Baldwin High School’s FIRST Robotics Team 1546, Chaos Inc., finished with a strong showing at the FIRST Robotics Competition Long Island Regional, held March 19-21 at Hofstra University’s David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
The Baldwin team competed against 48 teams from New York City, Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as international team 7673, Formosan Sika, from New Taipei City, Chinese Taipei.
This year’s competition challenge, “REBUILT,” presented by Haas, required teams to design and program robots to complete complex tasks during both autonomous and driver-controlled portions of each match. Teams were judged not only on their robots’ technical abilities, but also on strategy, adaptability and how well they worked with alliance partners.
Chaos Inc. opened the competition with a 4-2 record after the first day, earning a 22nd-place ranking. The team continued to move up on the second day, finishing the qualification rounds ranked 14th with a 6-3 record against a field of technically advanced competitors.
One of the team’s strongest performances came in Match 32, when Chaos Inc. joined teams from Oceanside and William Floyd high schools as part of the blue alliance. The alliance defeated its opponents, 210-156, in a match that highlighted coordination, strategy and quick execution.
The Baldwin drive team was led by Coach Kevin Rottkamp and included driver Aleksander Spahaj, manipulator operator Gavin McGinley, human player Jaden Small and technician Kevin Soriano.
FIRST Robotics competitions are designed to give students real-world experience in science, technology, engineering and math while encouraging teamwork, problem-solving and leadership. Chaos Inc.’s performance at the Long Island Regional reflected the team’s preparation, technical skill and ability to adapt under pressure.
