Robotics Team Wins Award
at the RI First Tech Challenge

Last Saturday, Lincoln School's Robotics team competed in the RI State division of the FIRST Tech Challenge. Elle Chrupcala '13, Bekah Heath '12, Hayley Lough '12, Erin Murphy '12, Emma Osmundson '12, Leah Tinberg '12, Tess van Schepen '12 and Hannah Zawia '12 finally got to show what they and their robot, Kiltic Thunder, could do during a long day of interviews, qualifying rounds, troubleshooting, and more qualifying rounds. This year's task, "Bowled Over," involved flipping plastic crates, collecting racquetballs, and pushing bowling balls, both in autonomous and driver-controlled portions of each match-up. Some rounds went more successfully than others, yet through it all our team kept working hard, cheering for themselves and for other teams they met, and dancing until the bleachers shook.

In the end, the team missed being selected for a semi-final alliance, but did walk away with the "Think" award for the Engineering Notebook they kept throughout the year. The FTC handbook description explains that "this award is given to the team that best reflects the 'journey' the team took as they experienced the engineering design process during the build season [through journal entries] describing the steps, brainstorms, designs, re-designs, successes, and those ‘interesting moments’ when things weren’t going as planned."

Head Coach Doug Alexander and substitute coach Sarah Young hope you will join them in congratulating team 2963 and Kiltic Thunder on a job very well done!