F.R.C. Regional Competition

Our family celebrated Spring Break last weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina by cheering on Brody in his first ever F.R.C. Regional Competition. Brody attends Pine Lake Preparatory and their team received two awards and will compete in the World Championship Competition in Atlanta, Georgia on April 14-16, 2010.

Brody's main contribution to the team was working with two other team members to design their own web site. It certainly paid off! Below is the area publication that was posted this week about the F.R.C. Regional event. Later on this week I'll post some pictures and video of the event. It was incredible!!!!

Congratulations Team SPORK

Robotics Win Rookie All-Star & Best Website Awards

Ingersoll Rand & Pine Lake Preparatory’s Award Winning Team Proceeds to Robotics World Championship

April 3, 2010

Pine Lake Preparatory’s Upper School robotics team, named Team SPORK and sponsored by Ingersoll Rand of Davidson, NC, won the Rookie All Star and the Best Website Awards at the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) NC Regional Tournament April 2-3, 2010 in the Dorton Arena in Raleigh. The Rookie All Star is the highest honor available for a rookie team and earns the honor of competing at the World Championship in the Atlanta Georgia Dome on April 15-17. Over 1800 teams from 12 countries began this season; only 297 teams will compete in the Championship games.

Forty-four teams from across the nation and Brazil competed at the NC Regional. Only six of these teams earned a merit based qualification for the World Championship. Team SPORK was the only one from North Carolina to do so.

Students are given six weeks to design, build, and test an autonomous and remotely controlled robot using standardized and fabricated components. This year’s mission is for the robots to control and kick soccer balls into goals on a 27’ x 54’ field with bumps, ending the game with the 160 pound robots suspending themselves from 7’ towers.

Team SPORK students and mentors have enthusiastically dedicated over 200 hours after school and on weekends during this intensive season, which began on January 9 with the NC Kick-off at Penske Racing. Team SPORK is also dedicated to mentoring other students in robotics, math, and science. More information can be found at www.teamspork.com.

The team is coached by Audrey Cundari, who teaches calculus, physics, and robotics at Pine Lake Preparatory. The web team is mentored by JD Mills of Utilipath.

Ingersoll Rand has been a major corporate partner for Pine Lake Preparatory’s FRC robotics team this year, offering the use of a manufacturing building, fabrication tools, and over sixteen employees, who have joined other community engineers in mentoring the 23 students of Team SPORK. Other major sponsors of Team SPORK are NASA, Newell Rubbermaid, and Lowe’s Home Improvement, which have donated funding, equipment, and tools.

The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international challenge for high school students. Its mission is “to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.”

Ingersoll Rand is a global diversified industrial firm providing products, services and solutions to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings, transport and protect food and perishables, secure homes and commercial properties, and enhance industrial productivity and efficiency. Driven by a 100-year-old tradition of technological innovation, we enable companies and their customers to create progress. For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com.

Congratulations to all and gratitude to John Moloney for creating the collaborative PLP/Corporate partnerships!