FIRST places second

Local News

March 16, 2011

By Joe Olenick Lockport Union-Sun & Journal The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Wed Mar 16, 2011, 01:42 AM EDT

The Lockport Warlocks seem to have a little magic with them so far this year.

The high school robotics team finished in second place out of 40 teams over the weekend at a FIRST Robotics regional competition in Pittsburgh. The team also took home a few awards in the process, said team adviser and technology teacher James Rogowski.

“We’re very excited, I’m just so proud of the kids,” Rogowski said. “I just can’t say enough about them.”

FIRST is the “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology” organization. It is a group that introduces students to professional engineers, scientists, business leaders and other mentors to promote science and technology as career possibilities. High school students enter competitions that require them to design and build robots to complete certain tasks.

This year teams had to build a robot that could hang as many inflated triangles, circles and squares as they could during a 2 minute 15 second match. The higher the shapes (taken from the FIRST logo) are hung the more points they are worth. At the end of the match the robots deploy a smaller robot that races to the top of a pole for more points. Each team will play alongside two others in an alliance, competing against another alliance of three teams.

Lockport won nine matches and lost one in the preliminary round, then proceeded to advance all the way to the competition’s championship final. Rogowski said the team’s robot did break down at one point, but the team’s competitiveness won out and they were able to rally.

Aside from their silver medal, the Warlocks also won the Website Award, Coopertition Award and the Mini-bot Award. The website is maintained completely by the kids, Rogowski said, and the Coopertition Award is for teams that helps other teams compete. Lockport allowed a few other teams to borrow their mini-robot.

“To win and then to have won a couple of awards, I am so proud of them,” Rogowski said.

Next up for Lockport is the FIRST Robotics Championship next month in St. Louis. The Warlocks will compete against 360 other teams from all over the world. Rogowski said the team’s robot has already been packed up and shipped to St. Louis.

The team is still meeting and will continue to make adjustments, Rogowski added.

“They’re excited but we’ll go over some things that we can improve upon,” he said. “We’ll be ready.”

Competing and winning isn’t the only things kids are getting out of it, Rogowski said. The chance to work with engineers and learn about the science, technology and math fields is a great opportunity.

“I wish other kids could have the same opportunity,” Rogowski said.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.

Text Only

Local News

Paying Respect
May 28, 2012 4 Photos
Sense of resignation escorts AES tax pact
May 24, 2012
Town considering WNYLC's request
May 23, 2012
Palace, Hartland get Greenway funding
The Historic Palace Theatre and the Town of Hartland both were cleared Tuesday to receive Niagara River Greenway funding for improvement projects.

The eight-member Host Communities Standing Committee voted unanimously to approve funding requests of $151,000 for the Palace and $244,000 for Hartland, which is planning a multi-phase town park enhancement project.

May 22, 2012
Erie Canal photo contest underway
The seventh annual Erie Canalway photo contest is under way.

Entries are being accepted now through Sept. 7. Winning photos will be published in the 2013 Erie Canalway calendar.

May 22, 2012
Jobless totals drop slightly
Unemployment in the Lockport area decreased slightly last month, but it wasn't because more people are going back to work.

The New York State Department of Labor reported Tuesday about 1,000 city residents were without a job in April, the fifth straight month with over 1,000 unemployed. That was down from the 1,100 it reported in March, however, the number of employed stayed the same at about 9,700 people.

May 22, 2012 4 Stories
Fishing for 'Ultimate' perks
Olcott teaming up with Ontario town in running for Canadian equivalent.

May 22, 2012 2 Photos
Sprinkler work coming
Piping in high school fire sprinkler system will be addressed in July.

May 22, 2012
Willow Street victim identified
The victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Willow Street on Saturday was identified by Lockport Police as Richard Boye, 46.

May 22, 2012
Cutting the travel time
For the most part, there is a lot of planning that goes into traveling. Some like to handle the details on their own, making arrangements on the phone or using travel websites to book hotels, planes, vehicles and so on.

But lately, working with a travel agent is becoming more popular.

May 21, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

FIRST places second

Site Map

Contact Us