Delphi Repeats as 'FIRST' National Champions
26 April 1999
Delphi Repeats as 'FIRST' National Champions; Two Delphi Teams Reach Final Match; Three Delphi Teams Reach Quarterfinals
ORLANDO, Fla., April 25 -- Delphi Automotive Systems
defended its FIRST National Championship today, as its team in
Warren, Ohio, earned a share of the title at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center.
A group of 35 students from Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio,
supported by Delphi engineers and teachers, led the championship run at this
year's national robotics competition.
The Delphi-Warren team, nicknamed "Team ELITE," joined with 3-Dimensional
Services & Oakland Technical Center in Pontiac, Mich., and UTC/Hamilton
Standard and Windsor Locks (Conn.) High School-Suffield High School for the
win in FIRST's most competitive field ever. A record 207 teams from 32 states
and Canada appeared in FIRST's eighth annual competition.
An eight-year participant, Delphi continued its tradition of taking center
stage in FIRST's premier event. Delphi's "The TechnoKats" team, from Kokomo
(Ind.) High School, was FIRST's defending national champion and they almost
repeated. The 'Kats advanced to the finals before its alliance lost the
deciding game in a best two-out-of-three series.
A third Delphi team, comprised of students from Pontiac (Mich.) Central
High School, reached the quarterfinals before yielding to an alliance team
from Norwich, N.Y. and Chicago. "Chief Delphi" was a finalist in 1997, which
means Delphi has appeared in FIRST's Super Bowl game three straight years.
"I'm really proud that the past three finals have featured Delphi teams
from Michigan, Indiana and Ohio," said J.T. Battenberg III, Delphi chairman,
chief executive officer and president. "This speaks to a consistent level of
commitment and excellence throughout our organization toward developing the
talents of young people."
FIRST, which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology, is an international robotics competition designed to get high
school students as enthused about science, math and technology as an athletic
competition.
"Team ELITE" made significant performance strides in its second FIRST
season. After finishing 36th at last year's competition, the team dedicated
itself to improve this season, said student Alyson Eggleston.
"Winning today is a great reward for all the hard work we put into the
robot this year," said Eggleston. "By working as a team, we achieved the
best." Eggleston, 17, is a senior at Warren G. Harding High School. She plans
to enroll at Akron University and study chemical engineering this fall, based
on her FIRST experience.
THE GAME
This year's FIRST game was played in a 24'x 28' arena, featuring four
teams with their robots. Two teams were paired in a win-together, lose-
together "alliance" that plays against another alliance. All four robots were
on the field, which was divided into half. The game also featured a five-foot
wooden octagonal platform "puck" placed at midfield, and 10 red-colored and
10 blue-colored Velcro-looped "floppies," which were lightweight and 26 inches
in diameter.
During the two-minute match, one alliance worked to outscore the other by
positioning the floppies and the puck on the playing field.
The robots were built to capture and raise the floppies above the playing
surface. Alliances get one point for each floppy at least one foot above the
playing surface and three points for each floppy at least eight feet above the
playing surface.
Alliances could use the puck to multiply their point totals. If, at the
end of the game, an alliance positioned the puck entirely on their opponent's
side of the field, the points doubled; if the alliance climbed its robot onto
the puck, the points tripled.
FIRST -- "SEEDING MATCHES"
All 207 teams played six "seeding matches" to earn one of 16 spots in the
elimination round.
In a format designed to promote teamwork, the 16 teams with the most
number of points after the seeding matches were allowed to each select two
alliance partners to join them in the elimination round.
Delphi placed one team in the top 16 -- "The TechnoKats" (seeded eighth).
For their championship run, the "TechnoKats" selected the Motorola,
Inc./Rolling Meadows High School & Wheeling High School in Schamberg, Ill.,
and Northern Tier Industry & Education Consortium/Sayre High Schools in Troy,
Penn.
Two other Delphi teams were selected as alliance partners, including "Team
ELITE" (25th) and "Chief Delphi" (61st), the latter aligning with two Florida
schools -- Panzer Aluminum Products/Eley High School Innovation Zone in
Manors, and Motorola/East Lake High School in Clearwater.
Delphi's fourth team, the "Delphi Knights" (Buena Vista High School in
Saginaw, Mich.), finished 98th.
Delphi's fifth team, "The Megatron Oracles" (Carman-Ainsworth High School,
Flint, Mich.), finished 107th. The Oracles completed a strong first season,
earning second place finishes at regional competitions in Ypsilanti, Mich.,
and Philadelphia.
Delphi officials praised the teamwork format. "This is a perfect example
of how depending on partners can lead you to the top," said James Crouse,
director of engineering for Delphi Packard Electric Systems, which sponsored
the winning school. "We couldn't have won without our alliance partners, and
they couldn't have done it without us."
DELPHI WINS "OUTSTANDING DEFENSE AWARDS"
Beyond its national championship, "Team ELITE" also won a major FIRST
award, as determined by judges. "Team ELITE" earned the "Most Outstanding
Defense Award," which is given to the team that demonstrates the most
formidable defensive move or strategy.
CONNECTICUT HIGH SCHOOL WINS DELPHI'S "POWER TO SIMPLIFY(TM)" AWARD
Thirty high school students from South Windsor (Conn.) High School earned
Delphi's "Power to Simplify" award, presented at FIRST's award ceremonies.
A panel of judges from FIRST presented the award to the team's
30 students. The school's corporate sponsor is UTC/International Fuel Cells.
This major engineering award was presented to the team whose robot has the
most elegant and advantageous features, as determined by the judges.
Delphi Automotive Systems, with headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, is a
world leader in automotive component and systems technology. Delphi's three
business sectors -- Dynamics & Propulsion; Safety, Thermal & Electrical
Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile Communications -- provide comprehensive
product solutions to complex customer needs. Delphi has more than
193,000 employees and operates 168 wholly owned manufacturing sites, 40 joint
ventures and 27 technical centers in 36 countries. Regional headquarters are
located in Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo. Delphi can be found on the Internet at
http://www.delphiauto.com.