6th Annual Governor’s Cup Robotics competition: A study in teamwork, innovation, camaraderie

PLYMOUTH, NH  – Twenty-eight robotics teams comprising more than 500 students and 60 volunteers from across New Hampshire gathered at Plymouth State University on Saturday, October 7, for the sixth annual Governor’s Cup, an off-season robotics competition for the state’s high school FIRST^® Robotics Competition (FRC) teams.

PSU President Donald L. Birx, Ph.D., welcomed the teams during the opening ceremony.

“Plymouth State University is privileged to host this great event that demonstrates just how fun working together on tech projects can be,” Birx said. “In 2021, we became the first New Hampshire university to offer a Bachelor of Science in Robotics degree program. The program continues to demonstrate how partnering with others, acquiring valuable skills and innovating are not just useful for competition strategy, but also lay the foundation for success in college and careers.”

This year’s Governor’s Cup challenge, known as “CHARGED UP,” inspired competitors to see the potential of energy storage in a new light as they competed to charge up their “communities.” Two competing alliances (comprising three FRC teams each) raced to bring energy to their respective communities by retrieving cones and cubes with their robots and placing them on a grid. The game featured both autonomous and driver-controlled periods, during which teams could score points by retrieving and scoring game pieces, as well as docking on or engaging with their charge stations. The objective of the match was to score the most points with the winner proceeding to the next round.

“FIRST is one of the most exciting educational opportunities for young people to develop the innovative thinking and team-building skills that are critical to their future success in nearly any industry,” said Doug Foley, president of New Hampshire operations, Eversource. “We are proud at Eversource to once again support the FIRST NH Governor’s Cup – helping to engage students in the idea that learning is fun and STEM careers are rewarding. Year after year, the teams never fail to come up with unique solutions to the challenge at hand, and we celebrate all of this year’s participants and winners for their innovative work.”

Three teams, one from each of the northern, southern and central regions of the state, were honored with the Governor’s Award. Teams were chosen based on their enthusiasm for STEM, team dynamics, relationship with schools and sponsors and overall competition performance. Graduating seniors from each team received vouchers for one semester of free tuition to any University System of New Hampshire (USNH) or Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) institution.

The 2023 Governor’s Award-winning teams were:

• Team #166: Chop Shop, Merrimack High School
• Team #238: The Crusaders, Manchester Memorial High School
• Team #4925: The Resistance, Kingswood Regional High School

The 2023 winning alliance was comprised of:

• Team #3323: Potential Energy, Campbell High School
• Team #3467: Windham Windup, Windham High School
• Team #8046: The Lakerbots, Inter-Lakes High School

The 2023 finalist (runner-up) alliance was comprised of:

• Team #166: Chop Shop, Merrimack High School
• Team #238: The Crusaders, Manchester Memorial High School
• Team #8724: Mayhem, Community Team from Bedford

Eight high school seniors were awarded $2,000 individual scholarships to attend any USNH or CCSNH institution. Students were nominated by their adult mentors, and the scholarships are underwritten, in part, by Eversource, Fidelity Investments and BAE Systems. The 2023 scholarship recipients were:

• Daniel Hodge, Team #8046: The Lakerbots, Inter-Lakes, NH
• Isabella VanBibber, Team #138: Entropy, Amherst, NH
• Brian Garrett, Team #7913: ‘Bear’ly Functioning, Bristol, NH
• Bourne Spooner, Team #1922: Oz-Ram, Contoocook, NH
• Damian Beck, Team #1831: Screaming Eagles, Gilford, NH
• Brendon Saranich, Team #1058: PVC Pirates, Londonderry, NH
• Gavyn Bunnell, Team #7907: Spartan Robotics, Whitefield, NH
• Katelyn Otis, Team #3323: Potential Energy, Litchfield, NH

2023 Judge Awards

We had GP Even When Competing for Scholarship Award – Celebrates outstanding demonstration of FIRST Core Values such as continuous Gracious Professionalism® working together both on and off the playing field: Team #319: Big Bad Bob, Prospect Mountain High School.

Live Free or Die Safety Award – Celebrates the team that progresses beyond safety fundamentals by using innovative ways to eliminate or protect against hazards: Team #1073: The Force Team, Hollis-Brookline High School.

Mill Yard Creativity Award – Celebrates creativity in design, use of component or strategy of play: Team #138: Entropy, Souhegan High School.

“Industrial” Imagery like the Kanc Award – Celebrates attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance: Team#131: C.H.A.O.S., Manchester Central High School.

First in the Nation Spirit Award – Celebrates extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership and teamwork furthering the objectives of FIRST:  Team #7913: ‘Bear’ly Functioning, Newfound Regional High School.

Winnipesaukee Judges Award – During the course of the competition, the judging panel may decide a team’s unique efforts, performance or dynamics merit recognition: Team #1721: Tidal Force, Concord High School.

For information about the FIRST NH Governor’s Cup, visit www.firstnh.org/governors-cup. For information about Plymouth State University, visit www.plymouth.edu.