Shorewood to host qualifying events for two-state robotics program

Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Shorewood High School will host one of the qualifying events for FIRSTWA and FIRST®, the organizations who sponsor high school Robotics programs. 

The event will be held Friday and Saturday, March 21 and 22 from 8am to 6pm, with competitions starting following the opening ceremonies at 11am Friday at the new Shorewood High School commons and gymnasium, 17300 Fremont Ave N in Shoreline.

Over 700 students, ages 14 to 18 from 33 teams across Washington and Oregon will gather to compete in this year’s FIRST Robotics Challenge where the action never stops, AERIAL ASSIST. This event is hosted by Shorewood’s own Team Pronto 3070, coached by teacher Wesley Proudlove. Both Shorecrest and Shorewood High Schools will be offering new courses in robotics beginning next fall.

AERIAL ASSIST is played by two competing Alliances of three robots each on a 25’ x 54’ field, straddled by a truss suspended just over five feet above the floor. Alliances try to score as many balls in goals as possible during a 2-1/2-minute match. The more Alliances score their ball in their goals, and the more they work together to do it, the more points their Alliance receives.

Winning teams will advance to the Pacific Northwest Championship at Portland Oregon’s Memorial Coliseum on April 10. Regional winners move on to the national competition in St. Louis.

FIRST Robotics is a sport of science, technology and teamwork, combining the tremendous opportunity to develop STEM skills under the guidance of professional engineering and business mentors who volunteer their time and talents to teach the students valuable engineering, project management and entrepreneurship skills.  FIRST Robotics teams are challenged to design and build a robot in six weeks based on an annual themed challenge under strict rules, limited resources, and tight time constraints.

Students involved in FIRST are eligible for 900 individual scholarship opportunities with a total value of over $19 million.

Affiliated with U.S.FIRST, Washington FIRST Robotics designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, teamwork, and life skills.

For more information, visit the Team Pronto 3070 website, or FIRSTWA and FIRST®.