As some of you may have heard, the Firebirds, team 433, have been investing a great deal of time and energy in mentoring team 1874, the Amamazians, who had registered as the first FRC team in the country of Ghana and the continent of Africa. The team, comprised of 20 members and 4 mentors, is based in Aggrey Memorial Secondary School in Cape Coast. The team was ecstatic to be able to have the opportunity to participate in what they called “the robotic dream.” Though the team faces distance barriers, their resources were sufficient, considering Aggrey S.S. is similar to what we would consider a technical school. More importantly, their enthusiasm was, and remains, incredible, and though they were originally unfamiliar with the concept, gracious professionalism is truly evident in this team.
Ever since the summer, our team has been hard at work contacting potential sponsors. In early fall, we were elated to find a company who had agreed to donate a large amount of money towards Team 1874’s expenses. To our dismay, the sponsor rescinded their commitment two days before the payment was due and we were left with no choice but to drop the registration for team 1874, who had planned on competing at the Philadelphia Regional.
Though we have faced hardships with this endeavor, we are not going to give up. Instead, we have adjusted our original plans, and are arranging to bring 8 members of Team 1874 to the Philadelphia Regional in 2006 to observe the event in preparation for when they plan to compete in 2007. We continue to stay in communication with their team and though they will not be able to build a robot, we are still sharing information and materials that will eventually assist them in the process.
In an effort to both raise funds for this undertaking and to celebrate the end of the build season with other teams, the Firebirds have decided to host a post-build team social, dubbed the “Firebirds Fiesta”. The event will be held
Friday, February 24 (the Friday after build season)
from 7:00-10:00 PM
at Mount Saint Joseph Academy (visit http://www.msjacad.org/Pages/directions.cfm for directions)
The event will allow teams to socialize and unwind after the six weeks as well as talk about their own experiences in the build season, and brag about their respective robots. Music will, of course, be a highlight of the night. Please refer to the attached document for further information (this includes some more very important details), the registration form, and the permission form. We ask that all teams register via e-mail or mail no later than Friday, February 17th.
On behalf of the Firebirds, good luck during the build season. We hope to see you at the Fiesta!
Liz C
Team 433, the Firebirds
firebirds_fiesta.doc (72 KB)
firebirds_fiesta.doc (72 KB)
