The JavaScouts are Kyle, Jessa, Keegan, Leon, and Jimi. All five team members, ages 16 and 17, are from New Hartford, Utica, and Oriskany and have a passion for science, technology, engineering, and math. Working together since 2015, they have gone from a rookie team to a veteran team that competed in the 2017 and 2019 FIRST World Championships.
FTC is a robotics competition designed for students in grades 7-12 to compete head-to- head, using a sports model. Teams are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. Teams, including coaches, mentors and volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as well as for community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments. Students get to design, build, and program robots while applying real-world math and science concepts as well as developing problem-solving, organizational, and team-building skills.