2010 Season Kickoff - Saturday, January 9
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FIRST Robotics Kicks Off 2010 Season January 9
DETROIT, January 5, 2010 – It’s not a traditional sporting event and it’s certainly not a rock concert – but it looks and sounds like both. That’s how many people describe the crazy, competitive, highly-educational and all-out fun of the FIRST Robotics Competition, high school’s varsity sport of the mind.
FIRST in Michigan continues to grow with more than 140 high schools participating this season – and it announces a new district competition to take place in Ann Arbor at Skyline High School – to highlight the 2010 season. Detroit Public Schools alone will field five new teams. There are also over $11,000,000 in FIRST college scholarship opportunities this year.
Teams locally and nationally are anxiously awaiting the unveiling of the 2010 game rules Saturday, January 9 via a satellite transmission from NASA. Once the game objectives are announced, teams will immediately begin strategizing – having just six weeks to complete a fully-functional robot from paper to competition ready.
Michigan teams have been on the winning alliance at five of the last six National Championships.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is active in nearly 25 percent of all Michigan high schools, making the Great Lakes State one of the highest participation rates in the country. The organization focuses on creating a high-energy environment that allows adult professional mentors to show high school students how much fun engineering, math, science and technology can be for a career choice.
“At a time when U.S. colleges of engineering find fewer and fewer students inclined to join them, industries need a steady flow of new, motivated engineers to tackle international competition and environmental challenges,“ said Francois Castaing, FIRST in Michigan President. “FIRST Robotics has proven repeatedly that high school student’s misconceptions about careers in engineering and technology can be overcome. FIRST is the only varsity ‘sport’ in which all participants can actually turn pro.”
As a result the organization has been cited by President Obama’s administration and other Presidents before him – plus Gov. Jennifer Granholm and numerous state legislators – as one of the best educational and motivational ways for students to start down the road of a career in engineering, science or technology.
The Competitions:
There are seven Michigandistrict events, enabling all Michigan teams to compete at least twice within the state. Similar to sports tournament formats, district competition scoring will qualify teams for the 2010 Michigan State Championship (April 1-3 at Eastern Michigan University). From there, 18 teams will be eligible to advance to the international FIRST Championship to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, April 15-17. All competitions are free and open to the public:
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2010 DISTRICT EVENTS
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DATE
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NAME OF EVENT
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VENUE
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March
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5-6
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Traverse City FIRST Robotics District Competition
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Traverse City Central H.S.
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March
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5-6
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Kettering University FIRST Robotics District Competition
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Kettering University, Flint
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March
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12-13
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Cass Tech FIRST Robotics District Competition
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Detroit Cass Technical H.S.
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March
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12-13
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Ann Arbor FIRST Robotics District Competition
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Skyline High School
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March
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19-20
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Detroit FIRST Robotics District Competition
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Wayne State University
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March
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19-20
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West Michigan FIRST Robotics District Competition
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Grand Valley State University
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March
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26-27
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Troy FIRST Robotics District Competition
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Troy Athens High School
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Each year the new game is created by FIRST founder Dean Kamen, plus MIT and NASA officials. Last year’s objective was to collect balls and deposit them in the “trailer” of opponents’ robots as all were moving around the playing field – a slick surface that resembled the anti-gravity surface of the moon. Past year’s games have required robotic speed, agility and power to perform various tasks. Teams compete in rotating alliances of three schools with the goal of helping each other rather than tearing each other apart. It’s all part of FIRST’s overall theme of “gracious professionalism.”
About FIRST in Michigan
- FIRST in Michigan is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization responsible for implementing all FIRST programs in the state;
- FIRST teams in Michigan currently number 140 FIRST Robotics Competition teams with approximately 150 high schools involved and 310 FIRST LEGOÒ League (FLL) teams with more than 3,000 students competing;
- FIRST Robotics Competition alumni make up 20 percent of the current student body at Kettering University’s School of Engineering in Flint.
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 the support of many of the world’s most well-known companies, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for high-school students, FIRST LEGOÒ League for children 9 to14 years old (FLL), and Junior FIRST LEGOÒ League (Jr.FLL) for 6 to 9 year-olds. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.
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Media contact:
Tom Lang, 734-953-3500
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