Help needed for youth robotics competition

Team members who attended the official robotics competition startup Jan. 6 in Vancouver hold the base of the robot they put together that day. It has come a very long way since then. Photo courtesy Tina O’Keeffe

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

An organization that inspires students to chart career paths in science and technology is looking for volunteers from the base to help run it’s first-ever B.C. regional robotics competition.

FIRST Robotics Canada (FRC) is a non-profit charity affiliated with U.S. parent organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology), whose mission it is to inspire high school and elementary school students with hands-on technology experience under the guidance of seasoned tradespeople.

Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre is the location for their regional qualifying event March 14, 15 and 16 with winners moving on to this year’s First Robotics World Championship in Houston and Detroit in April.

FRC event coordinator Jason Brett is a former high school shop teacher who now teachs electronics and robotics to future shop teachers at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby.  Brett says he’s excited about the Victoria launch because it means students now have a competition they can call their own.

“I have been involved in this event for 15 years and we always had to take the kids from B.C. to other venues,” said Brett. “Now we have a couple of hundred bright talented kids who are converging on Victoria for this challenge, and there are so many people at CFB Esquimalt who are of the same mindset even though they may be a generation or two apart.”

Brett says he’s looking for military and civilian volunteers from the base to help mentor teams, judge submissions, and lend a hand in event logistical tasks such as registration and event operations.

“I think when word of what we’re doing gets back to the base, we’re going to get a lot of interest amongst highly-skilled technical trades and others working there,” said Brett. “It means so much to the students to have role models and people they can look up to for support and encouragement.”

The robotics competition is the “Formula One” of youth robotics programs, where students can access state-of-the-art tools that high school students normally don’t have access to, such as computer-aided design software programs and laser cutters from BCIT and other supportive organizations.

FRC has the sponsorship backing of science and technology heavyweights Microsoft Corporation and  GSL Group, and it has also captured the support of world leaders at past events, such as former U.S. President Barack Obama.

FRC currently has over 160 teams made up of approximately 5,000 students, 1,000 mentors and 800 volunteers who put their brains together to compete in regional competitions across the country.

FRC held its event kickoff in January at BCIT, where teams were given the rules and details of the standard design they would all be working on for this year’s competition. They also received a kit of parts including a control system and motors to get them started, but now “the rest is up to them” says Brett.

If you are interested in volunteering for the event please contact Jason Brett via e-mail at Jason_Brett@bcit.ca. For more information about FRC and FIRST, visit their website www.firstroboticscanada.org.