Carlsbad CA— Carlsbad High School Robotics Team #5015 Buffalo Wings has the unique opportunity to compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas. The team was invited via the FIRST lottery for the competition that begins April 17, 2019, through April 20, 2019. Only 12 out of 7,010 teams are invited annually to this competition, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
“This is a dream come true,” says Aiko Lozar, a sophomore at Carlsbad High School and the team’s Business Head. Aiko and nine other teammates spend two hours per day, often more, to prepare for the Worlds Championships. “For spring break week, many of our members have put in over 10 hours per day.”
The team divides its preparation into three groups: Hardware, Software, and Business. The students work within their focus areas to rewrite a 250-page Engineering Notebook, redesign their competition robot, and fundraise through special events and grant requests to afford the estimated $18,000 travel and attendance costs for the Worlds Championships. Individual contributions can also be made online.
Thee team, coached by Robert Swift and mentored by Joan Hayashi and Doug Smith, consists of Sebastian Arteaga, Sam Carter, Adam Gordon, Katelyn Lewis, Nick Loughrin, Aiko Lozar, Dora Palacios, Kaylyne Pham, Camilla Potz and Sabrina Sanchez.
FTC Robotics is a program of the Carlsbad Educational Foundation (CEF) offered to students at Carlsbad and Sage Creek High Schools. The Foundation granted more than $45,000 for the program in 2018-19, with support from community partners Nordson, iMAPS, Viasat, Leidos, and Buffalo Wild Wings. CEF also supports the district-wide robotics programs in middle and elementary schools, including the new 2nd-grade robotics program for every 2nd-grade student. Support robotics for Carlsbad Unified School District students, donate at carlsbaded.org/donate.
About the Carlsbad Educational Foundation
The Carlsbad Educational Foundation (CEF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was founded in 1983, to raise private support for public education and contribute to the enrichment of nearly 11,000 students in the Carlsbad Unified School District. Since its inception, the foundation has contributed more than $9 million in funds to Carlsbad public schools, primarily for science, technology, and music – programs that would not be possible in California’s current school funding environment. 100% of donations go directly to support the Carlsbad Unified School District because CEF’s operating expenses are covered by student enrichment programs and Kids Care, a comprehensive before and after-school K-5 childcare program. For more information, visit www.carlsbaded.org.
About FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a program created by Dean Kamen with four subsections: JR. FIRST LEGO League (JFLL), FIRST LEGO League (FLL), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), and FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC). This all-encompassing international organization was created to spark a passion for engineering and software design, as well as to provide a platform for the entrepreneurial spirit, within students aged six through eighteen. Teams are challenged to design, program, and build their own robots to complete an annual series of tasks during competition. This year, our mission, “Rover Ruckus,” was created to cultivate young minds in “junior space exploration.”