March 23, 2022 – The Maine FIRST® Robotics teams had a very good weekend at the Pine Tree District FIRST Robotics Qualifying Event, March 11-13, 2022. Congratulations to 6153 for winning the Chairman’s Award. Six other Maine teams won awards.
Thomas College in Waterville was the site of the 2022 competition, with 26 teams registered from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Teams competed in-person for the first time in two years, but this year to comply with COVID-19 safety protocols, there were no onsite spectators.
All 15 of the Maine teams participated in the playoffs with two Maine teams on the winning alliance and one Maine team on the finalist alliance. Congratulations to Teams 4564 Orange Chaos (Brewer) and 8023 L.R.T.C. (Lewiston) for being on the winning alliance along with the alliance captain 5813 Morpheus (Concord, New Hampshire). Congratulations go out to all the teams from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts for their performance. It was good to have all the teams back and competing in person.
The results summary is below.
Pine Tree District Qualifying Event
Thomas College, Waterville, ME
March 11-13, 2022
Team Number, Award, Playoffs
58 The Riot Crew (South Portland) Quality Award, Rank 5th. Captain Alliance 4, Semi Finals
133 B.E.R.T. (Standish) Rank 2nd, Captain Alliance 2, Semi Finals
172 Northern Force (Gorham/Falmouth) Team Spirit Award, Rank 6th, Captain Alliance 5, Quarter Finals
2648 Infinite Loop (Oakland) Rank 17th, Picked 3rd for Alliance 5, Semi Finals match 1
3451 The ANOMALY (Sanford) Rank 13th,Captain Alliance 7, Quarter Finals
4041 Iron Tigers (Gardner) Imagery Award, Rank 8th, Picked 2nd for Alliance 5, Quarter Finals
4473 Delta Prime (Farmingdale) Rank 26th, Picked 3rd for Alliance 7, Quarter Finals
4564 Orange Chaos (Brewer) Rank 9th, Picked 2nd for Alliance 3, Winner
4906 The Collective (Waterville) Gracious Professionalism Award, Rank 16th, Picked 3rd for Alliance 8, Quarter Finals
5265 Radical Impact (Portland) Rank 23rd, Became backup robot for Alliance 4, Semi Final match 2
5687 The Outliers (Portland) Innovation in Control Award, Rank 11th, Picked 2nd for Alliance 4, Semi Finals
6153 Blue Crew (Farmington) Chairman’s Award, Rank 14th, Captain Alliance 8, Quarter Finals
6161 Equilibrium (Gray) Rank 22nd, Picked 3rd for Alliance 6, Quarter Finals
6329 The Buck’s Wrath (Bucksport) Entrepreneurship Award, Rank 1st, Captain Alliance 1, Finalist
8023 L.R.T.C. (Lewiston) Rank 24th, Picked 3rd for Alliance 3, Winner
Mentor Awards included:
Woodie Flower Award Finalists: John Kraljic (Team 172) and Joel Pike (Team 6153)
Volunteer of the Year: David Johnson (Pine Tree District Judge Advisor)
For upcoming events, Team 5687 (Portland) will compete at Greater Boston, Week 4
All teams except 4041(Gardiner) will compete at Pease Week 5 (3rd event for 5687)
Team 4041 (Gardiner) will compete at WPI Week 6
Describing this “sport” in a sentence is a tall order, but FIRST calls it the “Ultimate Sport of the Mind” and, “Under strict rules and limited time and resources, teams of high school students are challenged to build industrial-sized robots to play a difficult field game in alliance with other teams, while also fundraising to meet their goals, designing a team “brand,” and advancing respect and appreciation for STEM within the local community.”
FIRST Robotics is powered primarily by volunteers. Professionals from the business community serve as mentors for high school team members. Each team is responsible for their own fundraising, and are judged on many criteria from the building of the robot to the sustainability of the team. The Chairman’s Award recognizes the team that best exemplifies the values of FIRST from their robot design, team organization
The Pine Tree District Event is not affiliated with any one team, but is organized by a group of volunteers from several teams to hold the only qualifying event being held in Maine. The event is funded entirely by corporate and private donations. Businesses and interested members of the community who can help support this event with donations of any amount or by volunteering should contact the committee at pinetreeregional@gmail.com.
To make a donation to make this opportunity possible for Maine’s youth teams, please make checks payable to: Pine Tree District Event, c/o Robotics Institute of Maine (RIM), 33 McAlister Farm Road, Suite 102, Portland, ME 04103. RIM is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Maine. For a VIP sponsor invitation, contact the committee. When you donate, be sure to indicate the Pine Tree District Competition as the purpose of your gift on your check or in an accompanying letter.
For more information or to get involved, contact the planning committee at pinetreeregional@gmail.com, and visit www.pinetreedistrict.org on the Web. “Like” the event’s Facebook page “Pine Tree Regional” to receive updates and join in the conversation.
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