The Falcon BEST Robotics Competition held on Oct. 26 in Anderson Area was intense with the crowds
cheering and clapping for their favorite teams.The participants on the court were focused on making their
teams’ robots work. The contest, hosted by Bowling Green State University, was the culmination of six weeks
of effort by nearly 300 students from 14 area middle and high schools.Gatekeeper 2013, this year’s theme,
required the teams’ robots to move inventory in different stages. The higher the difficulty of movement, the
more points the robots earned.The top-producing robot was designed and built by Findlay High School.Elmwood
High School, coached by Eric Poffenbaugh, won second place, followed by the St. Mary Central Catholic
(Sandusky) Panthers and McComb High School Panterbotz in third place.The Findlay team also won the Founder’s
Award and the Most Robust Machine Award.In addition to the robotics competition, teams were judged on
marketing presentations, team displays, team spirit and sportsmanship, and their engineer’s notebooks.The
team that "best embodies the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology" and scores
the most points in all elements of the contest earns the BEST Award.The Vanguard Technology Center
Bot-tastic Inc. team of Fremont won the awards for BEST T-shirt, spirit and sportsmanship, exhibit and
interview, engineering notebook and marketing presentation, which cemented the team winning the first place
BEST Award, as well as the awards for engineering notebook, exhibit and interview, marketing presentation,
T-shirt and spirit and sportsmanship.Perrysburg High School Creative Processing Unlimited, coached by Nate
Ash, was the second-place BEST Award recipient, and Sylvania Schools Syborgs placed third in the BEST
category.Five teams are eligible to go to the regional competition in Fargo, ND, Dec. 5-7: Vanguard
Technology Center, Sylvania Schools Findlay City Schools (Millstream Career Center), Elmwood High School and
McComb High School."This robotics competition is an important step in promoting and supporting STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education at Bowling Green State University," BGSU
President Mary Ellen Mazey announced during the opening ceremony. "This is a wonderful way to teach
science, technology, engineering and mathematics with hands-on, problem-solving experiences."We are so
pleased to be a part of this exciting endeavor for these middle and high school students," she
added.Students had to build a working robot in six weeks with the supplies and parts provided by the Falcon
BEST Hub.Schools that participated included Port Clinton High School, St. Mary Central Catholic High School,
Bowling Green High School, McComb High School, Sylvania Schools, Vanguard Technology Center, Elmwood Local
Schools, Anthony Wayne Local Schools, Maumee Valley Country Day School, Patrick Henry High School, Findlay
High School, Perrysburg High School and Penta Career Center.