The Sharon Tiger Techs Robotics Team recently traveled to Long Beach, California, to compete at the FIRST LEGO League Western Edge Invitational, where they earned the First Place Core Values Award while competing against 88 teams from around the world.
The Core Values Award recognizes a team that exemplifies exceptional teamwork, respect, inclusion, and gracious professionalism throughout the season. In addition to the team’s achievement, head coach Dave Tomko was honored with the event’s Coach of the Year Award, recognizing his dedication to students and his longstanding commitment to robotics education.
The Sharon Tiger Techs, composed of students in grades 4 through 9, advanced to the international competition after a successful season in Pennsylvania. The team qualified for the event by earning the Second Place Innovation Project Award at the FIRST LEGO League Pennsylvania State Championship, where they competed against 36 of the top teams in the state, representing more than 400 teams statewide.
Prior to the state championship, the Tiger Techs delivered a standout performance at the Penn State Behrend Regional Qualifier, earning First Place Overall and achieving the highest robot performance score among 30 competing teams.
Throughout the nine-month season, team members designed, built, and programmed a LEGO SPIKE Prime robot to compete in this year’s FIRST LEGO League challenge, which focused on exploration and discovery. The competition required teams to complete a series of autonomous missions while demonstrating technical skills, innovation, and teamwork.
In addition to the robot competition, the Tiger Techs developed an innovative solution to a real-world archaeology challenge. Their project, called the Retract-A-Meter, is designed to help archaeologists quickly and accurately measure excavation grids, improving efficiency and consistency during fieldwork.
Beyond competition, the Tiger Techs are committed to making an impact in their community. Team members regularly host robotics camps for younger students, provide robotics badge workshops for Girl Scouts, collaborate with industry professionals, and have even shared their work with a member of the United States Congress during a visit to Washington, D.C.The Sharon Tiger Techs are part of FIRST LEGO League, a global robotics program under the organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The team’s success is made possible through the support of community sponsors and the Sharon City School District.
Sharon Tiger Techs Robotics Teams 