Gilman’s robotics teams must have really charged their batteries on Saturday, February 5 before competing at the First Chesapeake FIRST Tech Challenge Laurel Qualifier competition. Three of the five Gilman teams came away with awards.

The Upper School FIRST Tech Challenge team, DéJàva, was runner-up for the most prestigious honor, the Inspire Award. The team that receives this award is a strong ambassador, a role model, and a top contender for many other judged awards. “This is a huge accomplishment for our teams and, had they not already advanced, would automatically qualify them for the next level of competition,” said their coach, Lynn Nichols. (DéJàva had already qualified to advance to the regional tournament in Virginia this April based on their win of the Control Award in January.)

DéJàva also won the Connect Award, given to the team that most connects with their local science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community. And, they came in second place for the Think Award for best reflecting the journey the team took as they experienced the engineering design process during the build season.

The eighth grade FIRST Tech Challenge team, CyberDogs, won the Judge’s Choice Award, awarded to a team whose unique efforts, performance, or dynamics merit recognition, but does not fit into any of the existing award categories. The CyberDogs also came in third place for the Design Award, recognizing design elements of the robot that are both functional and aesthetic.

The seventh grade FIRST Lego League (FLL) team, CyberHounds, won the Judge’s Choice Award for their competition. (Watch their presentation here.) The judges said, “The team displayed excellence in articulation of the project details on all the research, challenges, expert opinions, and final solution. Equally effective was the description of the robot design and your creative solution with the design. The team did an amazing job in highlighting individual work in a team environment for overall success.”

Upper School FIRST Tech Challenge team Noot and sixth/eighth grade FIRST Lego League team RoboHounds both worked hard and performed well at the competition.

A huge congratulations to the students and their coaches — Elana Resnick and Lynn Nichols for the Upper School teams; Katie Schmidt and Lynn Nichols for the Middle School teams — on their hard work and success! The Middle School teams also extend appreciation to Merle Langley and David Wilson from Gilman’s Strategic Information and Innovation Department for all of their support with the FLL teams.