DECATUR, Ill. – Believing that “a rising tide raises all ships,” Macon County 4-H SCREAM Super Scream Bros. set out to be the tide for Macon County robotics teams this season. The team established a goal to actively mentor the other Macon County FIRST robotics teams and to secure a spot to compete at the Illinois FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship.

The 4-H robotics team competed February 1 at the FIRST Tech Challenge Southern Illinois and Central East division league tournament in Troy, Ill. 4-H SCREAM robotics was one of 24 teams to move on to compete at the Illinois FIRST Tech Championship on February 21 and 22 in Elgin. Only six teams from the league tournament qualified for the state championship. Three of those teams were from Macon County.

FIRST Tech Challenge is designed for those who want to compete head to head, using a sports model. Teams of up to 15 students are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance against other teams. Awards are given for robot performance, community outreach, robot design, and other real-world accomplishments.

4-H SCREAM robotics team received the Motivate award which recognizes teams’ efforts to spread the message of FIRST-For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology- and STEM throughout their community. Motivate award teams also demonstrate great team spirit and enthusiasm for the FIRST robotics mission.

“One of our biggest talking points during judging was the outreach we had done,” team manager Zach Jalley said, “we had helped many First Lego League teams, volunteered at events and even hosted a few events.”

However, receiving the Motivate award was not the only highlight of the day. The team was also recognized as second place Inspire award winner.

The Inspire award is the top award given to teams who embody the ‘challenge’ of the FIRST Tech Challenge. The teams who receive this award are strong ambassadors for FIRST and model FIRST teams. The teams are also top contenders for many other judged awards. There are three Inspire awards given during each qualifying tournament, state championship and world championship event.

4-H has a long history of supporting robotics programs through 4-H clubs, after-school programs, camps and curriculum. Through robotics, members learn teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, engineering and design. The 4-H program is provided through University of Illinois Extension and is open to youth ages 8 to 18. Find Macon County 4-H on Facebook.

Contact

Jenna Ward
Program Coordinator, 4-H Youth Development
Macon Extension Office
3351 N. President Howard Brown Blvd., Decatur, IL 62521
(217) 877-6042
jrward@illinois.edu