The combined team of Pontiac High School and Rochester Adams High School are the new county champions in the 2009 Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association season.
They came out on top at the finals Saturday at Holly High School, where robots made by 20 Oakland County high school teams competed in a game of basketball.
“It was an emotionally charged atmosphere,” said Mike McIntyre, an OCCRA official and robotics instructor at Oakland Schools Technical Campus Northeast.
“It was intense. It was a lot of fun and it is not often you get an academic endeavor that generates that kind of excitement,” McIntyre said. The county meet was a double elimination tournament, which means a team is eliminated if it loses twice.
Pontiac High had been the favorite all season and the second favorite was Oakland Schools Technology Center Northeast. Both came out at the top in the county matches and had to play each other.
In the championship finals, Pontiac High School chose as its partner Rochester Adams and Oak Tech Northeast chose as its partner the International Academy. It was a two-againsttwo format, with the championship going to the teams with the best two out of three games.
“We ended up playing five matches,” McIntyre said. “Everyone was on their feet the entire time. Every match boiled down to the last five seconds. There were ties, which are rare.”
There was a one-point difference in one match and then power was lost during one match. The Top Seed Award and VEX Award also went to Team 51 Pontiac High School. The Quality Award went to Team 1 Oak Tech Northeast.
“It was a day of high energy,” said Sherry Kuchon, who is in charge of developing funds to operate the association that is sponsored by Oakland Schools Intermediate District.
Kuchon said the Pontiac High School team was made up of the combined Pontiac Central and Northern high school teams that had excelled independently in past years. There had been some concern about whether two such competitive teams could come together and work as one, she said.
“They became Pontiac High School team and they were the championship team,” Kuchon said, with praise for the group of students.
Semifinalists were Team 573 Brother Rice and Marian High School, Team 1188 Royal Oak High School, Team 777 South Lyon High School and Team 4 Birmingham Seaholm High School.
Other awards and the teams they went to were the Beautiful BOT award — Team 3098 Waterford Kettering High School; Spirit of the Competition Award — Team 33 Notre Dame Prep; Technical Excellence Award — Team 245 Rochester Adams; Strategic Design Award — Team 9 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep; Simple Solutions Award — Team 777 South Lyon High School; Most Improved Award — Team 1213 Birmingham Groves High School; Judge’s Award — Team 469 International Academy; Judge’s Award — Team 573 Brother Rice and Marian High School.
In the competition were teams from Birmingham Groves and Seaholm, Bloomfield Hills International Academy, Brother Rice and Marian high schools, Catholic Central, North Farmington, Holly, Lamphere, Notre Dame Prep, Oakland Schools Technical Campus Northeast, Oakland Schools Technical Campus Southeast, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep, Pontiac, Rochester Adams, Roeper School, Royal Oak, South Lyon schools, Walled Lake Northern, Waterford Kettering and West Bloomfield.
The winner of the Oakland Schools Education Foundation Award will be announced at the banquet scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at Oakland Schools.
The competitive robotics association is administered by Oakland Schools and supported by the Oakland Schools Education Foundation.
The assistance is made possible through the generosity and support of area businesses and individuals, spokeswoman Danielle Gittus said in a press release.
Current corporate sponsors include: DTE Energy Foundation, Chrysler, Delphi Automotive Systems, Denso International America Inc., General Motors Powertrain and SMC Pneumatics.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 ordiana.dillaber@oakpress.com.
They came out on top at the finals Saturday at Holly High School, where robots made by 20 Oakland County high school teams competed in a game of basketball.
“It was an emotionally charged atmosphere,” said Mike McIntyre, an OCCRA official and robotics instructor at Oakland Schools Technical Campus Northeast.
“It was intense. It was a lot of fun and it is not often you get an academic endeavor that generates that kind of excitement,” McIntyre said. The county meet was a double elimination tournament, which means a team is eliminated if it loses twice.
Pontiac High had been the favorite all season and the second favorite was Oakland Schools Technology Center Northeast. Both came out at the top in the county matches and had to play each other.
In the championship finals, Pontiac High School chose as its partner Rochester Adams and Oak Tech Northeast chose as its partner the International Academy. It was a two-againsttwo format, with the championship going to the teams with the best two out of three games.
“We ended up playing five matches,” McIntyre said. “Everyone was on their feet the entire time. Every match boiled down to the last five seconds. There were ties, which are rare.”
There was a one-point difference in one match and then power was lost during one match. The Top Seed Award and VEX Award also went to Team 51 Pontiac High School. The Quality Award went to Team 1 Oak Tech Northeast.
“It was a day of high energy,” said Sherry Kuchon, who is in charge of developing funds to operate the association that is sponsored by Oakland Schools Intermediate District.
Kuchon said the Pontiac High School team was made up of the combined Pontiac Central and Northern high school teams that had excelled independently in past years. There had been some concern about whether two such competitive teams could come together and work as one, she said.
“They became Pontiac High School team and they were the championship team,” Kuchon said, with praise for the group of students.
Semifinalists were Team 573 Brother Rice and Marian High School, Team 1188 Royal Oak High School, Team 777 South Lyon High School and Team 4 Birmingham Seaholm High School.
Other awards and the teams they went to were the Beautiful BOT award — Team 3098 Waterford Kettering High School; Spirit of the Competition Award — Team 33 Notre Dame Prep; Technical Excellence Award — Team 245 Rochester Adams; Strategic Design Award — Team 9 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep; Simple Solutions Award — Team 777 South Lyon High School; Most Improved Award — Team 1213 Birmingham Groves High School; Judge’s Award — Team 469 International Academy; Judge’s Award — Team 573 Brother Rice and Marian High School.
In the competition were teams from Birmingham Groves and Seaholm, Bloomfield Hills International Academy, Brother Rice and Marian high schools, Catholic Central, North Farmington, Holly, Lamphere, Notre Dame Prep, Oakland Schools Technical Campus Northeast, Oakland Schools Technical Campus Southeast, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep, Pontiac, Rochester Adams, Roeper School, Royal Oak, South Lyon schools, Walled Lake Northern, Waterford Kettering and West Bloomfield.
The winner of the Oakland Schools Education Foundation Award will be announced at the banquet scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at Oakland Schools.
The competitive robotics association is administered by Oakland Schools and supported by the Oakland Schools Education Foundation.
The assistance is made possible through the generosity and support of area businesses and individuals, spokeswoman Danielle Gittus said in a press release.
Current corporate sponsors include: DTE Energy Foundation, Chrysler, Delphi Automotive Systems, Denso International America Inc., General Motors Powertrain and SMC Pneumatics.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 ordiana.dillaber@oakpress.com.
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