Cumby Robotics Team Captures
2nd Place in TAMU-C BEST Competition

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

It was a great day of competition and especially a nice win for the Cumby High School Robotics Team, as they captured 2nd place in the Texas A&M University Commerce, BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) Competition.  They competed with 13 other teams from across Northeast Texas in the competition, according to sponsor, Mrs. Lee Gifford.

According to Gifford, the contest is designed to show youth how engineering can be fun, through a sport-like technology contest. Each school is provided kits of parts and a set of game rules. Teams have six weeks to design, build, and test a small radio controlled robot, that plays the game. Education and industry professionals volunteer their time as coaches and mentors to offer guidance in the design and construction process. But, restrictions apply to help make the competition simulate a real world business and engineering environment.

The Cumby Robotics Team would like to thank Pete Claypool for his help and guidance during the design and engineering phase of their project.

 

 

 

 

The actual contest, that was held on Saturday at TAMU-C, features two parallel competitions: First - a robotics game, which is based on an annual theme with four teams competing at once in a series of three-minute matches. And, Second - a BEST Award Competition, which is presented to the team that best embodies the concept of boosting engineering, science, and technology. Elements include a project summary notebook, oral presentation skills, table display, and sportsmanship.

The goals of the contests are to inspire and motivate students toward studies and careers in engineering, science, and technology. It's about changing the way students think about science and technology, while gaining the rewards of excitement and fun!

Congratulations, Cumby Robotics Team, on your 2nd place finish in the Northeast Texas Division!

Cumby Team members were: Brandon Gomez, Kody Bond, Tyler Crump, Christian Contreras, Alicia Keim, and Gavin Walker.

 

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