Robotics teams advance to state championship

FEATURE

Dave Wilson Contributing Writer

Dripping Springs is home to two teams competing in the annual FIRST Robotics Competition, and both teams recently gained awards qualifying them for advancement to the FIRST in Texas State Championship.

Team 6357, The Spring Konstant, at Dripping Springs High School is in its eighth year of competition and was awarded the prestigious FIRST Impact Award at their recent district event in Belton. This is the highest award given by the organization and recognizes the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and which best embodies the mission of FIRST to promote science and technology, and to encourage youth to become STEM leaders. Winning this award is the culmination of several years of effort by the team and involved holding outreach activities in schools and the local community at large, and even the publication of a children’s book and its translation into five different languages.

The town’s new team, Team 9577 Recoil, provides robotics competition opportunities to students who are homeschooled or in local private schools and draws members from as far afield as Wimberley and Kyle in addition to Dripping Springs. This is their first year competing and they have been awarded the FIRST Rookie All-Star award at their most recent event in San Antonio. This award celebrates the rookie team exemplifying a young but strong partnership effort and well as implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire students to learn more about science and technology.

Both teams head to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston for the FIRST in Texas State Championships on April 4– 6, where competition will decide which teams advance to the World Championship event in Houston from April 17–20.