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>>ANCHOR: YNN Rochester and our parent company Time Warner Cable are working to connect a
million minds. It's a nationwide effort to focus kids on science, technology, engineering
and math. A great example is the FIRST Robotics competition. This Saturday was the regional
competition at RIT. Forty-four teams from as far away as Michigan, even Canada, with
only five moving on. But as YNN's Sheeba Clark, along with photojournalist Jeff Hamson explain,
this year the rookies came ready.
>>ANNOUNCER: We're going to get ready for match number 52.
>>REPORTER: It's the reign of the rookies at this year's FIRST Regional Robotics competition.
For the first time the Rochester School for the Deaf came to compete as Robo Comm X.
>>SARAH STANISLOW: "Wow it's been really exciting. It's been a lot of fun."
>>REPORTER: Making their mark as the first hearing-impaired team, Robo Comm X has already
won its first Imagery Award for team spirit.
>>WENDY DANIELS: "You can see the hands waving all around the stadium. "Other teams have
been really supportive. They've been really great, more than we expected they would be."
>>REPORTER: Coach Wendy Daniels says building a robot in six weeks to play soccer in the
competition wasn't easy. But the team was ready to overcome barriers and take on the
challenge.
>>WENDY: "Of course one big barrier was communication but we already had planned on that. We had
people ready to finger spell, we had pencil and paper ready. We have ABC cards that we
passed out to other teams so they can learn to finger spell with us. So we were ready
to face those barriers before we even got there."
>>REPORTER: For another rookie team, the McQuaid High School IgKnighters, fear was not an option.
>>ABRAHAM LONG: "We came in today feeling pretty strong. We made sure our robot was
up to par and we came in above average compared to other robots."
>>REPORTER: The IgKnighters say they're already winners. They were the recipients of the Rookie
Inspiration Award.
>>SEAN RIVERA: "I think now we have this experience, I think we're going to really fly the next
year."
>>REPORTER: While only five teams out of 44 will move on to a worldwide competition, it's
not about winning or losing, rather what these students take away from the game.
>>SARAH: "I've really learned a whole lot altogether. I've really thought more about
my future now that I really want to do something with technology."
>>REPORTER: And the teamwork it takes to play.
>>GLEN PEARSON: "The whole intent of FIRST is to show kids, in sporting like formats
they see all the time, that there are things they can do with science, engineering and
math."
>>REPORTER: Sheeba Clark, YNN.