Hawaii Robotics Teams Excel In "Super Bowl Of Smarts"

McKinley advances to FIRST Robotics Championship finals; Waialua captures second highest award

April 19, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Six high school robotics teams from Hawaii rocked the Georgia Dome in Atlanta over the past two days, putting their critical-thinking skills and knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math to the test, while demonstrating gracious professionalism and the aloha spirit in the 2008 FIRST Robotics Competition Championships.

Hawaii robotics competition: Members of the Sacred Hearts Academy Robotics Team compete in the FIRST Championships

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, who was among the crowd of 20,000, attended both days of the championship and visited with the teams “in the pits” and cheered them on during the competition.

The team from Waialua High School (Hawaiian Kids) was presented with the second-highest award of the competition – the FIRST Engineering Inspiration Award. The award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and community. This was Waialua’s fifth appearance in the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship.

McKinley High School’s Team Kika Mana placed fourth in their division out of a field of 84 teams, and advanced to the semifinals where they competed in two final rounds before being eliminated.

The four other teams representing Hawaii included rookies Honoka‘a High School, Radford High School and Sacred Hearts Academy, which made their first appearance at a championship, as well as Waiākea High School, which competed in the championship last year. In all, the competition featured 343 teams from across the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and Israel.

Robotics is a critical component of the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s Hawaii Innovation Initiative because it engages students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The competition also provides students with teamwork and problem-solving skills that will better prepare them to enter the work force.

“We’re transforming our economy from a focus on land development and tourism to the human capacity of young people,” said Governor Linda Lingle.

At a FIRST Robotics dinner on Friday night, Governor Lingle spoke about the importance of growing such an incredible program, and cautioned the audience not to lose sight of the fact that “the true impact is made one student at a time.”

In the past year, the number of Hawaii high schools competing in FIRST Robotics has jumped from four teams to 25. For the first time, two schools each from Maui and Kaua‘i fielded teams in the competition, while three new rookie teams from the Big Island and 13 from O‘ahu were represented in the Hawaii Regional in March. Hawaii now has the second highest percentage – 32 percent – of high schools participating in FIRST robotics.

The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common engineering problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard “kit of parts” and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts and enter them in competitions designed by FIRST founder Dean Kamen and a committee of engineers and other professionals.

Also representing Hawaii at the Georgia Dome was the ‘Iolani Roboraiders, which competed in the FIRST LEGO League Power Puzzle World Championship. The team is made up of students in grades five through eight, between the ages of 9 and 14. ‘Iolani competed against 84 teams from 27 countries including the United States, Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.

Hawaii Robotics Teams Final Division Standings:

Honoka‘a – 41st out of 85 teams (Newton Division)
McKinley – 4th out of 84 teams (Curie Division)
Radford – 74th out of 84 teams (Curie Division)
Sacred Hearts – 41st out of 86 teams (Galileo Division)
Waiākea – 38th out of 85 teams (Archimedes Division)
Waialua – 65th out of 85 teams (Newton Division)

Source: Hawaii Governor

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