Elaine Loft, Staff Writer
Despite snowy weather and slippery roads, the Athletic & Wellness Center was a scene of animated activity on Saturday, January 11, as 25 robotics teams from around the state convened for the second FTC Qualifier event of the season. FIRST, founded by Dean Kamen, offers a progressive series of team robotics challenges for students aged 4-18. Derryfield has two robotics teams, the Binary Bots and the Fighting Cougars.
As host of the event, Derryfield was tasked with providing a plethora of volunteers; faculty and staff trained ahead of time to be members of the judging team, referees, and announcers. Members of the Derryfield robotics teams, led by coaches Tom Eng and Steve Young, were in charge of organizing and orchestrating the nearly eight-hour extravaganza. Additional support came from other student volunteers, including members of the junior class. The Matarese Dining Commons fed over 350 guests.
Tom Eng and Steve Young, coaches of the Derryfield robotics teams, oversaw the planning and execution of the event. Eng recognized many members of the community for their support.
“Thanks to the efforts of our staff, faculty, student body, and community, the event ran smoothly and the visiting teams had a lot of fun. The B&G team did a wonderful job helping us prepare for, run, and clean up after the event. The IT team provided outstanding support for the event, and the finance team and the Flik dining team did a great job preparing meals for the event. Last but not least, our students (and even an alumnus, Zach Horton) did a wonderful job setting up, running, and cleaning up after the event. Students from the robotics team as well as non-robotics students came to help out. I was genuinely impressed (and proud) to see how effective (and happy) the students were in their volunteer roles.”
As hosts, Derryfield did not compete at the event. However, they will be attending the Bedford qualifier at Bedford High School this Saturday, Jan 18, and the Windham qualifier at Golden Brook School on January 26, with the aim of making it to the NH State Championships on February 15 at NHTI.
