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Geneva High's FIRST Robotics team sponsored by The Label Printers

The ‘Bot is built and shipped. Now comes practice with the “Beta Bot” to prepare the team for the Midwest Regionals for the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) game called “Rebound Rumble.”

Meet the ROBOVIKES as they get ready to “Rumble”.

ROBOVIKE Team Members:

Seniors: Trevor Deem, Keane Hensley, Josh Kilmer, Jake Urben, Jack Wilbur

Juniors: Derik Baer, Mitchell Baer, Will Camacho, Matt Fee, Mike Miltner, Justin Mui

Sophomores: Anna Green, Grif McDonell, Will Morrison, Mike Phillips, Quade Spellman, Ken Wendt

Freshmen: Brad Snurka

Robovikes Player Profiles:

Name: Josh Kilmer (Robovikes Programmer – 4 year team member)

Year in School: Senior

Favorite Subject in School: Math

Least Favorite Subject in School: English

College Major: Computer Science

Favorite Food: Chicken Pot Pie

Favorite Movie: Castle in the Sky

Favorite Music: “Movie Trailer-type” music – Classic songs

Favorite Book: Enders Game

Last Book you Read: Band of Brothers (school assignment)

Favorite TV Show: Angel Beats

Hobbies: Computer programming

Best H.S. memory so far: the FIRST Robotics Club

Name: Justin Mui (Robovikes Programmer)

Year in School: Junior

Favorite Subject in School: Math

Least Favorite Subject in School: English

College Major: Computer Engineering or computer Science

Favorite Food: Pasta Alfredo

Favorite Movie: Fast Five

Favorite Music: Dub Step

Last Book you Read: To Kill a Mockingbird (school assignment)

Favorite car: Nissan GTR

Favorite TV Show: One Piece

Hobbies: Origami

Best H.S. memory so far: the FIRST Robotics Club

Name: Will Morrison

Year in School: Sophomore

Favorite Subject in School: Math/Science

Least Favorite Subject in School: History

College Major: Engineer/Flight Training at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Favorite Food: BBQ

Favorite Athlete: Travis Pastrana (Motocross)

Favorite Movie: Memphis Belle

Favorite Music: Country

Last Book you Read: The Great Gatsby (school assignment)

Favorite car: My Truck – a Ford F150

Hobbies: Flying, mechanical stuff, like working on cars, lacrosse, and guitar

Favorite quote: “When everything's going against you, remember you take off into the wind”

Join the Geneva High School Robovikes at this year's Midwest Regional:

2012 MIDWEST REGIONAL • MARCH 22-24

UIC Pavilion • Chicago, Illinois

Learn more at: http://ilfrc.org/

About THE LABEL PRINTERS:

The Label Printers, Aurora, IL, started in business in 1967, manufacturing simple label constructions in a 1,000 square foot space, with 1 employee, serving the local Chicago market.

Today, the company has evolved into one of the 100 largest converters in the United States. The Label Printers owns and operates two facilities in Aurora, Illinois, manufacturing and distributing labels and packaging products to thousands of customers in 25 countries around the world. The company's packaging products are certified to ISO 9001 standards, and their quality is backed up by their 99.6% Quality Acceptance Rating.

The Label Printers is a member of NASPO (North American Security Products Organization), IACC (International Anticounterfeiting Coalitipm), CACP (Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy), TLMI (Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute) and the FTA (Flexographic Technical Association).

About Geneva High School (Community Unit School District 304)

Geneva Community High School is over 130 years old and has over 1,800 students, 150 faculty members, and offers more than 150 courses in eleven academic areas. Students may also enroll in one of thirty-seven academic courses in the Fox Valley Career Center curriculum. Advanced placement and honors courses are offered in all academic areas supported by the expansion of our Acceleration and Enrichment program.

While maintaining an outstanding tradition of excellence in education, athletic and extracurricular programs, our school provides a wide variety of community service learning experiences throughout Geneva and the Fox Valley. Our experienced administrative team and dedicated staff, along with the support of the community of Geneva, offer one of the finest educational opportunities available throughout the state of Illinois.

About the “Rebound Rumble” Game:

The Rebound RumbleSM robotics game is played between two Alliances of three teams each. Each Alliance competes by trying to score as many of the basketballs in the hoops as possible during the 2-minute and 15-second match. Balls scored in higher hoops score Alliances more points. Alliances are awarded bonus points if they are balanced on bridges at the end of the match. In matches where opponent Alliances work together to balance on the white bridge, all participating teams earn additional valuable seeding points.

Each team receives a Kit of Parts made up of motors, batteries, a control system, a PC, and a mix of automation components – but no instructions. Working with adult Mentors, students have six weeks to design, build, program, and test their robots to meet the season's engineering challenge. Once these young inventors create a robot, their teams participate in competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students.

About the FIRST Robotics Competition:

The FIRST Robotics Competition is an annual competition that helps students discover the excitement of science, engineering, and technology and the rewards a career in STEM can bring. In 1992, the FIRST Robotics Competition began with 28 teams and a single 14-by-14-foot playing field in a New Hampshire high school gym. This season more than 2,300 teams, comprised of over 58,000 high school students (grades 9 – 12), will participate. Fifty-two regional events, 1 State Championship, 1 Regional Championship, and 14 District Competitions will lead up to the 2012 FIRST Championship in St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome, April 25 – 28.

FIRST programs are spearheaded by more than 100,000 dedicated volunteers worldwide, most of them professional engineers and scientists who mentor the next generation of innovators. The program is supported by a network of more than 3,500 Sponsors, including corporations, educational and professional institutions, and individuals.

Participating students are eligible to apply for nearly $12 million in scholarships offered by leading universities, colleges, and companies.

"The Varsity Sport for the Mind," FRC combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of 25 students or more are challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. It's as close to "real-world engineering" as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team.

Students get to:

Learn from professional engineers

Build and compete with a robot of their own design

Learn and use sophisticated software and hardware

Compete and cooperate in alliances and tournaments

Earn a place in the World Championship

Qualify for nearly $14.8 million in college scholarships

About FIRST:

Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST ® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and nearly $15 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC ) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for high-school students, FIRST LEGO League (FLL) for 9- to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S. and Canada) and Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) for 6- to 9-year-olds.

2011 marked the 20th season of the FIRST Robotics Competition. FIRST has grown from 1 event to nearly 60 and from 28 teams to over 2000. Much has changed over the first twenty seasons…but our key goals remain the same; our commitment to Gracious Professionalism, our emphasis on learning, helping one another and inspiring careers in math, science, engineering and technology.

Gracious Professionalism is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.

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