Huntington High School’s robotics team has formally kicked off its competitive season. The Blue Devils watched a worldwide “reveal” broadcast of this year’s FIRST Robotics game. Within minutes, team members were working on their latest challenge.
Alex Frawley is the captain of the Huntington High School robotics team.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) encourages young people to pursue careers in engineering and science by showing them how interesting and fun those fields can be. “Our mission is to show students of every age that science, technology and problem-solving are not only fun and rewarding, but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future for us all,” states the FIRST website.
Founded in 2013, the Huntington High School robotics team has repeatedly covered itself in glory, winning awards and reaching the world championships several times.
Huntington’s technological wizards are led by Alex Frawley (captain), Luke Rinaldi (vice-captain), Sydney Cordeiro (chief business officer) and Anthony Amitrano (chief technical officer).
“Our team hosted a virtual kick-off event to get the community involved in strategizing and thinking of new and creative ways to compete this year,” Mr. Frawley said. “The event was a great success and we are very happy with the way it turned out. We had lots of people watching including school district staff, alumni, students, parents and members of the community.”
Joining in the festivities were Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky and Huntington High School Principal Brenden Cusack, along with many others, including several of the team’s alumni.
“We all watched the 2021 FIRST reveal video where we found out about the challenge for this year,” Mr. Frawley said. “We then divided into breakout groups to discuss possible strategies and ideas for the year.”
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the current competitive season “will look different,” according to FIRST. “But we are confident the new team-based opportunities will allow our participants to have a fulfilling season, as we continue to execute the mission of FIRST and inspire the next generation of our future science and technology leaders; the same mission that has guided us for more than 30 years.”
This year’s game is called Infinite Recharge. Robotics teams from across the world will be able to compete remotely this year.
“Due to COVID, last year’s season was cut short and so this year’s main challenge is similar to last year’s, but with a few changes,” Mr. Frawley said. “This means we can start with last year’s robot and improve on it. There are also a few virtual games this year to give teams opportunities to compete without needing to be in person. Going forward we will be meeting frequently and working on these challenges.”
The Huntington Robotics team members are excited about this year’s challenge and are already working to master it.
“Infinite Recharge at Home gives teams around the world an opportunity to demonstrate their robot’s technical skills in competition,” according to a FIRST online overview of this year’s game. “Teams compete for awards by remotely showing off what their robots and drivers can do in five skills challenges based on the 2020 Infinite Recharge field game, which was unveiled prior to pandemic-related shut-downs last year. Teams without access to their robots can compete for technical awards through virtual interviews with judges about their machine’s abilities.”
An estimated 73,000 high-school students on over 2,900 FIRST Robotics teams in 28 countries are expected to participate in this year’s program.
Students interested in joining the Blue Devil robotics squad can send a message to huntingtonrobotics@gmail.com. Visit the team’s website at www.team5016.com for more information.
The Huntington Robotics parent organization is also looking for mentors to work with team members. Interested? Send a message to huntingtonroboticsinc@gmail.com.