Another Horry County robotics team headed to world championship
An Horry County Schools robotics
team is headed to the FIRST Robotics world championship for the second
consecutive year, building a winning tradition that would have been unheard of
in the district a decade ago.
The team from Myrtle Beach’s Academy
for the Arts, Science and Technology won the N.C. Regional event Saturday,
earning a spot at the championship, which will be held in St. Louis April
23-26. This was AAST’s third time competing in Raleigh, N.C. The team had
placed second in both of its previous appearances.
AAST follows the Academy for
Technology and Academics in Conway, which went to the championship after
winning last year’s Palmetto Regional FIRST Competition in Myrtle Beach.
Bucky Sellers, pre-engineering
teacher at AAST, was a lone wolf when he started the district’s first robotics
team in 2004 and spent five years taking the team’s robots to area businesses,
schools and colleges to show what robotics has to offer. He said the futuristic
ideas people associate with robots grabbed a lot of attention and has been key
to generating support.
“[Ten years ago,] robotics in Horry
County was nonexistent – no one did it, no one heard about it,” Sellers said,
“but when you say ‘robot,’ there’s this science fiction, ‘Star Wars’ aspect
that intrigues people, and that has really helped a lot, especially with the
kids.”
The district’s two academies have
pre-engineering programs, and ATA formed its team seven years ago. The district
made a push three years ago to get robotics in all its schools, and now kids
are competing from the elementary grades on up. All 12 of the district’s high
schools had teams in this year’s Palmetto Regional, which Sellers helped bring
to Myrtle Beach for the first time last year.
HCS Superintendent Cindy Elsberry
said she is “ecstatic” about AAST’s win.
“We like to win in the Horry County
Schools,” Elsberry said. “Our students learn so much science, technology,
engineering and math from robotics. I wish them the best as they move on to the
world competition.”
The St. Louis event will feature 400
teams from at least 25 countries, Sellers said, and teams will compete for
three days. To make the trip, AAST will have to raise $25,000 to cover
expenses, including the $4,000 registration fee and food, transportation and
lodging for about 30 students, coaches and chaperones.
Sellers said it is a lot of money to
raise, and the team will be seeking 25 sponsorships of $1,000 but welcome any
individual donations.
“We certainly won’t be turning
anything down,” said Sellers, who said a second championship trip for the
district is important to the robotics program. “This means our dream’s coming
true. … I got into this because I was very concerned we didn’t have offerings
for our children that kids have in California, New York and other parts of the
country. It doesn’t grab everyone, but I saw the potential – it challenges them
and has changed some of the kids’ lives.”
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