Bellarmine is a school known for its excellence in many different areas. However, the Bellarmine motto, “Men for Others,” reminds Bells to give back from their excellence. The Robotics Team is an example of a Bellarmine organization that exhibits both these traits.
The Bellarmine Robotics Team, also known as Team 254, the Cheesy Poofs, and the NASA Ames Robotics Team, had an outstanding season again this year. Robotics has consistently garnered national attention for continued excellence, even starring in a Discovery Channel Documentary that aired last fall. They consistently make it to the playoffs at the national competition, held this year in Atlanta, GA.
The season started out the first Saturday in January when the new game was unveiled, with students rising at 5 am to be the first to see the new game. The objectives this year included herding playground balls, capping PVC goals with a 30 inch exercise ball, and doing a pull-up from a ten foot bar. After working with a team from Kingman, Arizona, the team came up with a design that could achieve all these objectives.
The first regional competition for the Cheesy Poofs was March 17-19 at the Cal State Expo in Sacramento. The robot performed flawlessly, tying the highest score in the country as it rose in the rankings. Seeded number one, the team picked two teams from Oregon to join the alliance. After some tough competition from Florida, Team 254 won the Sacramento Regional. Neil Munjal ’04 led the website award team to win the Website Award, while mentor Steve Kyramarios, a mentor from NASA, was recognized for his mentoring.
The Bellarmine Robotics Team then came home for the Silicon Valley Regional the first weekend in April. After fierce competition and a few technical difficulties (including a ten foot fall for the robot), the Bionic Poof seeded second and was picked by the number one seed, from Mountain View High School, joining with the Athenian School for two consecutive years. This great alliance went on undefeated in the playoffs. The Robotics Team has won the Silicon Valley Regional every year since its inception. The team was ecstatic when the Chairman’s Award winner was announced; it qualified them for the championship Chairman’s Award competition. The Chairman’s Award honors the team whose efforts promote “partnership among people, [and] the impact it has on their lives and appreciation of science and technology” (usfirst.org). Team 254 received this award for starting teams in many places, their mobile machine shop, partnership with Unity Care Group, collaboration with Kingman, working with Lego League kids, and more.
Next up was the challenge of the Championship Event. The robot, fraught with bad luck, was seeded in the middle of the pack. Fortunately, it was picked by the Columbia University Team, who also picked the Thunderchickens of Michigan. The team was disappointed when the robot was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Likewise, the Chairman’s Award team grew worried with the drought of judges coming by the pit area. However, the team knew instantly when they announced the description of the team that this was the most successful year ever in Cheesy Poof history. Winning the Chairman’s Award grants the team entrance in the Hall of Fame, automatic qualification for the Championship forever, two computers, and a $10,000 scholarship for an outstanding student. The Scholarship was given to Jay Lundy ’04, four year driver and programmer.
Bellarmine’s Robotics Team continues to inspire Bells to achieve excellence
and give back to the community. They are the paragon of the Bellarmine mission.
More information is available at http://team254.bcp.org/