For the third straight year, Washington High School’s Hatchet House will play host to more than 25 FIRST Robotics teams from around the state.
“We are guessing we will have around 2,000 people here April 2, 3 and 4 for the First Robotics District event,” said WHS computer science and robotics teacher Matt Riney, adding the estimated impact of those visitors is around $400,000. “WHS is the southwest hub and it’s neat for our kids to host and have the community members be able to see what they’ve been working on.”
Sponsored by Toyota. Vincennes University’s Center for Applied Robotics and Automation, Washington Community Schools and the City of Washington, the community is invited to drop by the Hatchet House to witness what FIRST Robotics is all about.
“The community is invited to stop by and see the competition,” said Riney.
Community members can also grab a bite to eat from several food trucks that will onsite.
“We right now have Jose Burrito, Big Al’s BBQ, Big Boy’s Burgers, Kolb’s Culinary Creations, Fizz Me Up and Squatch City Wraps who will be set up outside,” said Nancy Armstrong, a member of the Hatchet Robotics Booster Club. “On the inside, we will have Zax’s Creamery and the Hatchet Dance Team will be selling concessions.”
Events kick off April 2, when the teams start arriving. The pits will be open and inspections will take place. Action will begin on the course around 8 a.m. April 3 with practice rounds followed by the opening ceremonies around 10 a.m. Qualification matches will run from approximately 2 to 7 p.m.
On April 3, ceremonies start at 10 a.m., with qualifications 11 to 1 and 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday’s qualifications start at 10 a.m. with alliance selection at 12:30 and playoffs from 2 to 5 p.m.
Hatchet Robotics will field two teams in the contest that features an archaeology theme this year.
“Very few schools have two teams,” said Riney, who said freshmen and sophomores have designed and built one of the robots while juniors and seniors have designed and built another. “We want them to get the experience.”
And getting experience is important. That’s why the team recently packed up their two robotics and headed to a competition in South Carolina.
WHS has over 30 students on the robotics team. They each have a part of the process of taking designs and turning them into robotics that can complete the tasks necessary.
“They are all very dedicated to the success of their robots,” said Riney. “They come in here and they get to work. Everyone has a chance to go pro here. If you put in the time and grit, this can lead to a good job down the road for them.”
Junior Cameron Baker is the co-captain for the upperclassman robot 8116.
“We started working on the design and building right after the game was released in January,” Baker said, adding there is always some trial and error when it comes to designing and putting together a robot that can complete the tasks necessary for each year’s new game. “It’s something we keep working on to improve.”
Baker said for the game, both of the Hatchet Robotics robots will be paired a team from another school.
“You have to do some scouting to figure out whose robot can do what and talk about strategy,” he said.
Adrain Newton and Oliver Armstrong who are part of the freshman and sophomore team, said competing against other teams also helps give them ideas on how to make adjustments to their robot.
“We were able to learn a lot from the teams we competed with in South Carolina earlier this month,” said Newton.
Armstrong is a coder on the team. He works to make sure all the robot’s firmware is updated and is currently working on improvements to the way robot 8430 is reading QR codes.
“It’s all really hands-on and that’s what I really enjoy about this,” said Armstrong.
