First Tech Challenge Robotics Competition is held

Wearing Santa Claus hats are Decorah HS 2015 Robotics Team members Emma Fretheim, Isaac Fish, and Kylus Pettit-Ehler

Decorah High School hosted its first-ever First Tech Challenge Robotics Competition on Saturday in the high school gym.

In First Tech Challenge, high school robotics clubs from around the world were challenged to design, build, and program an 18 x 18 x 18 inch robot they can control in order to score as many points as possible within this season's course.

This year's obstacle course, named Velocity Vortex, is played in a 12 foot by 12 foot field. Each match at the competition will be executed in a two team versus two team format and will include a 30 second autonomous period (students have to pre-program the robot to move in a certain way) and then a two-minute driver-controlled period where students have programmed the robot to respond to controllers they have on the sideline.

Teams score points by getting their robot to push beacon buttons, move whiffle balls into corner goals, launch whiffle balls into a three-foot high basket, and lift a large stability ball into the air. 

DHS students involved in robotics include Robert Berger, Everett Wegge, Kylus Pettit-Ehler, Joe Elsner, Emma Fretheim, Isaac Fish, Hayden Carlson, Evie Holyoake, Sara Gehling, Thomas Hendrickson, Henry Castro, Kaj Spencer, Bryan Anderson, David Jensen, Jacob Voigt, and Isaac Roberts.