Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics - By the Numbers

Here it is the final day of 2013. This is a good time to reflect on this year while looking forward to that which is to come in 2014. So let us look at some numbers to see where we have been this year and where we want to go in 2014.

We are pleased that we had 10 teams to start and 10 teams to finish the BEST season with us in 2013. Our goal for 2014 is to expand to 14 teams.

We were excited to add two middle school teams to the competition for 2013, both of which performed admirably. Is there another middle school team out there that might become involved in 2014?

Though we thought we might catch up to Justin Bieber on Twitter followers, we are up to a somewhat respectable 58. Still not following us on Twitter? Make that your New Year's resolution.

We now have 100 "likes" on Facebook. Again, a great New Year's resolution. It's guilt free and does not require a gym membership.

Our website has become quite active, with nearly 1,500 page views in our peak month of September 2013. This is a great place to locate resources related to BEST year round.

So we didn't catch up to Bieber in 2013, but we did work with 10 awesome teams and watched the level of competition take a giant leap forward. We are looking forward to amazing things in 2014!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Gift Guide for Geeks

Reporter Lucy Berry of AL.com posted a Gift Guide for Geeks: 10 kid-friendly, last-minute presents to encourage STEM learning. Be sure to check it out as it contains some cool items!

And have a safe and healthy holiday season...

Friday, December 20, 2013

Merry Christmas from Northeast Alabama BEST

Everyone at Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics wishes the entire BEST family a blessed holiday season. We look forward to seeing you all accomplish great things in 2014.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

2014 Game Teaser Posted

Hi, everyone! The 2014 BEST Robotics game teaser has been posted for Bladerunner. Check it  out below:


#G8KPR South's BEST Robot Competition Rankings

Here is the entire list of robot game participants at South's BEST, in ranked order.


Team Number School Name Final Robotics Rankings Hub Primary Teacher
216 DARC 1 Tennessee Valley BEST Susan Haddock
130 Merrol Hyde Magnet School 2 Music City BEST Mike Marsh
38 Evangel Christian School 3 Blazer BEST Stephen Daniels
374 Holy Cross School 4 NOLA BEST Dale Turner
401 Marshall Technical School 5 NE Alabama BEST Glenn Bruce
251 W.P. Davidson High School 6 Jubilee BEST Jenny Parker
64 Starkville High School 7 Mississippi BEST Denise Adair
48 Spain Park High School 8 Blazer BEST Scottie Wilson
211 Academy for Science and Foreign Language 9 Tennessee Valley BEST Angela Traylor
255 Mobile Area Coalition of Homeschools (MACH) 10 Jubilee BEST Kendra Lane
129 Central Magnet School 11 Music City BEST Marc Guthrie
345 Wicksburg High School 12 Wiregrass BEST Mary Hudson
219 Lindsay Lane Christian Academy 13 Tennessee Valley BEST Kathryn DeWitt
250 Faith Academy 14 Jubilee BEST Sara LeCroy
158 Hope Academy 15 Central Alabama BEST Diane Rogers
24 Springwood School 16 War Eagle BEST Karlia Willis
408 Fyffe High School 17 NE Alabama BEST Regina Parris
25 Wetumpka High School 18 War Eagle BEST Virginia Vilardi
82 McNairy Central High School 19 Mississippi BEST Robin York
108 Northview High School 20 Georgia BEST Jason Weinberger
162 Talladega Career Tech Center 21 Central Alabama BEST Joseph Huss
97 Fernbank LINKS 22 Georgia BEST Debi Huffman
181 RCS Engineering 23 NW Alabama BEST Lee Brownell
287 Woodham Middle School 24 Emerald Coast BEST Carl Shouppe
318 Holly Pond High School 25 North Alabama BEST Wilma Whateley
467 Demopolis Middle School 26 Shelton State BEST Ashley Brock
242 Baker High School 27 Jubilee BEST Jeannine Reeves
293 Woodlawn Beach Middle School 28 Emerald Coast BEST Shannon Farrell
139 M.A.R.I.O. 29 Music City BEST Chris Smith
272 Sweet Water High School 30 Jubilee BEST Kevin Byrd
12 Lee-Scott Academy 31 War Eagle BEST John Gill
42 Oak Mountain High School 32 Blazer BEST Donna Strong
119 South Forsyth High School 33 Georgia BEST Jim Chamberlain
186 Brooks High School 34 NW Alabama BEST Alaina Pettus
344 Rehobeth Middle School 35 Wiregrass BEST Thad Smith
40 Homewood Middle School 36 Blazer BEST Mary Binkley
481 Tuscaloosa Christian School 37 Shelton State BEST Nancy Robertson
313 Hartselle Junior High School 38 North Alabama BEST Elisa Harris
294 Seaside Neighborhood School 39 Emerald Coast BEST Courtney Krick
156 Episcopal Day School 40 Central Alabama BEST Krista Ashley
19 Saint James School 41 War Eagle BEST Vicky Eichelberg
431 Dallas County High School 42 Selma BEST Glenn Walker
259 Monroeville Junior High School 43 Jubilee BEST Jena Mayo
154 Central High School of Clay County 44 Central Alabama BEST Becky Taylor
189 Muscle Shoals High School and Center for Technology 45 NW Alabama BEST Kerry Johnson
523 Delhi Charter School 46 LATech BEST Eric Vidrine
435 John T. Morgan Academy 47 Selma BEST Judith Bonds
475 Northridge High School 48 Shelton State BEST Victoria Evans
63 East Rankin Academy 49 Mississippi BEST Angela Trigg
2 Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School 50 War Eagle BEST Steve Ballard
66 Starkville Christian Home Educators 51 Mississippi BEST Michael Lane
380 St. Scholastica Academy 52 NOLA BEST Matt Lopez
502 McLane Robotics Engineering Academy 53 Florida West BEST Michael Wilson
500 Strawberry Crest High School 54 Florida West BEST Jim Brockman
93 Wheeler High School 55 Georgia BEST Charles Hawkins
476 Northside High School 56 Shelton State BEST Eve Kendrick

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

G8KPR South's BEST 2013 Results

Here are the complete results for South's BEST 2013 Gatekeeper:


BEST Award
1st Place:  Wetumpka High School (War Eagle BEST)
2nd Place: Fernbank LINKS (Georgia BEST)
3rd Place:  Wicksburg High School (Tennessee Valley BEST)

Robotics
1st Place:  DARC (Tennessee Valley BEST)
2nd Place: Merrol Hyde Magnet School (Music City BEST)
3rd Place:  Evangel Christian School (Blazer BEST)
Finalist:  Holy Cross School (NOLA BEST)

Middle School Awards
BEST Award – Woodlawn Beach Middle School (Emerald Coast BEST)
Robotics – Evangel Christian School  (Blazer BEST)


BEST Award – Category Winners

Marketing Presentation
1st Place:  W.P. Davidson High School (Jubilee BEST)
2nd Place: Starkville High School (Mississippi BEST)
3rd Place:  Springwood School (War Eagle BEST)

Project Engineering Notebook
1st Place:  Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School (War Eagle BEST)
2nd Place: Fyffe High School (Northeast AL BEST)
3rd Place:  Wetumpka High School (War Eagle BEST)

Team Exhibit and Interview
1st Place:  Fernbank LINKS (Georgia BEST)
2nd Place: Wicksburg High School (Wiregrass BEST)
3rd Place:  DARC (Tennessee Valley BEST)

Spirit and Sportsmanship
1st Place:  Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School (War Eagle BEST)
2nd Place: Spain Park High School (Blazer BEST)
3rd Place:  Oak Mountain High School (Blazer BEST)

Team Exhibit Design and Construction Award
1st Place:  Lindsay Lane Christian School (Tennessee Valley BEST)
2nd Place: Brooks High School (Northwest AL BEST)
3rd Place: Marshall Technical School (Northeast AL BEST)


Special Competition Awards

Founders Award for Creative Design
1st Place:  Fyffe High School (Northeast AL BEST)
2nd Place: Hope Academy (Central AL BEST)
3rd Place:  W.P. Davidson High School (Jubilee BEST)

Neptune Technology Group Most Elegant Robot
1st Place:  Fernbank LINKS (Georgia BEST)
2nd Place: Holy Cross (NOLA BEST)
3rd Place:  Hope Academy (Central AL BEST)

Most Robust Robot
1st Place:  Fernbank LINKS (Georgia BEST)
2nd Place: DARC (Tennessee Valley BEST)
3rd Place:  W.P. Davidson High School (Jubilee BEST)

Most Photogenic Robot
1st Place:  Fernbank LINKS (Georgia BEST)
2nd Place: Holy Cross School (NOLA BEST)
3rd Place:  W.P. Davidson High School (Jubilee BEST)

Team Video
1st Place:  Starkville Christian Home Educators  (Mississippi BEST)
2nd Place: Sweet Water High School (Jubilee BEST)
3rd Place:  Strawberry Crest High School (Florida West Coast BEST)

SolidWorks CAD Design Award
1st Place:  W.P. Davidson High School (Jubilee BEST)
2nd Place: Fernbank LINKS (Georgia BEST)
3rd Place:  Merrol Hyde Magnet School (Music City BEST)

Web page Design
1st Place:  RCS Engineering (Northwest AL BEST)
2nd Place: South Forsythe High School (Georgia BEST)
3rd Place:  DARC (Tennessee Valley BEST)

Game T-shirt Design
1st Place:  Hope Academy (Central AL BEST)
2nd Place: Homewood Middle School (Blazer BEST)
3rd Place:  South Forsythe High School (Georgia BEST)

Best Team Mascot
1st Place:  Talladega Career Tech Center (Central AL BEST)
2nd Place: Lindsay Lane Christian Academy (Tennessee Valley BEST)
3rd Place:  Wicksburg High School (Wiregrass BEST)

Briggs and Stratton South’s BEST Teacher of the Year
Debi Huffman – Fernbank LINKS (Georgia BEST)
Kevin Byrd – Sweet Water High School (Jubilee BEST)
Ashley Brock – Demopolis High School (Shelton State BEST)

Jim Westmoreland Memorial Judges Award
Don Bryant (Retired Teacher, Tallassee High School)
Dr. Virginia Davis (Dept. Chemical Engineering, Auburn University)

South’s BEST Volunteer of the Year
Justin Moses (Dept. Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn University)
Lucas Hunter (U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command)

The robot rankings will be posted tomorrow. 

Monday, December 9, 2013

# G8KPR Northeast Alabama Teams Excel at South's BEST

The two teams representing Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics performed exceptionally well at South's BEST, held in Auburn last weekend.

Fyffe High School, which advanced to South's BEST as the second place BEST Award team at Northeast Alabama BEST, took second place in Project Engineering Notebook and first place in Founders' Award for Creative Design. They finished a very respectable 17th in the robot competition.

Marshall Technical School, which took first place in robot and BEST Award at Northeast Alabama BEST, won third place in Team Exhibit and finished fifth in the robot competition.

Fifty-six teams from 18 hubs in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida competed.

Photo courtesy of Brian Gann
The staff of Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics could not be more proud of these teams, which represented us so well at South's BEST.

Friday, December 6, 2013

#G8KPR Watch South's BEST Live Stream

South's BEST takes place Saturday and Sunday. Those who can't make it to Auburn may watch a live stream online at http://www.southsbest.org/site/.

A schedule for the weekend is available at http://www.southsbest.org/site/files/ChampionshipSchedule.pdf

If you can't be there to cheer on our Northeast Alabama Teams, be sure to cheer them on through social media by using the hashtag: #G8KPR and on Twitter, mention @northeastalbest and @bestrobotics.

Fyffe High School and Marshall Technical School will represent Northeast Alabama BEST at South's BEST.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

#G8KPR Article About 2013 Game Development on AL.com

AL.com today published an article about the development of GateKeeper 2013. Gatekeeper was developed by Jubilee BEST, headquartered in Mobile, Alabama. A link to the article is located here: http://blog.al.com/live/2013/12/regional_best_robotics_competi.html#incart_river_default

Congratulations to Jubilee BEST for this recognition. Creating the game challenge for BEST is a daunting challenge that takes many hours of work over the course of almost two years.

The teaser video for BEST 2014 will be unveiled at South's BEST this weekend.