SO BOTZ is kicking off the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition season at the Hudson Valley Regional this weekend! Tappan Zee High School will square off against 47 high school teams from across New York, the UK and Turkey.
Gladiator, the team robot, boasts “a swerve drive-train capable of omnidirectional travel and an integrated vision subsystem,” reported Project Manager Molly C., a senior.
The 2024 FRC Hudson Valley Regional Competition will be held at Rockland Community College on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9, 8:30AM-6:00PM. This family-friendly event is free and open to the public.
“The matches are really engaging and exciting,” Molly noted. “Attendees can also visit the pit area to see teams working on their robots and to learn how they’re spreading FIRST values and a passion for STEM.”
FIRST Robotics Competition is a global program which offers a challenging, real-world engineering experience for high school students. Under strict rules and limited time and resources, teams of high school students–with guidance from advisors and mentors–must design and build industrial-size robots to play a complex field game in alliance with other teams, while also raising funds, managing a team brand, and promoting STEM appreciation within their local communities and beyond.
Over the past two years, outreach has been a particular focus for SO BOTZ, which assists and mentors other FRC teams, leads a computer science education partnership in Amagoro, Kenya through the Kiwimbi Foundation and hosts its annual Robo Rally to collaborate with local teams. Members participate in the District’s K-5 Tech Night, CodeCon at SOMS and other events in our schools and community to generate excitement about science, technology, engineering and math.
Since its inception in 2017, SO BOTZ has become a capstone experience for many TZHS students. Ninety percent of current team members intend to pursue a STEM major in college. Alumni have secured employment and internships at companies including Amazon, Bloomberg, Meta, Microsoft, Mitre, NASA, Oracle and Salesforce.
Come out and cheer on SO BOTZ/Team 6911 this weekend!
For more information, visit www.nysfirst.org/hudson-valley.