Archbishop Wood robotics team advances to next round

BUCKS COUNTY

Wood robotics team advances to next round

WARMINSTER A student robotics team from Archbishop Wood High School has advanced to an international competition in St. Louis next month after winning a regional event over the weekend.

The Fighting Robo-Vikings defeated more than 60 teams from the East Coast at the FIRST Robotics Competition in Virginia, according to an announcement from the event.

FIRST stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology."

Each team at the meet attempted to design robots that could throw a large medicine ball through a goal about six feet above the ground, according to Archbishop Wood assistant coach Sean Cullen.

Students on the Fighting Robo-Vikings began working on their model, which involved a catapult, six weeks ago, Cullen said.

The students' regional win will send them to next month's international championship, where they will compete in the same contest but with a global field of challengers.

Cullen said an Archbishop Wood team several years ago also qualified for the international competition.

"You get to meet a lot of nice people who are interested in the same stuff," he said. "That's what's really cool."

- Chris Palmer