Westhampton Beach Robotics Team Hit Goal, Will Compete In World Championship

The Westhampton Beach High School Robotics Team, which recently qualified for the U.S. FIRST Robotics World Championships, reached its fundraising goal in less than two weeks and will be sending all 29 students to St. Louis, Missouri, for the tournament later this month.Westhampton Beach and the team from the Bridgehampton School both qualified for the world championship, but Bridgehampton is still trying to pull together the necessary funds to send 10 team members to Missouri.Teams need $5,000 to register for the competition. Additional money is needed to cover transportation and lodging costs for the duration of the contest, which runs from April 22 to 25.The Westhampton Beach Robotics Team, PRIDE, raised more than $20,000, so all 29 members of the team can be there to test their electric green bot against 600 teams from around the world. The school contributed $5,000 to cover the cost of registration, but the rest of the donations came from local businesses and groups, in addition to about $2,700 raised by parents and community members through a “GoFundMe” campaign.“This is incredible,” said Tony Kryl, Team PRIDE advisor. “This is truly a testimony to the number of people who are in support of the team, and we are so grateful for them.”Team PRIDE qualified for the international tournament after taking home the Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition championship title in late March at Hofstra University.Those interested in donating to the Westhampton Beach team to help cover additional costs, including meals while in St. Louis, can visit www.gofundme.com/whbroboticsteam, or mail a check to WHB Robotics, 49 Lilac Lane, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.The inaugural Bridgehampton School robotics team, dubbed “Team Supreme” by its members, finished eighth in the regional contest but earned the All Star Rookie Award, which qualified them for St. Louis. The team is hoping to send 10 students to St. Louis. The school received a $5,000 grant from Paddlers For Humanity, an East Hampton-based nonprofit, which was used to cover the registration cost. So far, parents and community members have raised $1,000 to support the team, but to cover expenses for 10 students, the team needs an additional $15,000.The team set up a “GoFundMe” account on Tuesday. Those interested in donating to Team Supreme can visit www.gofundme.com/r8g8jh4, or contact Bridgehampton Superintendent Dr. Lois Favre at (631) 537-0271, ext. 1310, or lfavre@bridgehampton.k12.ny.us.Each year, FIRST—named after For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, a company that sponsors worldwide robotics, Lego building and technology challenges—offers a challenge to robotics teams around the world, giving them six weeks to construct a robot that can complete a specific task. This year, the objective was to build a robot that could pick up and stack crates and recycling bins within a specific time.