SIXTH ANNUAL DEER PARK INVITATIONAL SHOWCASES TEAMWORK, PROBLEM SOLVING & FRIENDLY COMPETITION

Melville, NY — On October 16, students from 17 participating high schools — including three pre-rookie teams — took part in the Sixth Annual Deer Park Invitational, a postseason robotics competition sponsored by the School Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI), FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and the Deer Park Union Free School District. The daylong competition fostered goodwill amongst the students, working together as they solved intricate problems and engaged in friendly competition.

Parents and school administrators were on hand to cheer on the competitors. Winners of the invitational were the three-team alliance of Team 271 from Bay Shore, Team 545 from Island Trees and Team 514 from Miller Place. Finalists included Team 884 from Malverne, Team 533 from Lindenhurst and Team 1340 from John Adams (Queens).

At the event, students programmed their robots, some weighing as much as 135 pounds, to compete on a 27-by-54-foot playing field, attempting to earn points by collecting soccer balls in goals. Additional bonus points were earned for each robot suspended in air and not touching the field at the end of the match.

"We planned this event not only as a competition about the design and building of sophisticated robots, but as an opportunity to create an atmosphere whereby students can also develop maturity, professionalism, teamwork and mentoring skills, thereby enriching their lives and pointing them in the direction of an engineering career. We were not disappointed," said Janet Anderson, Acting Director of SBPLI

For more information, please visit www.sbpli-lifirst.org.

CAPTION:
Robots from high schools such as Deer Park High School (Team 270) and Island Trees (Team 545) battle at the Deer Park Invitational, sponsored by SBPLI and the Deer Park USFD.

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* Photos are available via e-mail and upon request.
** Photos of the winning teams and the finalists are available via e-mail and upon request.

About School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc.
SBPLI was founded in 1984 by Fred Breithut with the goal of developing partnerships between local high schools and businesses that would provide students with practical experience and curriculum development, while helping the business community develop its future workforce. Over 100 partnerships have been formed. In 1999, Long Island FIRST was formed for the purpose of developing a Long Island Regional FIRST Competition. In 2000, 14 high school teams participated. The Long Island Regional has since grown with 47 teams participating in 2009. In January 2010, registered teams will be provided with supplies and the competition's game rules via satellite from U.S. FIRST’s home office.

Hank Russell, Public Relations Director
PRMG
156 North Ocean Avenue
Patchogue, NY 11772
631-207-1057
hrussell@theprmg.com

This release was published on openPR.