Cheektowaga, NY (March 17, 2010) - Nearly 50 teams competed in a three-on-three game of robot soccer during the Finger Lakes Regional For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition held March 4-6 at the Gordon Field House at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Student team members made sure, from the sidelines, that the robots were maneuvering properly. The Erie 1 BOCES (FIRST) Robotics team, Team 1765, was made possible by the help of JBM Computer Consultants, Inc., of West Seneca, that served as an engineering mentor to the team; the JCPenney Company and Greatbatch Inc. of Alden were key financial sponsors of the Erie 1 BOCES team. For 2010, the JCPenney Company expanded its corporate support of FIRST Robotics to 60 teams nationwide. This equated to the majority of JCPenney’s districts being partnered with a FIRST team. The Buffalo district, in support of Erie 1 BOCES, added to the corporate donation with various fundraisers held in its stores. These fundraisers included dress down days for its associates; a program called "Buy a Piece of the Bot," where associates sponsored a piece of a Robot built in its Cheektowaga store; and help selling candy bars as part of the Harkness Candy Bar Sale. JCPenney corporate and local donations totaled $4,878!

To bring the robot to life, student preparation for the competition was cross-curricular, cross-center and collaborative between the three Erie 1 BOCES career and technical centers (Harkness, Kenton, and Potter). The 2010 FIRST Robotics challenge, revealed by the FIRST Robotics Council on Jan. 2, was to build, in six-weeks time, a robot to meet certain specifications and perform specific actions and ultimately take home an award. The platform of each robot was similar. However, each team made a unique robot. This year’s robot weighed in at 83 pounds, and was required to dribble a soccer ball, run for 20 seconds on its own under a programmed setting, and at the end of the game - for extra points - pick itself off the ground and climb a tower.

Garth Merlino, electrical systems instructor at Erie 1 BOCES Harkness Career and Technical Center, and lead advisor for the US FIRST Robotics Team 1765, saw the project task through from start to finish. "At first, the task seemed daunting to the students," said Merlino. "If you can imagine, as a student, being given a seemingly impossible task and then in six weeks being able to see the finished product. It is truly amazing," stated Merlino.

Merlino also noted the supportive professionalism between the teams that competed in this year’s event. "It was a joy to walk around and see a spirit of camaraderie rather than competition within the ‘pits,’ where the teams work on their robots. I have heard this called 'gracious professionalism' in past years and this was certainly also true of FIRST Robotics 2010. Everyone was there to help everyone else, no matter who their team was."

This is the fifth year that Team 1765 has been involved in the FIRST Robotics competition. Last year, the Erie 1 robotics team placed fourth out of 42 teams. This year, Team 1765 received 31st place out of 44 teams for their robot.

"Of course, everyone wants to come in first place; but just having gained new skills through the experience of participating in a competition of this caliber is enough of a reward," Merlino noted.

First place winners of the regional competition will advance to the national finals in the superdome in Atlanta, Georgia to be held at the end of April. National finalists will compete in a world championship.

A student-driven Web site regarding BOCES Team 1765 has been designed and can be viewed at www.team1765.com.

Erie 1 BOCES provides some of the most exciting one-year and two-year educational opportunities available as part of public education to high school students in western New York. More than 25 career and technical education programs are offered to 11th and 12th graders at three state-of-the-art career and technical centers: Harkness, Kenton, and Potter as well as various off-site locations. Career and technical education programs are designed to provide a hands-on experience that reflects the real world of work in career fields of student interest. High school students interested in learning more about these programs should speak with their school counselor or visit www.e1b.org.