PORT HUENEME, Calif. (May 2, 2023) ─ In late April, a team of Ventura County high-schoolers, known as HighTide, defeated teams from all over the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Denmark, Israel, Chile, Brazil, India, Germany, Turkey, Japan, Spain, China, Australia, England, Ecuador, Colombia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Italy, France, Kazakhstan, Romania, Serbia, and others to win the FIRST Robotics Competition in Houston, Texas.
The team of students—from El Camino, Foothill, Ventura, Rio Mesa, and North Hollywood High Schools—is sponsored by the Department of Defense (DoD) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program, the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (EXWC) STEM Program, and 14 local companies. The DoD STEM program encourages young people to consider STEM-related careers.
To achieve their global FIRST Championship, HighTide had to compete against thousands of teams to win three regional competitions, one division-level contest, and finally, the championship event in Houston.
EXWC mentor Vincent “Vinny” Pecchia summed up his experience with the team in this way: “Team HighTide came off a hard-fought battle last year, achieving a second place finish. For most teams, this would have been enough, but HighTide, tasting victory, used it as fuel for the 2023 season. It’s been an exciting year, seeing new and veteran team members step up to leadership roles. It amazes me to see these students go from an idea to a working prototype within a few days, then optimizing their design shortly after to achieve their goal. It was a great season, and I am forever grateful to have been a part of such a dedicated and knowledgeable team, that still knows how to have some fun along the way.”
Since 1992, the FIRST Robotics Competition has challenged teams of high school students to build, under strict rules with limited time and resources, industrial-size robots capable of playing a difficult game while allied with other teams, while also fundraising to meet their goals, designing a team “brand,” and advancing respect and appreciation for STEM within the local community.
“The FIRST Robotics Competition provides opportunities for students to experience the practical applications of theoretical concepts, and shows them how their work in the future could produce systems and devices to overcome real-world problems,” said Kail Macias, Technical Director at EXWC. “Teams with mentors can receive DoD funds that help meet their costs of materials and travel, but they also learn marketing and fundraising by soliciting funds from private industry. I hope others who read this article will consider becoming a mentor to one of these amazing teams.”