Approximately 1,000 students expected to participate in 3-day robotics competition next week at Alerus Center
Mar. 3—GRAND FORKS — The fifth Great Northern Regional robotics competition is expected to bring 54 teams from four states to the Alerus Center next week.
The event, set for Thursday-Saturday, March 9-11, has a $1.3 million economic impact on the Grand Cities community, organizers say.
Approximately 1,000 students in grades 9-12 have registered to attend, according to Mary Anderson, who's leading the planning committee. In addition, each team brings along up to 10 adult mentors.
All activities are free and open to the public.
Scrimmage and inspection day is Thursday. Competition matches are planned for Friday and Saturday, said Mike Voglewede, a mentor for the Northwood, North Dakota, robotics program. For a complete schedule of activities, go to
https://frcnorthland.org/grand-forks-regional/
, and click on "Event Guide from Event Organizers".
This year's event, which is a FIRST Robotics Competition, challenges each student team to create a railcar, from on-hand, scrounged and preferably recyclable materials, "that tells their team story while representing FIRST Robotics," according to contest specifications. FIRST stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology." The program "combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology," according to its website.
Each rail car should be 4 feet long by 2 feet wide by 3 feet high and weigh less than 50 pounds, among other requirements.
Russ and Mary Anderson of Greenbush, Minnesota, co-chair the Great Northern Planning Committee and "are the main reason why we have this competition in Grand Forks instead of somewhere else," Voglewede said.
Students work with adult mentors who guide them through the process of delving deeply into an annual engineering challenge that culminates in teams collaborating to figure out the best way to accumulate the most points in three-versus-three team, or alliance, matches.
Area competitors are North Dakota teams from Grand Forks (8188), Hatton-Northwood (876), and Devils Lake (8586), and Minnesota teams from Thief River Falls (3277) and Greenbush (5172), Voglewede said.
In next week's event, students will be vying for the championship, just as they did in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022, he said. The competition was not held in 2021, due to the COVID pandemic.
The winning Alliance of 3 teams will advance to the World Championships to be held April 20-22 in Houston, said Voglewede, a retired science teacher who taught science for many years in the Northwood school system. "All three share the title of regional winners."
Robotics is attracting student interest for several reasons, Voglewede said.
"It allows the students the freedom to explore technology in a fun, hands-on way. (They) can participate and do well regardless of athletic ability, grade point (average) or background. They are all part of a team.
"Although there is intense competition, the teams all help and cooperate with each other," he said. That's called "coopertition" in the robotics world.
Students interact with others with similar interests and develop friendships with other kids all over the country, Voglewede said. They also work with adult mentors in the community who serve as "excellent role models."
"The students think that they are building robots," he said, "but, in reality, the program is building students into future productive community members and leaders."
Participation in robotics also builds student self-confidence and stimulates career exploration.
"Team members find that they can succeed in careers that they didn't think they had a chance at — such as medicine, engineering, computer technology and public speaking," which all leads to future employment, Voglewede said.
Major industries "are looking to hire people just like these FIRST robotic students — kids who can think quickly and out of the box, adapt to changing conditions and work with others, and who know technology."
