By Lindsay Carey
Staff Writer
The Southington High School Robotics Team, Team 195, or more commonly known as the Cyber Knights, recently competed in and won at the 16th annual Bash at the Beach post-season competition in Old Lyme.
The Cyber Knights competed for one last time with the F-195 Knighthawk, which was named in honor of the U.S. Air Force, in the 2014 game “Aerial Assist.”
“I think it was really good to see the Knighthawk in action,” said Team Mentor Sandra Brino. “The robot was special to them and they really enjoyed playing with it one more time.”
The Cyber Knights achieved a 6-1 record and qualified as the number 3 seed with the Knighthawk.
For the final round of the competition, which saw 24 teams compete, the Cyber Knights collaborated with Team 558 Robosquad from New Haven and Team 1699, the Robocats from Colcheste,r and won the competition.
Team 195 won not only for their robotics, but was also recognized for their character. The team received the Gracious Professionalism Award at the event and Brino said that they have one this award before at other competitions.
“What makes 195 unique is their reaching out to other teams throughout the state of Connecticut,” said Brino.
According to her they help other teams by practicing together, building and sharing resources like the practice field.
“We want to bring all of the state of Connecticut to the best it can be in robotics,” said Brino. “So we help other teams even though we compete against them. It makes the competition a lot more fun when you’re competing with and against friends.”
Brino said that the Cyber Knights have developed close relationships with other robotics teams like Team 558 Robosquad, who they won the Southington district event with last year.
The Cyber Knights have enjoyed working with other teams to improve each others robots, despite it being a competition. According to Brino, the SHS Robotics team has developed a reputation for welcoming other teams and lending a help hand when needed.
“It’s not uncommon to see someone from the Southington team fixing a robot from an opposing team,” said Brino.
Brino said that the team is currently gearing up for Jan. 3, when FIRST will announce what the 2015 game will be through a live broadcast to 3,000 teams all over the world via a web feed.
“There’s a lot of excitement around the new game,” said Brino.
After the FIRST kickoff broadcast on Jan. 3, the students will have six weeks to design, manufacture, assemble and wire a new robot.
Brino said that their first competition will be the weekend of Feb. 28 and they will continue to compete through April.
“They’re really excited and looking forward to another great season,” said Brino. “We couldn’t do it without the support of the local businesses. They’re the ones that fund this program and keep it going.”
File Photo
The Southington High School Cyber Knights robotics team recently won a post-season competition in Old Lyme. The team is awaiting the FIRST kickoff broadcast on January 3.