By Julian MITCHELL

The Crescenta Valley High School Falkon robotic team finished eighth at the FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) Aerospace Valley Regional competition last weekend and is now qualified for world championships.

Although finishing eighth in the competition, Team 589 Falkon robotics returned from competition with their heads held high after being awarded the FIRST Chairman’s Award.

  “They don’t just build good robots, they build good people,” said the FIRST organization at the award ceremony. FIRST provides the base for and hosts all of the robotics competitions that CVHS competes in.

The FIRST World Championships will take place in Houston between April 17 and April 20, a mere 10 days after Falkon robotics found out they had qualified for the championships. Hundreds of other teams will also be competing in Houston.

The Falkon robotics team qualified for the trip to Houston after winning the Chairman’s Award, the last award handed out at the Aerospace Valley Regional competition. This will be the team’s second trip in three years to the championship.

The trip will not come easily, though, as the team is estimating the total cost to be roughly $42,000. The team currently has a GoFundMe page up and running, hoping to raise a total of $15,000. After completing only two days of fundraising, they have already raised over $9,000.

The  Falkon robotics team prides itself on having an “open door” policy.

  “Anyone who comes through that door is a part of the team,” said Lynn Repath-Martos, lead mentor for the Falkon robotics team.

Part of that open door policy is not charging students to participate in robotics. Additionally, Repath-Martos doesn’t keep strict attendance and encourages students to show up as often as their busy schedules allow.

Thanks to these open door policies, the Falkon robotics team is composed of approximately 92 students, many of whom also participate in other CVHS programs, such as sports or music.

“Some of them can only come for two days a week and that’s fantastic,” said Repath-Martos. “Any kid who comes through our door is going to change our team for the better.”

Only 24 of the students will be able to go to Houston, and Repath-Martos expressed disappointment that she could not bring everyone. Only having 10 days to plan a trip, it has been costly with an additional challenge being that there are few to no hotel rooms available in Houston.

The robotics season starts on the first Saturday of the year, when the game for each competition is revealed. From there, each of the estimated 3,700 teams has exactly six weeks to design and build a robot. At the end of those six weeks, the robot has to be sealed up and remain untouched until the teams compete.

Each competition costs $5,000 to register and most teams compete in two regional events during the year. The Falkon robotics team also competed in the Los Angeles Regional competition in March.

The Falkon robotics team receives funding from sponsors such as J’s Maids & Maintenance, NASA-JPL and Disney Imagineering.

Competition comes from all corners of the globe, including teams from Switzerland and Turkey taking part. Teams west of the Mississippi River and east of Istanbul compete at the world championships in Houston, while Teams east of the Mississippi and west of Israel compete at the world championships in Detroit.

Those who wish to help the Crescenta Valley High School Falkon robotics team raise money can visit the GoFundMe page “Get Falkon Robotics to Houston Championships!” https://www.gofundme.com/falkon2019. 

  Julian MITCHELL