(March 31, 2016) Local robotics team Titanium Wrecks recently qualified to compete in the district championships in College Park, April 6-9 at the Xfinity Center. The mechanized warriors earned that right after doing will in two district competitions.
Team mentor Paul Suplee said the members of the team, all students from high schools in Worcester County, “did exceedingly well, both on the field and in the other areas of competition.”
Both competitions were part of the national For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics league, and took place in Bethesda and in Bel Air in March.
Suplee said the team, T-Wrecks for short, finished ninth out of 41 teams during the first weekend, and second out of 39 teams during the second weekend of the competition.
“We couldn’t be any happier with those standings, as the new scoring platform is much more accurate than the old for individual teams, so those standings were hard fought for,” he said. “At the end of the day, we ended up 15th out of 134 teams in the Chesapeake District, a statistic that we are ecstatic with.”
Suplee said the students “excelled in ways that we never thought possible in our third year.”
“Our safety captain helped to guide us into winning not only first in Pit Safety at the D.C. district competition, but also the Industrial Safety Award from United Laboratories at the Northern Maryland District Competition,” he said.
Also at the D.C. District Competition, Suplee said the team won the 2016 Imagery Award, which honored the squad for artistic representation and aesthetics in robot and team design.
“The most humbling award was won at the Northern Maryland District, and that is the coveted Chairman’s Award, something that we could never imagine winning as a third-year team,” Suplee said.
“According to FIRST, Chairman’s is ‘the most prestigious award … it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.’”
Moving onto the district championship, the team is hoping to raise $4,000 for the entry fee, as well as help pay for travel expenses for 30 people.
“And of course we have our sights set on a third year in St. Louis at the World Championships,” Suplee said. “If it doesn’t happen, then we’ll be thrilled with how well we’ve done, but we like to shoot for the stars, you know?”
For more information, or to donate to the team, contact Suplee at 443-880-1986 or pgsuplee@gmail.com, or visit www.team-t-wrecks.org.
Team mentor Paul Suplee said the members of the team, all students from high schools in Worcester County, “did exceedingly well, both on the field and in the other areas of competition.”
Both competitions were part of the national For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics league, and took place in Bethesda and in Bel Air in March.
Suplee said the team, T-Wrecks for short, finished ninth out of 41 teams during the first weekend, and second out of 39 teams during the second weekend of the competition.
“We couldn’t be any happier with those standings, as the new scoring platform is much more accurate than the old for individual teams, so those standings were hard fought for,” he said. “At the end of the day, we ended up 15th out of 134 teams in the Chesapeake District, a statistic that we are ecstatic with.”
Suplee said the students “excelled in ways that we never thought possible in our third year.”
“Our safety captain helped to guide us into winning not only first in Pit Safety at the D.C. district competition, but also the Industrial Safety Award from United Laboratories at the Northern Maryland District Competition,” he said.
Also at the D.C. District Competition, Suplee said the team won the 2016 Imagery Award, which honored the squad for artistic representation and aesthetics in robot and team design.
“The most humbling award was won at the Northern Maryland District, and that is the coveted Chairman’s Award, something that we could never imagine winning as a third-year team,” Suplee said.
“According to FIRST, Chairman’s is ‘the most prestigious award … it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.’”
Moving onto the district championship, the team is hoping to raise $4,000 for the entry fee, as well as help pay for travel expenses for 30 people.
“And of course we have our sights set on a third year in St. Louis at the World Championships,” Suplee said. “If it doesn’t happen, then we’ll be thrilled with how well we’ve done, but we like to shoot for the stars, you know?”
For more information, or to donate to the team, contact Suplee at 443-880-1986 or pgsuplee@gmail.com, or visit www.team-t-wrecks.org.