Rookie 4-H Robotics Team Advances to State Championship
On Saturday and Sunday, February 17 & 18, 2024, the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team Fast Food Robotics 24178 competed at both Greenwood Qualifying Tournaments with teams from
across the state. The first ever FIRST Indiana Robotics double header. The teams were vying for one of the 24 spots at the State Championship–four teams from each of the six qualifying tournaments around the state advance.
Fast Food Robotics is part of the year-long youth development program Superior STEAM–a 4-H club. Superior STEAM houses 10 total FIRST Robotics teams for ages 6-18 years old. Fast Food Robotics is a new rookie FTC team with 8 students that have graduated from 4 of Superior STEAM’s FIRST LEGO League teams.
FIRST, an acronym meaning “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,”
is an international not-for-profit organization founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989. The organization has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. It is one of the world’s leading organizations providing experiential
workforce development skills for STEM industries. Participants and alumni of FIRST programs
gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive
scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life.
FTC has two pathways to the state championship: robot game and judged awards. At the
end of qualification matches, Fast Food Robotics placed 23rd out of 31 teams. The top four
teams at the end of qualification matches then pick their alliance for the final elimination
matches. Fast Food Robotics was the second, and final, pick of the first alliance. The alliance was captained by the Bloomington team 11329 I.C.E. Robotics and 12231 Warrior Tech, from Denver, was the 1st pick. The alliance went 4-1 in the elimination matches, only losing the second match in the finals, to become the Winning Alliance. Fast Food Robotics was also a 2nd place Motivate Award winner on Saturday and 2nd place Innovate Award winner on Sunday. The success of the weekend brings Superior STEAM’s total awards for the season to 14 since December.
Fast Food Robotics now joins 23 other teams that have already advanced to the FTC State
Championship on March 9th at the University of Indianapolis. Details about the FTC State Championship can be found here. You can learn more about FTC at firstinspires.org/ftc.
You can learn more about FIRST in Indiana at firstindianarobotics.org. You can learn more about Superior STEAM and Fast Food Robotics at superiorsteam.org. And you can watch Saturday’s event and all FIRST competitions in Indiana at twitch.tv/firstinrobotics.
Fast Food Robotics and Superior STEAM would like to extend a huge thank you to all their sponsors, partners, friends, and family who make all that they do possible. Without them, this program, and much of the team’s and club’s activities would not be possible. Thank you!