Photo Credit: Jamie Berman
Fans of Robotics Take over the Motor City for Contest
Having 40,000 people show up is nothing to sneeze at when you are promoting an event.
“This week has been better than expected and we even had more attendance than our world championships in Houston last week,” said Mark Giordono, vice president of development for FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). “We’re not here in Detroit just because it’s an awesome convention center, we’re here because it fits into the community, it’s history, and everything Detroit produces.”
Roars could be heard far outside Cobo Center as teams gathered on the show floor for first-round finals of the FIRST Championship competition on Saturday.
For an article in the Detroit News, Sarah Rahal, attended the competition and reports that the enthusiasm was genuine and contagious. With 15,000 high school students comprising 700 teams of robots, the competition was for $80 million in FIRST Scholarship Program. The program has about 200 companies and universities come to the competition to scout for young talent.
It was a serious contest, that still managed to bring out the fun side of being a kid.
“The teams are all wearing fun costumes and uniforms and have made Cobo their home … This is going to be a great week,” said Donald Bossi, president of FIRST. “It’s purely about bragging rights and they have to earn their way back next year just like everyone else.”
The event will remain in Detroit for the next two years.
Teams and their robots arrive on the showroom floor of Cobo Center where thousands have gathered for the final day of the #FIRSTChampionship competition. Read more here : https://detne.ws/2Fp7SnA
Posted by Detroit News on Saturday, April 28, 2018
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