About Us

On Saturday, March 14th, the Plymouth Christian Academy Robotics Team was one of 40 high school teams from around the state competing in the FIRST Robotics District Competition at Woodhaven High School. Other schools at the competition included Team Rush from Clarkston, Team TNT from Taylor, as well as teams from nearby such as Bloomfield Hills, Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Some of the mentors on the team include PCA alumni Reuben Galang, ’14 and Keith Boruta, ’06. “This is the fourth year our team has competed in the FIRST challenge” said Joe Lemieux, who coaches Plymouth Christian Academy’s team alongside Jessica Wash, teacher and sponsor. “This year’s theme game is Recycling Rush. Teams design robots to complete the relatively simple task of stacking gray storage totes on top of each other on raised scoring platforms, then placing a 50-gallon rubber garbage bin with a circular hole in the lid on top of that. Players also have foam pool noodles, referred to as litter in the game, which can be used to score points by placing them through the hole in the lid of the recycling bins or by tossing them onto certain areas of the playing surface. The playing field is 54 feet long by 27 feet wide and split in half by a low wall. On each side, three teams form an alliance, trying to collectively outscore the other side. Points are scored by placing stacked totes topped with bins if possible on the scoring zones. Teams have two minutes, thirty seconds to score as many points as they can. The first 15 seconds are “autonomous” segment, when drivers stand away from the controls and the machines use pre-programmed routines to score a couple of quick points.”

PCA Team members include: Brendan Hess, Josh Mason, Gareth Matson, Chiren Moore, Nathan Oweis, Julia Shaffer, Natalie Shaffer, Aaron Wolak, Carl Zahn, and Kate Zahn. Other team members include: Sarah Hughes, David Jann, Kyle Lemieux, Vince McCLintock, and Gabe Yamine. Mentors include: Keith Boruta, Joe Lemieux, Reuben Galang, Rhey Galang, Sam Oweis, and Jessica Wash.

FIRST was founded in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Its purpose is to innovate programs to motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills. Learn more about FIRST Robotics by visiting their WEBSITE.

Submitted by Jessica Wash, PCA Secondary Robotics Director