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Machines designed, built and programmed by students from the region will compete at Kennedy Catholic High School in the Empire FIRST Tech Challenge’s Mid-Hudson Qualifying Tournament on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Students begin checking in for inspection and judge interviews at 7:30 a.m. and matches begin after an opening ceremony tentatively scheduled for 10:25 a.m.
Twenty-four teams representing the Mid-Hudson Valley will put their engineering skills to the test in order to advance to the Empire NY FTC Regional Championship at Pace University in Pleasantville on Feb. 8.
Teams earn points for their robot’s ability to complete tasks such as placing blocks in crates. A panel of judges ranks each team's performance.
The competition will be hosted by the Bionic Gaels, a team of Kennedy Catholic High School students, that has participated in previous FTC tournaments.
The tournament is designed for students in grades seven to 12.
This free event marks the second time Kennedy Catholic High School hosts an FTC tournament.
The qualifying competition is scheduled to conclude at 5 p.m. For a full tentative schedule of the event, click here.
The top six to eight teams at this qualifying tournament will advance to a Regional Championship. The top five teams at the Regional Championship will ascend to the FTC East Super-Regional Championship being held from March 19 to March 21 in Scranton, Pa. The top teams at that competition move forward to the FTC World Championship, to be held during April in St. Louis.
For more information about the 2014-15 Empire NY FTC Tournament season, click here.
FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, was founded in 1989 to encourage students to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math, commonly called STEM. The FTC program is run by PACE University at 46 counties in New York.
Kennedy Catholic High School is at 54 Route 138 in Somers.
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