This is Zero, your friendly neighborhood web designer for the Technowarriors. I'm bringing this update on a more personal level, because of what has transpired over the past two weeks. Our attendance at both the Finger Lakes Regional in Rochester, NY and the Chesapeake Regional in Annapolis, MD...nothing short of Spectacular. Every year, the accomplishments our team makes best themselves constantly; our team gets bigger, our robots get better, and everyone finds out a bit more about us. Often, however, I'm able to update this website in a decently quick enough fashion, a quick evening uploading pictures and changing some text here and there. I designed the website to fit the aspect of quick updates on a practical yet graphically pleasing display. Even so, it may take me this entire week, even with help, to post everything that the past two weeks have brought about.

At Rochester, we won the Industrial Design Award for our simple robot design, quick repair efficiency, and the loud-annoying-effective safety beeper on our transport cart for moving the robot. Coincidentally, we had a breakage in Annapolis during Finals that we were able to fix in time thanks to our design. What happened the following week blew our minds.

Our team won, for the first time in our FIRST history, the coveted Chairman's Award for the Chesapeake Regional. As FIRST veterans know, this award is the highest honor that can be awarded by a regional event. It's hard to describe the jolts we all felt as the event announcer read off the award speech, pinpointing parts of our Chairman's Presentation. Oh, how the tears flowed. Greg Needel, a Warrior Alumni, joined us in the emotional celebration with his parents (our mentors). Even as the game announcer, he was oblivious to our victory just as we were. I'm also the head photographer and media man on the team, so those jolts pushed me to turn the knob on my camera ever closer to the video setting. On top of all that, Dean Kamen was there, gracing us with his technologically advanced presence and congratulating us as well. He even signed a couple of our items. To be part of a team to receive such an honor...and on my graduating year, too. Shock and awe, tons of it.
Be sure to check our gallery for video of both events, as well as newly uploaded photographs from both events. In the meantime, I'm going to keep looking at this medal to make sure it really exists.

If you haven't heard, Atlanta has been the victim of a tornado strike, damaging parts of Downtown, including the Georgia Dome and the neighboring Congress Center, were the Championships for FIRST take place annually. The future of the championships is still being decided, but until it has been decided that the event is canceled or postponed, the countdown on the front page will still count towards the Atlanta Championships. Stay with us for updates on the website and the Championships!

Labels: award, EPIC, event, regional, update