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Girard High team set for world championships
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Girard Robotics team member Anthony Esposito, 12th grade, works on the team's practice robot.
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By Danny Restivo
Girard
Qualifying for a world competition may be a satisfactory achievement for many high school teams, but for the Girard High School RoboCats, it’s just the first step in becoming a world champion.
“We know there’s going to be stiff competition, but we also know we can compete with any team,” said senior Anthony Esposito, a member of the RoboCats. “We’re confident we can make it into the finals.”
This week, the high school robotics team made its final preparations before traveling to St. Louis for a worldwide competition beginning April 25.
Esposito and 30 other students from the RoboCats are taking part in the 2013 Robotics World Championship Competition in the Edward Jones Dome. Roughly 400 teams from five countries are participating in the event that has the team and its staff pumped.
“I don’t know how it’s been in previous years, but I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity,” said Aaron Scott, a freshman who also serves as the team’s robot driver. His role on the robotics team has been pivotal to the team’s success, which included a first-place finish at a regional qualifier in Washington, D.C., on March 24. The victory led to the berth in the world championships.
Judy Barber, Robocats coach and adviser, said the team was a little apprehensive at first about having a freshman drive the robot, but Scott’s performance has been nothing less than excellent.
“We didn’t know if having a freshman driver would be the best idea, but he’s done fantastic,” she said.
While she’s proud of Scott, Barber said the team has done a tremendous amount of work to make it to this level. Scott and the rest of team have complemented one another like no other teams, Barber said.
“This team has been able to create the best robot since I’ve been here,” said Barber, who has served as the robotics coach since 1999. “I’m really hopeful for next week.”
Barber said the community also has been a major contributor to the team’s success. She said that without donations from private citizens and companies, it would be hard for the team to make trips to regional qualifiers.
“The amount of support they have shown has been amazing,” she said.
The team’s last fundraising event is a pancake breakfast at 9 a.m. Sunday in the high school cafeteria. The team then will board a charter bus to St. Louis on Wednesday night for four days of competition.
The team is ranked 33rd out of 400 teams competing. Although Barber said robotics competitions are more about the experience than the glory of victory, she shared some her team’s confidence.
“We like our chances,” she said. “We’ve been there in 2004 and 2007, but we were just happy to be there then. Now we’re going because we earned it.”