Kinetic Knights win Gracious Professionalism award at district event in Oshawa

The Kinetic Knights, FRC Team 781, of Kincardine brought home the Gracious Professionalism award after competing at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Ontario District robotics competition held March 4-5 at Durham College in Oshawa.

The team proudly showcased its robot, "The Mann," named after former Kincardine mayor and Second World War veteran, Charles Mann, who died Jan. 28.

The robot competed on the FIRST Steamworks Challenge playing field, ending the qualifying matches with five wins and seven losses, ranked in 26th spot. Team 781 was then chosen for an Alliance with Team 4688, Saints Bot of Belle River, and Team 2386, the Trojans of Burlington. That Alliance made it to the quarter-finals before being eliminated.

Team 781 received the Gracious Professionalism award for outstanding demonstration of FIRST core values, such as continuous gracious professionalism working together both on and off the playing field. The Kinetic Knights were nominated for this award, by two other teams competing at Oshawa.

The Kinetic Knights travel to another Ontario District robotics competition in Barrie, March 25-26. They then hope to qualify for the Ontario Championships slated for the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, April 12-15; and advance to the worlds which will be held April 26-29 in St. Louis, Missouri.



FRC Team 781's robot, "The Mann," competes at Durham College in Oshawa; video by David Dadson

AWARDS

Matt Venner of the Kinetic Knights was named a semi-finalist for the Dean's List award.

His nomination notes that he caught the robotics bug early when he joined a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team in the fourth grade and he has been passionate about FIRST ever since.

"Even before he joined Team 781, the Kinetic Knights, Matt was at our outreach events, eager to take a hand at driving the robot and sharing his love of robotics. When he finally was able to join the team, he jumped in with both feet and was one of the team members who led by example, volunteering and taking part in pretty well every aspect of the team from fund-raisers to getting trained on the safe use of tools, to learning how to CAD.

"During the fall of his rookie year, Matt was actively involved in supporting local FLL teams by helping coach and acting as a referee in the Kincardine qualifier tournament. His enthusiasm was infectious and got FLL team members looking forward to continuing to participate at the FRC level when they were old enough.

"Once kickoff for Recycle Rush happened, Matt was totally immersed in robotics as he was involved in every aspect of build, learning from the veterans on the team. Eventually he so impressed the build captain and mentors, he was put in charge of the can retrieval mechanism, designing, prototyping, building and installing the attachment.

"Matt’s contribution continued into competitions as he was a key member of the pit crew and while there, demonstrated that he understood what Gracious Professionalism was as he willingly helped out other teams in the pits. With such an outstanding rookie year, it was no wonder that the team voted him Rookie of the Year.

"Unfortunately during the next season, external factors and conflicts led to Matt not being able to participate as much as he had wanted to but when he was able, his contribution to build and the pit crew continued to be appreciated. This year, however, Matt is back with a vengeance as he has taken on the role of safety captain. In this role, he provides regular safety updates and messages during team meetings, arranges for First Aid training for team members, and looks for safety opportunities to address hazards and make things safer for the team both in our own build space, and when out at competitions or in the general public area at outreach events.

"Recognizing that the team is in a rebuilding phase this year, Matt is focusing on helping build the team for the future, encouraging rookie members and helping them learn how to build robots and how to be part of Team 781. Matt Venner continues to be a key part of the Kinetic Knights and we are proud to nominate him for the Dean’s List."

Also nominated for the Dean's List award, was James Adams.

His nomination states that he has shown an intense passion for FIRST over a sustained period of time. He started by participating on one of the local FLL teams, and in Grade 8, he was awarded FRC Team 781’s Engineering Inspiration Award, given by the Kinetic Knights, to a local graduate who excels in math, science, technology and leadership.

"When he reached high school, he eagerly signed up to join the Kinetic Knights, and from that moment, the team knew it had a rising star in its ranks. James hit the ground running as a first-year member, eager to absorb all he could about all aspects of FIRST robotics.

"James has been a member of Team 781 for only two years, but his contributions are many and are not limited to his interest in the technical aspects of the team. He is extremely talented in other areas that have benefited the Kinetic Knights, as well as demonstrating the passion that FIRST embodies.

"He is active in every part of the team, working on the software, mechanical design (CAD), website, recruiting, and fund-raising. This year, James is Team 781’s Website Lead, and FLL Lead, as well as the Programming and Strategy Lead for the build team.

"James never limits himself to one facet of the team and is constantly expanding his repertoire. This fall, he spearheaded a ham dinner fund-raiser, using his passion for cooking to raise funds for our team, as well as sharing his passion for robotics and the FIRST ideals. As an ambassador of FIRST and STEM-related fields, he proudly displays the spirit of FIRST.

"You can always depend on James to volunteer for outreach events. He has volunteered for most of the events held by 781, including, Bruce County Museum Robot Demonstration, Grade 8 information nights, Terry Fox Run and the Bruce Power Beach Party. James is always advocating FIRST by openly displaying his interest and passion for the program, and conveying how much fun it is!

"James displays his leadership by mentoring FLL teams and volunteering at FLL events. Leading by example, he became an expert on the FLL challenge rules so that he could be a resource for the teams he mentored. In his first year on the team, James was a referee at the local FLL tournament held by Team 781. As the FLL Lead for our team this year, he took on the role of Tournament Director (at the age of 15) and organized our 2016 Kincardine FLL Qualifying tournament. He also held training sessions to help prepare new Team 781 referees. It was a very successful event with 11 teams attending from the local area and beyond, four of them were new rookie FLL teams in our area!

"James is a committed, invested, and passionate member of Team 781. He is always ready to lend a hand, teach someone something new, or learn something new himself. James Adams is the kind of student who genuinely deserves to be recognized as a member of the distinguished FIRST Dean’s list."

Mentor Michelle LaPointe was nominated for the Woodie Flowers mentorship award.

Her nomination states that Team 781 has been unbelievably fortunate to have her as a mentor for four years.

"Michelle helps in any way she can: from guiding our build team to making sure we get to events, and even keeping our team organized and on time. She works in essentially every aspect of our team.

"She not only makes time to attend and assist us with events but she always offers her vehicle for our use whether it is for transporting team members or our outreach material. Without her, our team would be a huge mess in both team structure and our building.

"Michelle was a driving force behind a major renovation of our build site. She helped organize the upstairs of our building, helping us find things we needed for writing letters, and other day-to-day activities. She keeps our team organized structurally as well; she asks students questions and reminds us of our commitments.

"She set up the team on a new system to make sure things were completed, including “Gantt” charts to help us prioritize and keep jobs done on-time. Michelle also introduced us to the idea of a “Kanban board” on which people post jobs for everyone to see, and a completion board where everyone can see how much we have accomplished as a team.

"Michelle is a great mentor - dependable, honest, and inspirational. She helps in so many areas of the team, from build to outreach, and even the tedious job of organizing our team. No FIRST team would be the same without mentors, and our team wouldn’t be the same without Michelle."