DURHAM – Principal Rebecca Noe and Robotics Team Mentor Michael Hawley would like to celebrate the success of the Oyster River High School Robotics team, which had an outstanding season this year. 

The current ORHS Robotics team re-started in 2020, and now includes 40 students. The team is divided into several sub-teams, including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, programming, strategy, and business. 

The team competes in FIRST FRC, a leading worldwide organization facilitating STEM enrichment through robotics. 

Based on high-level performances in qualifying tournaments in Lewiston, Maine, and at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, the team qualified for the FIRST New England District Championships for the first time. The team finished 46th out of 215 teams.

During the qualifying tournaments, ORHS Robotics won the FIRST Team Sustainability Award. This award recognizes that:

The team has a clear concept or approach to building their team and operates as a cohesive unit

The team proactively identified and managed risks, acquiring the assets to effectively deal with adversity as well as unexpected events

The team is taking steps to reduce their environmental impact and building environmental sustainability into team activities

FIRST New England District Championships was held in Springfield, Mass., on April 3-6, where the top 96 teams in the region competed.

OHRS Robotics Team Captain Will Blandini reflected on his experience with the team: “Over the past several years, it’s been awesome to see the team grow and improve. We’ve got contributions from so many people in that time, with a lot of hard work and dedication put in. This year it all come together efficiently, from elegant design of the robot, to sophisticated autonomous programming, and everything in between. To get the results and see all that hard work pay off is really rewarding.”

Overall, the team has shown significant growth and maturity, learning about new ways to drive, using light and color sensors for vision systems on the field, and getting better at business and sponsorship engagement. 

"To watch these students grow and progress while doing something they are passionate about is one of the best rewards as a teacher," said Team Mentor Hawley. "Each member of the ORHS Robotics team is talented in their own unique way and brings something special to the team. I cannot wait to see how they continue their journey in robotics next season!"

The District would like to thank the various sponsors who have helped make the ORHS Robotics team a success.

The team has a partnership with the UNH Olson Center where students learn about advanced manufacturing. The team used those facilities to fabricate custom metal components for the robot. 

Other ORHS Robotics Teams sponsors include Turbocam, ProAmpac, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, iWorx, NextEra Energy, and LenkKuna Orthodontics. 

The team's season comes to an end just as National Robotics Week (RoboWeek) — celebrated April 6-14 this year — begins. National Robotics Week aims to inspire students in robotics and STEM-related fields and to share the excitement of robotics with audiences of all ages. This is the 15th year that National Robotics Week will be recognized nationwide. 

Not only does the special week help to bring awareness and inspire students who are interested in robotics and STEM-related fields, it also aims to promote the industry, advocate for research, educate the community, and celebrate the advancement of technology.

During the qualifying tournaments, ORHS Robotics won the FIRST Team Sustainability Award.

Members of the ORHS Robotics team during the qualifying tournament at the University of New Hampshire.

ORHS Robotics team members working together during a competition