De-Evolution CCA robotics team takes another championship
By Nic Stone, De-Evolution team captain and CCA senior
Canyon Crest Academy’s De-Evolution robotics team was named champion at the season’s second qualifying tournament held at High Tech High in Point Loma on Dec. 1. This win extended the season’s undefeated streak for De-Evolution to 20 matches.
Along with the tournament victory, De-Evolution was also named the winner of the Think Award which recognizes a team’s design and build process as recorded in the team’s engineering journal.
De-Evolution also received nominations for the PTC Design Award and the Rockwell Collins Innovate Award, both of which celebrate a robot’s unique design, elegance and creativity. They were also one of three teams to be nominated for the coveted “judges choice” Inspire award.
De-Evolution played seven matches to qualify for the semi-finals and finals. Officials say one score – 360 to zero – may have set a world record of high scoring for this season. Other scores for De-Evolution matches were 250-0, 155-0, 75-0, 60-50, 242-0, and 155-0. For the semi-final and final matches, De-Evolution scored consistently in the mid to high 200s.
The team’s success at both the Dec. 1 San Diego and the Nov. 17 Los Angeles qualifying tournaments will allow De-Evolution to compete at both the San Diego and Greater Los Angeles regional tournaments on Feb. 23 and March 2, respectively. A win at either regional will qualify De-Evolution to compete at the World competition in St. Louis in April, where in 2011 De-Evolution placed second internationally.
The next qualifying tournament that De-Evolution will compete in takes place on Jan. 12 at La Jolla Country Day. The public is invited to attend and support the team.
De-Evolution is a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team composed of up to 10 students in grades 7-12. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international robotics competition founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire students to excel and pursue careers in engineering, science and technology.
Any local schools wishing to start a robotics program are encouraged to contact De-Evolution to schedule a visit or demonstration. De-Evolution team members, whose seven-member team consists of CCA students in grades 11 and 12, look forward to advancing understanding of robotics in middle and high schools and spreading the message of the excitement, team spirit and intellectual stimulation that FIRST competitions provide.