The Fenton High School Titanium Tigers Robotics Team Michigan State Championships March 22nd, 2018. From April 12th to 14th, 2018, high school students from Titanium Tigers will be competing with 160 teams in the Michigan State Championships, a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) event held at the Ryder Center at Saginaw Valley State University.
More than 80,000 high school students around the world, located in 26 different countries, competing on more than 5000 teams will compete in the 2018 FRC game, Power Up. Teams of three robots each, known as an Alliance, will face off on a 25′ x 54′ field that is straddled by a five foot tall truss. The objective of Power Up involves cooperation between alliance members to place as many cubes into three different gravity acted mechanisms. The teams can choose between three different locations for their cubes, either an elevated scale, a grounded switch, or into their vault to store in order to activate special abilities called “power-ups”. At the end of the match, the robots are designed to be able to hang onto an elevated bar and support themselves by hanging twelve inches off the ground. Each team of students had just six weeks to design, build and program their robot for competition, with assistance from STEM mentors.
Each team competes in two district events that qualify them for states. The district events that the Titanium Tigers participated in this year was the week 1 event at Kettering University, March 2 & 3rd and week 3 Gaylord district event, March 16 & 17th. At Kettering, the Tigers, after all of the qualification matches, were ranked 5th out of the 40 teams in attendance. In the elimination matches, the Tigers advanced to be the 3rd alliance captain. They won through the quarter and semis to make it to the finals adn placed in second for the whole competition. The Tigers also took home the Gracious Professionalism award for their actions throughout the competition.
In their second district event, the Titanium Tigers, again, were ranked 5th out of the 40 teams and ended up captains of the 3rd alliance. They made it to the finals again, but this time the outcome was different. The Tigers won the entire competition and for the first time, they were able to hold the title of “District Event Winner”. To add onto the excitement, the Tigers went on to win the Creativity award for their creative design, use of components and unique strategy of play.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a non-profit organization that promotes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to all ranges of school groups, from elementary to high school, with exhilarating robotics competitions. These competitions not only inspire students to learn more about science and technology, but also prepare them to be future leaders in STEM industries.
The Titanium Tigers are a function of Fenton High School that helps students explore STEM by promoting the principles of FIRST’s Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition. The Fenton Robotics program develops leadership and technical skills through hands-on experience with professional mentors. Fenton Robotics members range from ages 10-18 and participate in various levels of FIRST programs.
In addition to competitions, the Titanium Tigers demonstrate their robot at various events, including the Borg Warner Car Show, the Fenton Homecoming Parades, and Fenton High School football games. In total, the Titanium Tigers have participated in over 50 events in the Genesee County area over the past 5.
Please come out and cheer on the Titanium Tigers and our fellow FIRST teams on April 12th, 13th and 14th at the Ryder Center at SVSU as we compete in FIRST’s 2018 FRC game, Power Up. Opening ceremonies begin on each day at 9am and the competition runs until the closing ceremonies, which is around 5pm. The World Championship will also take place in Michigan for the first time this year, located in Detroit’s Cobo Center from April 25th to 28th.
For more information about the Titanium Tigers, please visit www.fentonrobotics.com or contact us at fhs.robotics@fentonschools.org For more information about FIRST, please visit www.firstinspires.org.
