Scotch Plains-Fanwood Robotics Finishes First In Competition

SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD — Raider Robotics, the 25-member club out of Scotch Plains-Fanwood school district, hosted and competed in its second competition on Dec. 12th.

The team finished in the top half of their competitors, improving their average scores from last month’s competition and increasing their ranking from 17th to 9th among 45 total teams in the NE Edge League.

The competition was part of the 2021-2022 season sponsored by FIRST Tech Challenge New Jersey. Teams from Bergen, Hudson and Union counties arrived at SPFHS with their robots ready to compete in this year's FTC game, Freight Frenzy. During this competition, teams form temporary alliances and compete directly with other alliances in timed navigations of complex transportation barriers to deliver essential items to different scoring areas. Raider Robotics has been a club for three years now, but this is its first season building, programming and competing with a robot as a team.

High school Raider Robotics team coach and event organizer Matthew Ducker Duffy attributed the team’s success to their resiliency and the support of the community. “There was a tremendous amount of growth and development from our last meet,” said Duffy. “Our community, parents, student volunteers and generous donors all have made invaluable contributions to our club.”

Under the guidance of coach Ducker Duffy, a parent helped secure 4 grants to support robotics teams across the district through Picatinny Arsenal’s STEM Outreach Program and the Department of Defense (DoD). Other community contributions included team sweatshirts and event management, which helped the team confidentially and seamlessly step up to any challenge.

“Not only did our average and high scores improve, but so did our overall ranking in the league,” said Ducker Duffy. “Jumping from 17th to 9th is a big deal for us, as it can raise eyebrows and increase our changes of forming alliances with other highly ranked teams down the road.”

Raider Robotics will have an opportunity to improve their ranking again in a January competition, before preparing for the league tournament scheduled for February. Top ranked teams will then have a chance to compete at FTC’s New Jersey State Championship, The Garden State Rumble.

The district also celebrated milestones at the middle school level, with both Nettingham Middle School and Terrill Middle School each competing in the FIRST Lego League Challenge.