Ozark Mountain Brawl holds FIRST robotics event in Little Rock

The 2015 Ozark Mountain Brawl FIRST Robotics Competition was held Oct. 2 at the Holiday Inn Little Rock Airport Conference Center, with six teams involved and about 250 fans in attendance.

The event was hosted by Arkansas FIRST Incorporated and Holiday Inn Little Rock Airport Conference Center and “sponsored by a grant from the Argosy Foundation, Arkansas Economic Development Commission Manufacturing Solutions, Cameron, Entergy, according to Meredith Novak, President, Arkansas FIRST®Incorporated.

Novak answered a few questions about the Techtober event.

TB&P: How many people and teams attended the event?

Novak: 6 teams – probably around 250 people including spectators

TB&P: What schools/cities were represented?

Novak:
FRC Team 16, Bomb Squad, Mountain Home
FRC Team 3612, Gearhogs, Springdale
FRC Team 3937, Breakaway, Searcy (Harding Academy)
FRC Team 4849, Rock City Robots, Little Rock (Homeschool)
FRC Team 5006, Apophis, Prairie Grove (Haas Hall)
FRC Team 5454, Wildfire, Rogers (Homeschool and 4-H)

TB&P: What kind of competitions did you have?

Novak: Teams played the 2015 game “Recycle Rush.” (Link here to learn more about this game concept.)

TB&P: What kind of things did students learn in preparation for the brawl?

Novak: Even though they did not build new robots for the Brawl, they did have the opportunity to improve on their designs from the regular competition season.  It was also a chance to introduce FIRST to new students on their team and let new drivers have a lot of practice. The game changes every year and we will begin our next season Jan. 9, 2016. Teams are registering now and grants are available for new teams.

A gallery from the event can be viewed on their Facebook page. A video recap can be seen below.