The Label Printers Sponsors Geneva High School’s 'ROBOVIKES' Team at 1st Robotics Midwest Tournament
In the far western suburbs of Chicago: The thrill of victory and the agony of missing the semi-finals by half a point. Or maybe not.
This year’s FIRST Robotics game – Recycle Rush – was different. Since the Geneva [IL] High School’s Robovikes have fielded a FIRST team, each tournament has had a sports theme, and advancing through the tournament finals is determined by wins and losses. This year’s theme was recycling. There was no defense – just a race against the clock to rack up as many points as possible. Advancing into the quarter-finals was determined by the average score of each team through all of the qualifying matches. Advancing into the semi-finals was determined by the average score of each of the top 8 seeded alliances.
During the qualifying rounds, the Robovikes were variously in 11th place and 24th place and a bunch of places in between. Senior Zach Gauntt and Junior John Zupke were in the “pit” after an early match when the robot fell over. They responded carefully when questioned about how they felt about the game and the tournament – respectively “OK” and “pretty good”. The team hadn’t yet made the adjustments that would put them back in the hunt. But, even so, they were ready to see what came next.
Those adjustments led to the Robovikes finishing the qualification matches in 13th place. Due to the way that the alliances are built, they became the eighth and final seed going into the finals, tasked with building an alliance by selecting two teams whose average scores weren’t nearly as gaudy as those of the top seeds. The Robovikes 8th seeded alliance played two quarter-final matches, beating the 1st and 2nd seeded alliances’ scores in both of those matches with high-scoring games, and exultantly ascending to the 3rd seed in the next to last match of the quarter-finals. But in that final match, the scores of the 1st and 7th seeded alliances were so high they pushed the Robovikes into 5th position, and out of the tournament. The 7th seeded alliance’s average score was 124.5. The Robovikes 8th seeded alliance’s score was 124.
But if you think this result would fit into the sports metaphor about the agony of defeat, you’d be wrong.
Joe Kane, Director of R & D at The Label Printers’ and a team mentor since the Robovikes became a part of the FIRST program said, “To a person, all of the kids were really proud and excited at how they performed at the tournament. They got better and better as it wore on and they put together an 8th seeded alliance [the Robovikes, the Ultimate Protection Squad from Milwaukee, and the Thunderbolts from Emek Hefer, Israel] that almost pulled off a huge upset.”
So the team wasn’t in the dumps about not moving on to the quarter finals? “Not at all. The team was proud that we beat the number one seeded team – twice! Our victory against the number one seeded alliance [which included the teams in the number one and two positions at the end of the Qualification Matches] in the first match of the quarter-finals was epic. And the victory against the number two seeded alliance was such a high scoring, exciting game – we thought we might move on to the quarter finals.”
But missing the cut by half a point? “We ended our tournament with a success, not a failure. Being the underdog – no one expected us or our alliance to do as well as we did. During our quarter final matches, we beat the 1st and 2nd seeded alliances – and that really resonated with the kids. The positive aspect of what they accomplished outweighed any negative associated with the outcome.”
Kane went on to say, “I also think that the failures of our tournament in Peoria had a lot to do with the team’s feeling of accomplishment in Chicago. For the kids to do what they did – redesigning the ‘bot in such a short period of time and making it competitive. Figuring out what went wrong in the early going of the Midwest Regional when the ‘bot fell over twice – and fixing it on the fly. I know that everyone feels that they can take the lessons from those tournaments into a longer build season next year. They feel like they can take chances, and not be afraid to try new things.”
As a team mentor and competitive guy, how did you feel? “My feelings mirrored the kids’. On the bus ride home, there was a smile on everyone’s face.”
ROBOVIKE Team Members:
Seniors: Jason Belzer, Mitchell Bennett, Michael Bloink, Brandon Elizondo, Zach Gauntt, Alesa Laserna, Jack McCloughan, Tom Miller, Brad Snurka, Rachel Warren
Juniors: Wendy Garrett, Jakob Grooten, A. J. Novy, John Zupke
Sophomores: Shane Allcroft, Ben Deem, Prem Desai, Noah Legenski, Greg Wendt
Freshmen: Danny Atkinson, Ryan Chalmers, Kate Kilmer, Max Winter
The Robovikes are organized by Geneva High School teacher Mary Keyzer. Her husband Kevin (a ceramics engineer) and Kevin’s dad, John Keyzer, are mentors, as is The Label Printers’ Director of R & D, Joe Kane.
About THE LABEL PRINTERS:
The Label Printers, Aurora, IL, started in business in 1967, manufacturing simple label constructions in a 1,000 square foot space, with 1 employee, serving the local Chicago market.
Today, the company has evolved into one of the 100 largest converters in the United States. The Label Printers owns and operates two facilities in Aurora, Illinois, manufacturing and distributing labels and packaging products to thousands of customers in 25 countries around the world. The company’s quality systems are registered to ISO 9001 and are backed up by their 99.6% Quality Acceptance Rating.
The Label Printers is a member of NASPO (North American Security Products Organization), CACP (Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy), TLMI (Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute) and the FTA (Flexographic Technical Association).
About Geneva High School (Community Unit School District 304)
Geneva Community High School is over 130 years old and has over 1,800 students, 150 faculty members, and offers more than 150 courses in eleven academic areas. Students may also enroll in one of thirty-seven academic courses in the Fox Valley Career Center curriculum. Advanced placement and honors courses are offered in all academic areas supported by the expansion of our Acceleration and Enrichment program.
While maintaining an outstanding tradition of excellence in education, athletic and extracurricular programs, our school provides a wide variety of community service learning experiences throughout Geneva and the Fox Valley. Our experienced administrative team and dedicated staff, along with the support of the community of Geneva, offer one of the finest educational opportunities available throughout the state of Illinois.
About the FIRST Robotics Competition:
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an annual competition that helps students discover the excitement of science, engineering, and technology and the rewards a career in STEM can bring. The FIRST Robotics Competition began in 1992 with 28 teams and a single 14-by-14-foot playing field in a New Hampshire high school gym.
"The Varsity Sport for the Mind," FRC 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 robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. It’s as close to "real-world engineering" as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team.
Students get to:
- Learn from professional engineers
- Build and compete with a robot of their own design
- Learn and use sophisticated software and hardware
- Compete and cooperate in alliances and tournaments
- Earn a place in the World Championship
- Qualify for over $19 million in college scholarships
This year’s game, called RECYCLE RUSH, is a recycling-themed game played by two Alliances of three robots each. Robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter. All game pieces used are reusable or recyclable.” View the game animation and more on FIRST’s YouTube Channel.
About FIRST:
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and nearly $15 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for high-school students, FIRST LEGO League (FLL) for 9 to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S. and Canada) and Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) for 6 to 9-year-olds.
Since 1992, the FIRST Robotics Competition has grown from 1 event to nearly 60 and from 28 teams to over 2000. Much has changed over the first twenty seasons…but our key goals remain the same; our commitment to Gracious Professionalism™, our emphasis on learning, helping one another and inspiring careers in math, science, engineering and technology.
Gracious Professionalism™ is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.
