Tag Archives: Demons

East Kentwood hosts annual FIRST robotics competition

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Education, Kentwood Public Schools, Kids Activities, Recreation, , , , ,
A competition at the FIRST Robotics event at East Kentwood. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

By D.A. Reed
WKTV Contributor

GRP Titans Nikolai Nigersoll demonstrates how the team’s robot works. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

Battery issues were the challenge that Grand Rapids Prep Titans FIRST robotics team faced on Saturday, but they did not have to go far to find support.

“We are a team here,” GRP Titans mentor Matt Stewart said of all the 39 participating robotics teams at Kentwood’s FIRST Robotics competition. “All of robotics is a community-oriented thing. We’ve learned so much from all of the other teams.”

Multiple teams reaching out to give GRP Titans tools to help them test their battery, offering their team’s batteries, and offering to let the Titans charge in their pits.

“Everyone is so graceful and helpful,” said Stewart. “In the pits, it’s a community. Once you’re on the field, then you (have to) compete.”

“The Hardest Fun You’ll Ever Have”

The East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Team (3875) hosted the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) qualifying tournament March 31-April 1, 2023. The competition was sponsored by Dematic, a supplier of materials handling systems, software and services based in Grand Rapids. It gave the teams an opportunity to qualify for the state competition, which is April 6-8 at Saginaw Valley State University.

FIRST Robotics Competition is designed to combine the excitement of sport with the precisions of science and technology. FIRST Robotics’ website calls their competitions “the ultimate Sport for the Mind,” while high school participants have labeled it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have.”

Michigan Robotics teams strive to teach students a multitude of skills, including mechanical engineering, computer-aided design, electrical engineering, programming, systems integration, website building, animation, and fabrication/machining skills.

“You see the kids mature, and one of the big things is all the technical skills,” said event coordinator Wendy Ljungren, adding that the program has opened the college door for many students. “It’s been great to see our kids going into the STEM fields. We’ve had people become doctors, and lawyers, and professionals in engineering and STEM fields, and really see them transition.”

Teaching Life Skills

Sara Robarge, mother of EK teammate Kailey Robarge, said she has seen strong leadership skills taking hold in her daughter over the last year.

Red Storm Robotics teammates Mo Otajagic and Kailey Robarge carry the team’s robot Terence off the field. (WLTV/D.A. Reed)

“I have seen her take on leadership that I hoped I had instilled in her, but I have seen her put it into practice this year,” Robarge said. “As a freshman, she stepped out and tried out for the Drive Team. She also stepped up and said, ‘I’ll lead a robot build.’”

EK robotics mentor Mark VanderVoord said he has seen growth in many students, this year being current team captain Sarah Shapin.

Since Shapin joined the team in sixth grade, “she has learned a lot of technical skills. She’s going to U of M (University of Michigan) next year to do computer programming. Outside of that, she has a high-level view of how it all fits together and how everybody should be working together.

“All of the kids look up to her at this point,” said VanderVoord. “And she was the goofy one when she started!”

VanderVoord emphasized that robotics students are learning far more than how to build a robot.

“It’s about all the life skills,” VanderVoord said. “The teamwork and the technology stuff, but there are kids on our team who are learning marketing and there are kids who are learning all sorts of disciplines. We’re teaching kids to learn (everything).”

Growing the team is a large part of Red Storm Coach Trista VanderVoord’s focus.

“This year we focused a lot on recruitment,” Trista VanerVood said. :We wanted to grow our numbers, but mostly grow our numbers of girls, of females in the program.” 

The Building Blocks

That recruitment doubled the size of the Red Storm team overall, with now over 40% of the team consisting of females—quadrupling its female percentage from last year.

East Kentwood’s Red Storm Robotics team stand next to their robot, Terence. The team competes at the state championship this weekend. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

“It’s been awesome to see the growth, and it’s been awesome to see the sub-teams that have developed there and really come together and take on their part of the team,” Trista VanderVoord said.

 

EK’s Red Storm finished the tournament 20 out of 39 with a ranking score of 1.66, 5-7-0, 20 ranking points, and earned the Team Sustainability Award. The team already had earned a spot at the state competition by winning the highest award, the Impact Award, at the Lakeshore competition in March.

Other teams at this weekend’s state competition are Hopkns’ Tech Vikes (2054), West Catholic’s Enigma Robotics (2075), Forest Hills’ Comets (3357) and Code Red Robotics the Stray Dogs (2771), which is a community team based out of Byron Center High School.

The state competition action starts at 5 p.m. today. For more, FIRST in Michigan State Championship site.

Wyoming’s Demons

Wyoming’s Demons Robotics team. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

Abby Strait, high school senior and part of Wyoming High School’s Demons Robotics (858) team, has no trouble taking ownership of her role on the team.

“I’ve always been one of the people who has their hands all over the robot,” Strait said. “By the time we get to the competition, I know the robot inside and out. The more you put into the program, the more you get out of it.”

Demons Robotics finished the tournament 15 out of 39 with a ranking score of 1.83, 7-5-0 (wins-losses-ties), and 22 ranking points.

GRP Titans

Grand River Preparatory High School participated in the EK tournament with its first robotics team in ten years, the GRP Titans (9206), due to grants received from FIRST Robotics.

Stewart said that all students participating have been very invested in the program.

“Some of them had no prior experience, some of them only had building, yet every student has been all hands on deck with everything, and it’s been really cool to see,” Stewart said. “They all know what they do best, what they need to work on, so it’s been really fun to see them all working together.”

Though the Titans currently have approximately 15 team members, Stewart sees that number growing and sustaining since the team is composed mostly of underclassmen.

The GRP Titans finished the tournament 28 out of 39 with a ranking score of 1.50, 4-8-0, and 18 ranking points.

For complete competition results, click here: East Kentwood FIRST Competition.



D. A. (Deborah) Reed is an award-winning author of young adult novels and a creative writing instructor from the Grand Rapids area. To find out more about D.A. Reed, visit her website: D.A. Reed Author

Two girls remove a robot from the field during the Grand Rapids Girls Robotics competition

For local robotics event, its about showing girls they ‘can do it’

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Kentwood Public Schools, Kids Activities, Our Cities, Recreation, Tech Trends, , , ,
Wyoming’s Demon Robotics and East Kentwood’s Storm Red battle during the Grand Rapids Girls Robotics Competition on Oct. 8. (WKTV/Jodi Miesen)

By Jodi Miesen
WKTV Contributor

It was an intense battle for bragging rights for two local all-girls high school robotics teams that took part in a competition that focused on their abilities in a very male-dominated field.

The 2022 Grand Rapids Girls Robotics Competition was held at Wyoming High School over the weekend. Most high school robotics teams are co-ed but for this unique annual STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) event, only the girls were allowed to compete. GRGRC event coordinator Mallorie Edwards said the event was founded in 2016, by Wyoming High School teacher Richard Budden. Budden taught STEM and noticed female students were not as interested in it.

Edwards, who has been with the organization since 2017, said she’s passionate about the organization’s mission and was excited GRGRC could bring the competition back this year. This is the first time they’ve been able to hold the all-day event since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Turnout was lower this year than in the past with only 14 teams. The event is capped at 24 teams.

“I am hoping to grow the numbers that participate in the competition next year,” Edwards said. “A challenge I heard from many coaches that I reached out to was that they didn’t have enough girls on the team to compete. That is the exact reason why we are doing this event. To show girls that they can do these roles, be successful, and have fun.”

The key to success: the willingness to learn

The event drew robotics teams from high schools all over the state with two local teams, Red Storm (Team 3875) from East Kentwood High School and Demon Robotics (Team 858) from Wyoming High School.

Abby Strait stands next to her team's robot at the Grand Rapids Girls Robotics competition
Team Captain Abby Strait from Wyoming High School’s The Demons, stands next to the team’s robot. (WKTV/Jodi Miesen)

Through out the competition, teams form alliances with other teams to battled in complex two-minute games against other alliances. This all done with robots that the students have built and program. Wyoming’s The Demons and East Kentwood’s Red Storm ended up being on the same alliance and were fierce competitors, losing by just two points.

“You can do it! You don’t have to be super smart to be in robotics, you just have to be willing to learn,” said Abby Strait, a Wyoming High School senior and team captain. “Your team will teach you all that you need to know.”

Strait, who has been on robotics teams since 8th grade, was excited that her school was hosting an event that promotes girls to pursue science and math fields. She said she felt that far too often girls shy away from robotics thinking it will be too hard, but she hopes events like this will draw more female interest. 

“I’m hoping to go to college for some sort of engineering, something really hands on, as opposed to just math behind the desk,” Strait said as she reflected on what career she might want to pursue in the future. “But this has definitely made me more interested in the STEM career field.”

Taking STEM by storm

Red Storm team captain Sarah Shapin, a senior at East Kentwood High School, is in her seventh year participating in the robotics program. Shapin said she started in middle school and plans to continue her interest in the STEM field in the future.

Sarah Chapin shows off the shirt she designed for the Grand Rapids Girls Robotics competition
Team Captain Sarah Chapin from East Kentwood’s Red Storm stands by her team’s robot and displays the logo she designed for this year’s event. Casa Calvo Marketing designed the t-shirt. (WKTV/Jodi Miesen)

Shapin she too believes that women are under-represented in this area but said events like this can help bridge that gap.

“A lot of times women are on it,” Shapin said as she relayed an analogy told to her by her mentor. “And then a guy kind of takes a screwdriver out of her hands and doesn’t give it back. So, it’s not necessarily that women are blocked from it. However, it’s very male-dominated and so therefore, giving this opportunity like this competition allows for women to really get in there, get involved and push through.”

Shapin said she hopes to attend Michigan State University, double majoring in computer science and music. Her goal is to be a software engineer and continue playing the clarinet.

Breaking the stereotypes

According to Edwards, all that hard work pays off on competition day after seeing the students’ reactions and from the correspondence she receives after the event is over.

“The Grand Rapids Girls Robotics Competition is important to me, because of the letters I receive after the competition; expressing how happy they were to be able to participate in a role that usually a male teammate would be in,“ Edwards said. “And also, during the competition, I get to see the excitement exude from these kids. They love what they’re doing! They love STEM!”

The competition also featured a panel of guest speakers, “Ladies in Tech,” made up of women successful in the STEM fields. 

To learn more about the Grand Rapids Girls Robotics Competition go to it’s official website, www.girlsrobotics.org or by e-mail GrandRapidsGirlsRobotics@gmail.com.  They can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GRGRComp/.

Girls move robot off field during Grand Rapids Girls Robotics competition
Wyoming Team Captain Abby Strait gets help moving the Demons’ robot off the field. (WKTV/Jodi Miesen)
Students gather together during the Grand Rapids Girls Robotics competition
The alliance of the Wyoming, East Kentwood, and Marysville teams gathers before the final competition. (WKTV/Jodi Miesen)

East Kentwood comes out on top at spring break FIRST robotics competition

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, , , ,
  • Bringing home the title win was Byron Center’s Code Red, Gull Lake’s Twisted Devils, and East Kentwood’s Red Storm. (WKTV)
  • East Kentwood’s Red Storm robotics team not only snagged a win at the East Kentwood FIRST Robotics competition, but also earned the Gracious Professionalism Award Advancement of FIRST Robotics. (WKTV)
  • Code Red Robotics, which is based in Byron Center, was one of the winning teams and also earned the Engineering Inspiration Award at the East Kentwood FIRST Robotics competition. (WLTV)
  • The Wyoming Demons, far right, was one four teams to finish as a finalist at the East Kentwood FIRST Robotics competition on March 31-April 2. (WKTV)
  • Hopkins’ Tech Vikes, which is sponsored by Wyoming’s GM Components, earned the Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford. (WKTV)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

When spring break is over, Kentwood and Byron Center Public Schools will have something to boost about.

For the first time in almost two years, robotics teams from around the state were able to compete at the East Kentwood FIRST Robotics competition, traditionally held the first weekend of spring break, which this year was March 31-April 2.

“We do it at this time because the school is out on spring break which makes it easier for us to be able to use the gym for a full three days,” said Wendy Ljungren, who works with East Kentwood’s Red Storm, which hosts the competition.

This year it was the combined teams of East Kentwood’s Red Robotics (Team 3875), the all area-based team in Byron Center, Code Red Robotics (Team 2771), and Gull Lake’s Twisted Devils (Team 4381) that took top honors. The first place wins secured all three teams a spot in the state competition, which is set for April 14-16 at Saginaw Valley State University. Also moving on to state is Belmont’s That ONE Team-Our Next Engineers (Team 4967), which earned the coveted District Chairman’s Award.

The FIRST Robotics team resets the playing field at the East Kentwood FIRST Robotics competition, which was March 31-April 1. (WKTV)

Kentwood Superintendent Kevin Poston certainly could not contain his excitement as he sent out a Point of Pride notice on Monday, April 5, to announce the Red Robotics win and mentioning that the team also earned the Gracious Professionalism Award for the advancement of FIRST Robotics.

After a hard fought battle in the playoff rounds, Wyoming High School’s Demons (Team 858) came in as a finalist. Since there is one more district competition, set for April 8-10, Demons coaches said it will be about a week before they know if the team will advance on to the state competition. The Demons’ current ranking is 88th in the state.

There are about 541 Michigan FIRST Robotic teams. The state has 16 districts with about 26 competitions. Teams are required to participate in two robotic competitions for the season.

There are 160 team slots at the state competition. Those who have won a district competition or earned the Chairman’s Award or the District Engineering Inspiration Award advance to the state competition regardless of ranking. From there, the rankings fill in the rest of the spots.

“Sometimes a team can win more than one thing at an event or win two events,” said Ljungren. Such was the case of Byron Center’s Code Red, which was part of the winning alliance and also received the District Engineering Inspiration Award which celebrates the outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization and community.

“In that case, a spot would open up for another team to attend,” she said.

Ken Orsechowski, a coach for the Code Red Robotics team, gets interviewed by the WKTV team. WKTV will airing the East Kentwood Robotics competition at a later date. (WKTV)

For the World competition, which is set for April 20-23 in Houston, Texas, FIRST in Michigan will be sending 64 teams total. This includes the winning alliance from the state competition and the state Chairman’s Award, Engineering Inspiration Award, and Rookie All-Star Award winners. The number also includes any Hall of Fame teams, which is a team that has won the National Chairman’s Award in the past 10 years. In 2021, Novi’s Frog Force (Team 503) earned such an honor.

One West Michigan team expecting to head to the world competition is Hopkins’ Tech Vikes, which is sponsored by the GM Components plant located in the City of Wyoming. The plant also is sponsoring the Wyoming High’s Demons team. Tech Vikes, which earned the Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford at the East Kentwood competition, is currently ranked 23rd in the state.

Other West Michigan team state rankings are Forest Hills’ Comets (Team 3357), ranked third; Byron Center’s Code Red (Team 2771), ranked 45th; East Kentwood’s Red Storm, (Team 3875), ranked 51st; Grandivlle’s The RoboDawgs (Team 288), ranked 146th; and Lee Robotics (Team 7234), ranked 163rd. For a complete list of state rankings, click here.