NORWICH – The Chenango County FIRST TR-X 145 Robotics Team recently held their 2012 kick-off at the Norwich Senior High School. Through a live feed provided by NASA, originating from Manchester, NH, at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, the team learned of the new challenge for 2012 along with other teams nationwide.
Inventor Dean Kamen was joined by former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, will.i.am, frontman of The Black Eyed Peas, and a host of other celebrities to launch the 21st FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) season with the Kickoff of Rebound RumbleSM. An estimated 60,000 around the world joined the Kickoff via live NASA-TV broadcast and webcast.
FIRST teams received a kit of Parts made up of motors, batteries, a control system, a PC and a mix of automation components – but no instructions. Working with Mentors, students have six weeks to design, build, program and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge. Once these young inventors create a robot, their teams participate in competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration and the determination of students. 
The 2012 “Rebound Rumble” robotics game is played between two Alliances of three teams each. Each Alliance competes by trying to score as many of the basketballs in the hoops as possible during the two-minute and 15-second match. Balls scored in higher hoops score teams more points. Team Alliances are awarded bonus points if they are balanced on bridges at the end of the match.
The Kickoff included presentations by FIRST founder Dean Kamen; NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden; PTC President and CEO Jim Heppelmann; FIRST Chairman Walt P. Havenstein; FIRST National Advisor Dr. Woodie Flowers; and FIRST president Jon Dudas. The program also featured remarks by former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report; and FIRST Robotics Competition Director Bill Miller. All spoke of the future of these aspiring technology and science students while learning skills that will last a lifetime.
Aneesh Chopra, White House Chief Technology Officer said, “When I was at the Championship last year, I knew you understood it wasn’t just about winning the competition. It’s about building for the future.  Creating a community that makes our world a better place through advances in technology and innovation. And we can only do that if we build the jobs and industries of the future with a workforce that’s capable in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. You are the workforce to that future economy.”
FIRST redefines winning for these students because they are rewarded for excellence in design, demonstrated team spirit, gracious professionalism and the ability to overcome obstacles. There are 2,300 + teams, not including teams in Israel, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Chile, and others that will be competing in regional competitions all over the world.
Team #145 has eighteen students and ten mentors that meet Monday through Saturday, during the six-week build season in an effort to build a robot that meets the specifications set by the National FIRST leaders. The team has won a number of honored awards such as: the Rockwell International Innovation in Controls Award, Best Sportsmanship, the GM Industrial Design Award, the Judges Award and last year the team was proud to receive the “Imagery” Award.
If you would like to make a donation to FIRST Team #145, email PR Coordinator, Audrey Robinson at trx@trx145.net. The team will be traveling to Rochester Institute of Technology on March 9th and 10th for their regional competition. If you are interested in learning more about the FIRST #145 team, visit the website at www.trx145.net or www.usfirst.org.