Team 1305 does it again!

Near North District School Board
News Release

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Team1305, the Near North Student Robotics Initiative, has done it again!

They have qualified for the World Championships in St. Louis Missouri by earning the “Engineering Inspiration” award at the Greater Toronto West Regional FIRST Robotics tournament this past weekend at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

The Engineering Inspiration award recognizes their efforts to promote the principles of engineering both within their team and to younger students through outreach and guided learning activities.

In addition, they were recognized for their efforts to share their skills by mentoring other teams and sharing documents like their business plan, alumni testimonials and guide to team culture.

The promotion of science and technology through fun events like Robomania, FIRST Lego League teams and programs at the Early Years Centre were also praised. In addition to this major award, the team also earned the UL Industrial Safety award and team member Kalen Bennet was recognized as one of two Safety Stars of the Day.

This week, the team redoubled their efforts and made improvements to their programming. Following their team motto, “Never Ever Quit,” the team worked to make a series of improvements for more consistent scoring. Finishing the qualifying matches in 16th place in a field of 55 teams, they were eventually eliminated in the quarter finals.

The creation and mentorship of two new FIRST Robotics teams – one in Sudbury at Lo-Ellen Secondary School and another at Huntsville High School – is another major initiative of this past year. The Sudbury team earned the Rookie All Star last week, Rookie Inspiration this week and will also be joining the North Bay group in St. Louis.

Having nearby teams encourages the sharing of resources, learning opportunities and friendships.

Last week, the North Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie teams were able to form a first ever Northern Ontario alliance in the quarter finals.

Although the team has never failed to qualify, the competition for one of the six berths to St. Louis has never been tougher.

With an ever expanding field of excellent teams, Ontario has become one of the most difficult regions to qualify in, rivalled only by Michigan and California.

The team was supported by a number of proud parents and extended family but was very flattered to receive three VIP guests: Councillors Tanya Vrebosch-Merry, Judy Koziol, and surprise guest, Mayor Al McDonald.

The mayor also received a guided tour of the “pits” by mascot “Captain Ice Cubed” aka student Abbey Thompson before watching the spirited finals in the afternoon.

Our mission is to educate learners to their fullest potential in preparation for life-long learning.

Mike Kobylecky, Robotics co-ordinator for General Motors Canada also visited the team’s pit this past weekend. GM is a new addition to the team’s many sponsors that include Bombardier Aerospace as well as two local Rotary clubs and Kiwanis.

Team captain Martin Gagne is proud of his team and geared up for the championships.

Proud team mentors remind students that there is still more work to be done to make their robot and their team competitive against powerhouse teams that dominate the international championship.

Improvements to the camera tracking and shooter mechanism need to be designed and implemented quickly.

Now that the team has qualified they will need to raise several thousand dollars in the next few weeks.

Best wishes to the team can be given to the team website at www.team1305.org and donations to help the team will be gratefully acknowledged.

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