The university will be hosting a scrimmage for eight teams representing nine different schools and programs on Super Bowl Sunday.
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In the hours before the Super Bowl, teams from local high schools will scrimmage each other on the campus of Elon University using small, student-built programmable robots as they prepare for the upcoming statewide FIRST Tech Challenge.
FIRST Tech Challenge scrimmage for Triad high schools
Date: Sunday, February 5, 2012
Time: 1-4 p.m.
Location: McCoy Commons, Room 212 (in The Oaks residential complex on Williamson Avenue in Elon, N.C.)
Media Contact: Jochen Fischer, adjunct professor, jfischer5@elon.edu
More Information on FTC: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc
Teams from Guilford and Alamance counties are scheduled to take part in the scrimmage. On a 12-by-12-foot playing field, students compete using robots to place racquetballs and bowling balls into plastic crates and other designated areas to score “points” in tournaments that demonstrate design, programming, and creative problem-solving skills.
The Elon scrimmage is an informal, friendly event for teams preparing for the statewide FIRST Tech Challenge competition at N.C. A&T on February 25. The theme of the 2011-12 challenge is “Bowled Over,” with top teams from North Carolina advancing to the national competition in St. Louis in April. Up to 10 students can take part in each team.
Elon volunteered to host the scrimmage as a way to connect with regional high schools that may lack the finances or physical space required to build mock arenas. Coordinated by Adjunct Professor Jochen Fischer, with support from the Department of Physics, high school students will also receive guidance from Elon faculty and from students who completed a fall robotics course.
Participating schools in the Elon scrimmage are:
Western Alamance High School
Cummings High School
“Plan B” Home School Team from Alamance County
Grimsley High School
Bishop McGuinness High School
The Early College at Guilford
Eastern Guilford High School
Greensboro College Middle College
Northern Guilford High School