Fairport FIRST Robotics

Infobox Student Group
name = Fairport FIRST Robotics
logo =
motto = This Ain't Your Daddy's Science Fair
established= 1997
discontinued=
institution= Fairport High School
faculty advisor=
president= Patrick Morabito
vice president= Geni Giannotti, Dan Lavoie
treasurer= Liz White
secretary= Jack Stokes
website= [http://www.fairportfirst.com Fairport FRC Website]
number of participants=51 [ [https://my.usfirst.org/myarea/index.lasso?page=teaminfo&team=578&event_type=FRC FIRST Infocenter] ]

Fairport FIRST Robotics Is a FIRST Robotics Competition team out of Fairport High School in Fairport, New York also known as Team 578 Blue Lightning.

History

Fairport High School was the first suburban Rochester area team to have a FIRST Robotics team. Over the years it transformed from Kod-Red, to the Fairport Intelligence Agency, to the current name of Blue Lightning.

Kod Red

In 1997 Mr. Gene Gordon and 27 students formed the original Fairport FIRST team, Kod-Red team 36. The name Kod-Red came from their original sponsor, Kodak, and their school's mascot, the Red Raider.{Kod-Red Logo}The logo for the team was designed by students at Fairport High School through a school wide contest. The first regional the team ever competed in was the Mid-Atlantic Regional. At this regional, they won a Judge's Award for our robot's unique function.One year later, they changed their team number to 52 though their name remained the same. The team competed once again in the Mid- Atlantic regional.

The FIA Years

Due to some changes at Kodak, the team was left sponsorless. Fortunately, they were adopted by The Gleason Works, which still sponsors the team today. They re-registered as Team 277 FIA, which stood for Fairport Intelligence Agency, making it all the way to the championship.

Blue Lightning

After events in the news changed the public's view of trench coats, the team decided to change its name to Blue Lightning. Blue is one of Fairport High School's colors, and the lightning meant to symbolize the team's energy. The original slogan that went along with the name was "Thunder makes the noise, but lightning does the work".blue lightning logoThey held another school wide art contest to come up with a new logo. The team ended up winning the Philadelphia Regional in 2000, and the Nasa Langley- VCU Regional in 2001. But even more important is the impact FIRST has had on the team. In 2005, 100% of the members went on to college to study something related to science and technology, and all of the members that have gone through the program have graduated from high school. [ [http://fairportfirst.com/ourhistory.htm Fairport FRC History] ]

Events Attended

The Fairport FIRST team attended the following regionals over its history.

Awards and Recognition

ponsors

The Gleason Works
Fairport High School
Applied Measurement and Control
Fairport Rotary
Mark's Pizzeria

Robots

2003- Driver has < $25
2004- KG-1
2005- KG-2
2006- KG-3
2007- KG-4
2008- Marvin

Community Events/Service

The robotics team participates in local Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Homecoming parades. They also hold demos for local scout troops and at their school to raise awareness of the team. They also have participated in demos at the Rochester Science Museum, appear annually at the E3 fair at RIT, and are planning a demo at the Strong Museum.

They participate in volunteer activities sponsored by the Rotary, and are also helping a local church with a webpage for the youth ministry.

The team also has a biannual fundraiser occuring prior to Homecoming and Graduation, in which team members spray a picture of the school mascot, a Red Raider, onto the puchaser's driveway.

ee also

*Fairport Central School District
*Fairport High School
*Fairport, New York
*Rochester, New York

References

External links

* [http://www.fairport.org/schools/fhs/default.asp Fairport High School website]
* [http://www.fairport.org/schools/fairport_high.asp FCSD School district page]
* [http://www.fairportfirst.com Fairport FIRST Robotics Website]