and judges from some of the most highly regarded organizations in the
area, including Booz Allen Hamilton, Bechtel, General Dynamics, Leidos, Lockheed Martin,
NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SRA International helped make this year’s Chesapeake
Regional possible. Sponsors provide resources including time and talent from technical
mentors, services, equipment, financial contributions, and volunteers.
Award
Winner
Chesapeake Regional Chairman’s Award - The most
prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best
represents a model for other teams to emulate and best
embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.
Team 1629 Garrett Coalition (GaCo),
Northern Garrett High School and Southern
Garrett High School, McHenry, MD
FIRST Dean’s List Finalist Award - Celebrates
outstanding student leaders whose passion for and
effectiveness at attaining FIRST ideals is exemplary.
Tom Bialick, Team 2537 Space RAIDers,
Atholton High School, Columbia, MD
Michelle Arnold, Team 329 Raiders,
Patchogue-Medford High School, Medford,
NY
Engineering Inspiration Award - Celebrates
outstanding success in advancing respect and
appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and
Team 329 Raiders, Patchogue-Medford
High School, Medford, NY
community.
Woodie Flowers Award - Presented to an outstanding
Mentor in the robotics competition who best leads,
inspires, teaches, and empowers their team using
excellent communication skills.
Joseph Shapiro, Team 2377 C-Company,
Chesapeake High School, Pasadena, MD
Regional Winners
Team 1629 Garrett Coalition (GaCo),
Northern Garrett High School and Southern
Garrett High School, McHenry, MD
Team 2363 Triple Helix, Menchville High
School, Newport News, VA
Team 623 Cougar Robotics, Oakton High
School, Oakton, VA
Regional Finalists
Team 1610 Builders of Tomorrow (B.O.T),
Franklin High School, Franklin, VA
Team 1741 Red Alert, Center Grove School,
Greenwood, IN
Team 4945 Titanium Wrecks, Tec
Foundation, Ocean City, MD
Team 2421 RTR Team Robotics, Harvester
Teaching Services, Springfield, VA
Creativity Award sponsored by Xerox - Celebrates
creativity in design, use of component, or strategy of play.
Team 1885 ILITE Robotics, Battlefield High
School, Haymarket, VA
Engineering Excellence Award sponsored by Delphi Celebrates an elegant and advantageous machine
feature.
Team 233 The Pink Team, Rockledge High
School & Cocoa Beach High School & Space
Coast Junior Senior High School & Viera
High School, Rockledge/Cocoa Beach, FL
Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers - Celebrates the
entrepreneurial spirit by recognizing a team that has
developed the framework for a comprehensive business
plan to scope, manage, and achieve team objectives.
Team 1741 Red Alert, Center Grove School,
Greenwood, IN
Gracious Professionalism™ Award sponsored by
Johnson & Johnson - Celebrates outstanding
sportsmanship and continuous Gracious
Professionalism® in the heat of competition, both on and
off the playing field.
Team 1741 Red Alert, Center Grove School,
Greenwood, IN
Highest Rookie Seed Award - Celebrates the highestseeded rookie team at the conclusion of the qualifying
rounds.
Team 5106 High Impact Technologies,
Northern High School & Sunderland
Neighborhood Robotic Group, Sunderland,
MD
Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen - In honor of
Jack Kamen, Dean’s father, for his dedication to art and
illustration and his devotion to FIRST. This award
celebrates attractiveness in engineering and outstanding
visual aesthetic integration of machine and team
appearance.
Team 1111 The Power Hawks, South River
High School, Edgewater, MD
Industrial Design Award sponsored by General
Motors - Celebrates form and function in an efficiently
designed machine that effectively addresses the game
challenge.
Team 2363 Triple Helix, Menchville High
School, Newport News, VA
Industrial Safety Award sponsored by Underwriters
Laboratories - Celebrates the team that progresses
beyond safety fundamentals by using innovative ways to
eliminate or protect against hazards.
Team 1741 Red Alert, Center Grove School,
Greenwood, IN
Innovation in Control Award sponsored by Rockwell
Automation - Celebrates an innovative control system or
application of control components – electrical,
mechanical, or software – to provide unique machine
functions.
Team 3373 Team RoboHawk, Highland
School, Warrenton, VA
Judges’ Award - During the course of the competition,
the judging panel may decide a team’s unique efforts,
performance, or dynamics merit recognition.
Team 2528 RoboDoves, Western High
School, Baltimore, MD
Quality Award sponsored by Motorola - Celebrates
machine robustness in concept and fabrication.
Team 1610 Builders of Tomorrow (B.O.T),
Franklin High School, Franklin, VA
Rookie All-Star Award - Celebrates the rookie team
exemplifying a young but strong partnership effort, as
Team 4949 Robo Panthers, Parkdale High
well as implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire
students to learn more about science and technology.
School, Riverdale, MD
Rookie Inspiration Award - Recognizes the team that
submits a short animated film that best promotes the
current season’s team safety focus.
Team 4945 Titanium Wrecks, Tec
Foundation, Ocean City, MD
Team Spirit Award sponsored by Chrysler Celebrates extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through
exceptional partnership and teamwork furthering the
objectives of FIRST.
Team 1547 Where’s Waldo?, Trafalgar
Castle School, Whitby, ON
Volunteer of the Year - Presented to an individual,
business, or organization that consistently excels in their
efforts, with proven results in the areas of Impact,
Leadership, Personal Commitment, Community, and
Historical Contributions.
Baltimore Area Alliance
ABOUT FIRST®
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of
Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young
people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build
self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities
in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500
companies and more than $19 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization
hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC® ) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC® ) for highschool students, FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL® ) for 9 to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside
the U.S. and Canada) and Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLL™) for 6 to 9-year-olds.
Gracious Professionalism™ is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work,
emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more
about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.
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