Ronan robotics team takes third at state
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
RONAN — On Friday, Jan. 31, Ronan High School competed in the Montana State FIRST Robotics Tournament in Bozeman. This year’s challenge, Block Party, brought with it 36 teams ready to compete. Team 724 from Simms started an internal bet on all teams having a working autonomous program; from there the bet was opened to all teams and 300 milkshakes were on the line. In the end every team had an operating autonomous program and they received their milkshakes. This was the first state level competition that saw all teams using an autonomous program in FIRST history, coining the phrase Montana Moves FIRST.
Ronan started the day with a rough start, mechanical failures and some close matches, leaving Ronan sitting at 24th place. However, during alliance selection, team 4133 from Helena (an alliance partner from team 178’s State Championship alliance in 2011) chose Ronan as a partner. After two close matches Ronan’s alliance placed third. Ronan was also runner up for the FIRST Think Award. This award is given to the team that best reflects the “journey” they took. From design schematics to prototypes, this team has a clear understanding of the engineering and design process.
The Ronan Middle School Robotics teams competed in the State meet in Bozeman on the Montana State University campus Feb. 1, where 54 teams competed in the First Lego League challenge, “Nature’s Fury.”
The challenge was built around natural disasters along with ways to deal with the complex issues that arise when disasters take place. The girls’ team, Ladies of the Arts, worked through the day and ended up 44th during the Robot Game portion of the competition. At the end of the day they were recognized with a first place finish in the judging, bringing home the Inspiration Award. This award celebrates a team that is empowered by their FLL experience and displays extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit. The boys’ team, Great Gygabytes, worked through some early robot issues and then finished 21st in the Robot game. In addition, they were recognized for their efforts by bringing home second place in the Inspiration Award category.
