Kettering Crowns FIRST Winners From Auburn Hills, Oxford, Pontiac
A three-team alliance from southeast Michigan won the Kettering University FIRST Robotics District Competition Saturday in Flint.
Team 1, the Juggernauts of Pontiac; Team 33, Killer Bees from Auburn Hills; and Team 2137, T.O.R.C. from Oxford, were the Kettering District Champions following a day and a half of robot matches in Kettering University's Recreation Center.
Team 2604, Metal & Soul of Capac, won the prestigious Chariman's Award, qualifying the team for state finals.
"This was a superb district competition in every way," said Bob Nichols, Kettering event co-coordinator. "The crowds were large and very spirited. We had about 1,000 visitors on Friday and at least 1,500 on Saturday in spite of snowy weather."
Nichols said it was a fitting tribute to FIRST Robotics' 20th anniversary.
This year's contest is called Logo Motion and features the colorful triangle, circle and square of FIRST's logo as game pieces.
Winning silver medals as second place District Finalists was a three-team alliance of Mid-Michigan teams: Team 494, Martians of Goodrich; Team 1243, Dragons of Swartz Creek; and Team 1684, Chimeras of Lapeer.
Other awards went to:
* Engineering Inspiration: Team 2834, Bionic Barons, Bloomfield Hills
* Rookie All Star: Team 3536, Electro Eagles, Howell
* Highest Rookie Seed: Team 3536, Electro Eagles, Howell
* Engineering Excellence (sponsored by Delphi): Team 51, Wings of Fire, Pontiac
* Industrial Design (sponsored by General Motors): Team 2137, T.O.R.C., Oxford
* Quality (sponsored by Motorola) Team 33, Killer Bees, Auburn Hills
* Innovation in Control (sponsored by Rockwell Automation): Team 302, Dragons, Lake Orion
* Creativity (sponsored by Xerox): Team 326, Eagles, Romulus
* Entrepreneurship (sponsored by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers): Team 27, Team Rush, Clarkston
* Rookie Inspiration: Team 3450, Random Nuts of Flint
* Gracious Professionalism (sponsored by Johnson & Johnson): Team 1322, G.R.A.Y.T. Leviathons, Fenton
* Imagery (in honor of Jack Kamen): Team 494, Martians, Goodrich
* Team Spirit (sponsored by Chrysler): Team 1506, Metal Muscle, Flint
* Industrial Safety (sponsored by Underwriters Laboratories): Team 2604, Metal & Soul, Capac
* Best Web Site at Kettering District: Team 2834, Bionic Barons, Bloomfield Hills
* Judges Award: Team 3398, Crush 'N Crusaders, Detroit.
Thirty-eight teams competed in Kettering's district games March 4-5, one of nine districts in Michigan being held weekends through April 2. The state championship will be at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center in Ypsilanti April 7-9 and the national championship is set for St. Louis, Mo., April 28-30. All competitions are open to the public free.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a national effort to inspire careers in engineering, science and technology.
