Last year, the Ladue robotics team won the Rookie Inspiration Award in its first year of competition. This year, the team hopes to continue their success.

In the 2011-2012 season, the team participated in two competitions, held at Chaifetz Arena and Xavier University.

“For a rookie team, we did very well,” team coach and practical arts teacher Stephen Schmidt said.

The team hopes to be successful in their two upcoming competitions as well. The first competition, a St. Louis regional competition, will be on March 14-16, 2013, in the Chaifetz Arena, 9:00 a.m- 4:00 p.m. The Chaifetz arena is located in St. Louis University and the price of admission is free. A number of organizations sponsor the competition, including the U.S Air Force, ABNA Engineering and Cardinals Care.

The second competition will take place in Taharo, Indiana. However, the type of competition, and the type of robot design required, will be different from last year.

“Last year, the competition was throwing basketballs,” Schmidt said. “This year, we will be building a robot that can throw frisbees.”

The Robotics Team has already started building their frisbee throwing robot for the upcoming competition. The purpose of their robot will be similar to the basketball throwing device. The robot’s goal is to throw the frisbee a certain distance and as accurately as possible.

The Robotics team is also open to new members. Members of the Robotics Team usually meet in room 184, after school. #