JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Fletcher High School Robotics Team beat out 67 other teams at the recent national robotics competition.

Held in Honolulu, Hawaii, the competition saw the local team win a Judge's Choice award, second-place in the Head-to-Head competition and fourth-place overall.

Nick Karnes, Matt Salfer-Hobbs and Strewart Knox represented Fletcher High School at the Global Conference on Educational Robotics, also known as Botball.

Tom LaPointe, Fletcher High School physics teacher and the team's coach said, "Everyone felt good going into the competition because we knew that we had what was needed to win on an national level."

Last spring at UNF the students qualified for the national competition.

The Botball Education Robotics program engages middle and high school students in a team-oriented robotics competition based on national science education standards. Students design, build, program, and document robots.  Students use science, engineering, technology, math and writing kills for their projects.

Botball season begins each September with an optional video showcase where teams are asked to prepare educational, promotional or instructional videos related to robotics projects. In January and February, the educator workshops help mentors and team leaders with technology training and the details of the game for the year. Then, after a build period lasting about seven weeks, students take part in the regional tournament with their robots.

For additional information on Botball, visit their site.

First Coast News