Ligerbots Excel in their 1st FIRST Competition of the Season!

1-LigerBots-at-UMass-Dartmouth-001This weekend at UMass Dartmouth, the Newton LigerBots (Team #2877) turned in an excellent performance in their first district meet of the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition season.

  • The team made it all the way to semifinals in this year’s “Recycle Rush” game, with their alliance finishing third in the tournament.
  • They also won the coveted District Chairman’s Award, which honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.  This award celebrates the LigerBots’ efforts to spread interest in STEM in their community.  (Thank you, LigerBots!)  It also automatically qualifies the LigerBots to compete in the District Championship in April, for the chance to advance to the FIRST World Championships later this spring.
  • Three members of the team won nominations to advance in the district-wide competitions for individual awards:
    • Head coach Charles Hurwitz will now advance to the district championship level for the Woodie Flowers Award — given to the mentor who best leads, inspires, teaches, and empowers their team using excellent communication skills.
    • Max Tepermeister and Ilias Vamvakas will now advance to the district championship level for the Dean’s List Award — given to outstanding student leaders for their exemplary passion for and effectiveness at attaining FIRST ideals.

Currently, the LigerBots are ranked 44th of 175 teams in New England, with one qualifying tournament at Northeastern University to be played on March 27-28 and then the District Championship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on April 9-11.  As always, these competitions are a blast for spectators, too.  Come down to Northeastern or WPI to cheer on the award-winning LigerBots!