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Championing Science: Richfield's FIRST Robotics Team Set to Compete in April

Richfield High School's FIRST Robotics team works after school to get ready for its first competition.

After school time for many students may include varsity football, marching band, theater or other pursuits. Yet in the interest of science and technology, more than a dozen teens at (RHS) are including the chance to build a robot to their list of extracurriculars as members of the school's FIRST Robotics team.

"I wanted an after school activity to do and this seemed like [a fun] thing," said Jimmy Rode, RHS freshman and team member.

Richfield's FIRST team, No. 2989 or simply the Richfield Spartans, meets every day in the high school's technology wing. RHS teacher Mark Le Feber leads the team.

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"It gives students an opportunity to do something they can't do anywhere else," he said.

FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, requires students to develop a robot that will participate in a competition against robots from other schools. The program was founded by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, the iBOT Mobility System, which is a wheelchair-type device that can raise laterally.

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The RHS team members are: Rode, Nate Wannebo, Joe Matko, Farhoud Golafshan, Devon Ramsarran, Gideon Ochake, Mike Tomkinson, Mike Dafronzo, Erick Johnson, Emma Wasko and Brandon Nichlolas.

While FIRST is a competition, it’s not just about competing to win. One major emphasis of FIRST is on "gracious professionalism," in which students are encouraged to treat each other with respect and kindness during the competition. The program has trademarked the term "Coopertition," which involves learning from teammates and always helping others, even if they are members of another team.

Le Feber has been involved in FIRST Robotics for more than 20 years and said he continues to participate in the program because of the gracious professionalism emphasis, the corporate presence in sponsorship and the fact that FIRST gives away $14 million in scholarships annually.

One of the challenges of this year's competition consists of the robot having only seconds to remove a tube from a hook on a wall, in addition to an autonomy challenge—a competition in which judges examine how well the team's robot can move on its own—and leadership competition.

So far, the students have gained some valuable lessons as they've worked to make sure their robot is autonomous. For example, the students mis-wired the speed controller, which was a $180 mistake, according to Le Feber.

The team gets help from mentors and volunteers, mainly parents who oversee the development of the robot and provide encouragement to the students, and is being sponsored by Best Buy.

The program at RHS is relatively new and this year's team consists mostly of freshman and sophomores, according to Le Feber.

"The kids come first and this is a huge learning curve for them," he said. "Hopefully by next year we can get most of them back and they'll learn how to run the program."

Team 2989 will go to their first regional competition April 1 and 2 at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena; practice begins at the arena March 30.

Stay tuned as Patch follows the team at the competition in April.

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