December Newsletter
S.W.A.T. Hosts FTC Qualifier
S.W.A.T. hosted its first of many FTC events this past December. The event was a suc-
cess thanks to the help and support of the community.
On December 12, 2015, history
was made at Smithville High
School. The school hosted its first
robotics event ever as it held an
FTC regional with the aid of many
wonderful volunteers. The event
was well-received, and everybody
in attendance had a blast as they
competed with their peers.
The FIRST Tech Challenge
game, FIRST Res-Q, was a fun
spin on a competitive game as
teams saved mountain explorers
and use their robots to climb the
field mountain for even more
points. The FTC competition is a
fantastic way for these students to
grow because of the critical think-
ing, leadership and speaking skills
as they present their hard work to
multiple judges and the process
behind their masterpiece.
2015
Sponsor of the
Month!
FIRST Team 1806 is al-
ways looking to partner
with sponsors and individ-
uals to help bring robotics
into the community. For
information on sponsoring
S.W.A.T., please contact us
by sending an email to
frc1806@gmail.com
This all could not have been
possible without the hard work of
the S.W.A.T. team and the Smith- In this Issue
ville community who readily came
together to make this regional Page 1
function well. There were many S.W.A.T. Hosts FTC
people who came slowly to help, Qualifier
and FIRST as well as Team 1806
greatly appreciate the selflessness Page 2
of these individuals. The event was S.W.A.T. FTC Qualifier
well-prepared and ran smoothly (continued)
with little error. A big thanks to the
emcees Jason Bateman and Noah Page 3
Nelson, who kept the competition S.W.A.T. Member of the
lively and interactive. Month Cody Hankins
The winning alliance was com-
FRC Game 2016:
posed of Lee Summit West Team
Titanium Tech 7357, the Red Hot Stronghold
Techie Peppers 4587 from Kansas Page 4
City and 10173 Ravonics Gemini Thank you from S.W.A.T.
from Olathe Northwest.
(continued inside on page 2)
1806!
December Newsletter

City and 10173 Ravonics Gemini from Olathe North-

west. 10173 Ravonics Gemini was also the winner of
the FTC Inspire award, the most prestigious award
that an FTC team can win!
Although the two young S.W.A.T. teams 7359 and
7507 did not make it into the finals, they still competed
well, with 7507 finishing ranked 3rd and 7359 ranked
5th. The two teams will combine their efforts and per-
fect their craft for the next level of competition at the
University of Missouri Science and Technology where
7507 will be competing. For hosting the event,
S.W.A.T. was able to allow one of their own teams to
move on to the next level of competition.
This regional went smoothly, and this is in large
part to the valiant efforts of S.W.A.T. and all of the
people who came to support and make sure that this
thing could happen to the best of its abilities. In the
great words of our superintendent, Todd Schuetz, dur-
ing his opening speech to the many teams and the
crowd, We hope to have you guys back here in the
future.
To see more photos from the event, visit
https://flic.kr/s/aHskqQDaaq
 FRC 2016 Game:
In true FRC fashion, FIRST released a
teaser video on the upcoming game for the
2016 season this past October. The teaser
video was based around attributing a medie-
val theme to the 2016 game name
Stronghold. Many team members and alum-
ni took to the forum to discuss possible hints
contained within the short teaser. Some early
theories are that the game would most likely
be capture the flag esque. The video draws
attention to a large cylinder castle and a flag
matching the uniform of the team members.
All the mystery will be unveiled this upcom-
ing Saturday, January 9th as S.W.A.T. hosts
an FRC kickoff event. The day features a
breakfast for team members and their fami-
lies, featuring our famous Kruger Cakes, a
live stream of the official game animation in
the schools Performing Arts Center, a dissec-
tion of the game field and an in depth discus-
sion on plans and strategies to help S.WA.T.
succeed and compete at a high level. Joining
S.W.A.T. at Smithville High School for the
Kickoff will be team 5098 STING-R from North
Kansas City. S.W.A.T. is anxious to return to
build season and looking forward to another
exciting season.
S.W.A.T. Member of the
Month Cody Hankins
Cody is a senior at Smithville High School and hopes
to attend the Air Force Academy.
Cody Hankins may be one of team 1806s most
well rounded members. Aside from S.W.A.T., Cody
is actively in FFA, NHS, NEHS, track, football, trap-
shooting, and hes on the senior trading cards. Out-
side of school, he volunteers with 4-H and many
youth groups. He participates in American Kennel
Club dog agility events and works as a plumber.
Cody joined the team last year, after a shoulder
injury kept him off the basketball team. Bored out of
his mind, Cody attended last years FRC kickoff
and got hooked. Now he works with us to build the
robot when hes not doing his other extracurricular.
Although Cody hopes to get into the Air Force
Academy, his back up school is Missouri S&T,
where he hopes to participate in an ROTC program.
He advises new members to show up and work on
the robot as often as they can and to attend every
robotics event they can. His experience in S.W.A.T.
has taught him to be a motivating force, advising
students to start and be enthusiastic so that people
start moving forward, then you back out as soon as
possible.
 Mark Your Calendars
Thank You from S.W.A.T. 1806!
FRC Kickoff is
Saturday, January
9th!
Check out
http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc
for more details!

Visit our Website!

S.W.A.T. would like to take a moment to thank all the volunteers www.smithvillehighrobotics.com/
that helped make the FTC Qualifier event a success. We truly ap-
preciate all your hard work and dedication. We would also like to
thank the all the teams that attended for their gracious professional-
And Follow us on
ism and understanding as we worked out the kinks in the event. We Twitter! @frc1806
look forward to hosting again next year and expanding the event
even more!

Thank You Sponsors!

Darrell Smith Benjamin L. Westman, DDS Bill & Bonita Farrell

Russell & Betty Woollums Paul and Dawn Clouse Earl & Diane Soetaert
Dave Telles Denny & Nancy Lowe G. Gupta
Chuck & Joan Hitchborn Ron & Mary Kay Grusenmeyer

December Newsletter 2015