by Marianne Gasaway
Clear Lake High School’s robotics program has expanded into a new competition this year and students are enjoying success.
The Lions have been participating in league meets this fall and recently competed in the league championship held Jan. 7 in Fort Dodge. Clear Lake topped 19 other teams to win the league championship tournament. In addition, they earned the Inspire Award, which is the highest judged award presented.
At the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), teams were challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. They also raise funds, design and market their team brand, and do community outreach to earn specific awards.
Ryan Bowman, who coaches Clear Lake’s high school and middle school robotics teams, said about 20 students are involved in Clear Lake’s robotics teamwork. He explained that while there is a high school robotics class, the building of robots for competition is largely an extra-curricular activity. At the middle school level, robotics is entirely extra curricular.
Bowman coached robotics for eight years in Humboldt before moving to Clear Lake. This is the seventh year for the program here, but the first year competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge.
“Students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles, while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and working as a team. FTC gives students access to more materials, sensors, and programming which allows them to expand their knowledge,” shared Bowman.
In winning the Inspire Award at Fort Dodge, Clear Lake was recognized as a team “that best embodies the ‘challenge’ of the FIRST Tech Challenge program. The team that receives the award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and a role model FIRST team. The team is a top contender for many other judged awards and is a gracious competitor.”
Clear Lake’s success at the league championship has qualified the group for the Super Regional State Qualifier tournament on Feb. 11 in Norwalk.
