At the Southfield FIRST Robotics District Competition held last weekend at Southfield High School, Notre Dame’s robotics team, the Killer Bees (Team 33), was part of an alliance that earned the day’s number-one finish.
After being seeded first in the qualification matches and earning captain status, the Bees selected alliance partners Temperance Bedford Team 1023 (Bedford Express) and Detroit Cody Comets Team 4768 for the finals. This alliance ended up winning the competition and the Bees also earned the competition’s Industrial Design award, which goes to the team that best exemplifies “form and function in an efficiently designed machine that effectively addresses the game challenge.”
For the 2015 season, FIRST Robotics teams compete in a game called “Recycle Rush,” which is a recycling-themed game played by two alliances of three robots each. Robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter. In keeping with the recycling theme of the game, all game pieces used are reusable or recyclable by teams in their home locations or by FIRST at the end of the season.
The next competition for the Bees is another district tournament at Troy Athens High School on April 3-4. The combination of points earned by Michigan teams during two district tournaments is used to determine qualification for the state tournament in Grand Rapids at the DeltaPlex Arena on April 9 through 11.
Photos courtesy of Daniel Ernst.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.