Some high school students from the Cedar Valley will be among the more than 20,000 competing for a world robotics title in Missouri next month.

The Waterloo Community School District's Unity4Tech team competed in the Iowa regional of the 2016 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls last weekend. The local team, made up of students from both East and West high schools, won three awards and qualified for the world competition.

The 2016 FIRST World Championship will be held April 27-30 at multiple sites in St. Louis, including the Edward Jones Dome. Over 20,000 students, 900 teams and more than 40,000 attendees from 39 countries are expected to attend the event.

According Waterloo school officials, Unity4Tech earned the following awards at the FRC regional last weekend:

  • Highest Rookie Seed Award - presented to the highest-seeded rookie team at the conclusion of the qualifying rounds. The award is based on robot performance.
  • Rookie All-Star Award - presented to the rookie team that exemplifies a young, but strong partnership effort with the community and business, as well as implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire students to learn more about science and technology. This award qualified the team to move on to the world competition.
  • Woodie Flowers Award - goes to an outstanding mentor in the robotics competition who best leads, inspires and empowers their team using excellent communication skills.

What is FIRST Robotics Competition?

Dubbed a varsity Sport for the Mind,™ FIRST Robotics Competition combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of 25 students or more are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program a robot to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. -Official FIRST

To learn more about the competition, click on the video below or go to firstinspires.org.

Courtesy: Official FIRST via YouTube

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