Clairton City School District's robotics program may be expanded to the middle school after the success of its high school teams.

“The robotics program is amazing since it only started approximately three years ago as a club,” school board president Rich Livingston said on Wednesday. “Mr. (Dennis) Beard started it and from there it's blossomed into this nationally recognized group of young men and women. It has the full support of the board … Mr. Beard's done a wonderful job. The kids have done great. It shows you that academics are alive and well in our school despite what everybody says.

“As far as it going into the middle school, I would give it almost 100 percent that it would go into the school.”

Beard is the robotics club advisor and high school industrial arts teacher.

Clairton's Team Mega Nuke and Team Bazinga competed in the National BotsIQ Championships in Indianapolis on May 18 and 19. Teams left for the competition after the May 17 prom.

Team Mega Nuke made it to the quarterfinals. It went 4-2 in the double elimination tournament, and was knocked out by the eventual tournament champs, North High School, from St. Paul, Minn.

Team Bazinga lost two straight matches. Beard told school board members at this month's meeting that fatigue and technical difficulties were factors.

“They made a couple mental errors when they put the robot together,” Beard said. “Really can't blame them, though. It was a long trip down … They did what they needed to do. It was an experience that they'll never forget. They all enjoyed themselves.”

District spokesperson Alexis Trubiani went on the trip to help document the championship.

“They lost from mechanical issues, not from design issues,” Trubiani said. “That's something that they're learning to work on is the mechanical and electronic parts. We know that you really have to be on point … We all met a lot of people, and they had a great learning experience. They know what to expect next year. I was amazed by how hard everybody worked … They made a lot of friends. It's good for the future for them. They can compete in other tournaments as well.”

The two teams made it to the national contest after showing their dominance in the regional tournament in April.

Team Bazinga earned first place, winning six out of six matches, and Grand Champion for the best overall performance in the competition, as well as for documentation, team interviews and other awards. The team consists of captain Eliza Sopko, co-captain Bianca Pulliam and driver Zack Loera.

Team Mega Nuke won best sportsmanship and coolest robot design. That team's members are captain and driver Garrett Santoline and Amanda Gillespie.

There were concerns about the teams being able to make it to Indianapolis. Teams raised some money, and the school board was willing to pay the difference.

Donations began to pour in after the district solicited businesses via letters, and articles about the team ran in The Daily News on April 25 and other media outlets in May. Beard said the program received more than $58,000 in donations. Some money was used for the national contest, and the rest is being used for next year's program and possible expansion.

“Every club that is established in the high school and middle school has an account of its own,” Livingston said. “The board doesn't have anything to say about what way the money's spent. That money's spent by the club sponsor and the members of the club. I'm pretty sure Mr. Beard would use it for the middle school. The money that was brought in by donations does not affect our budget in any way. The board can't use that for general finance purposes. That's strictly designated for the robotics club.”

Michael DiVittorio is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-664-9161, ext. 1965, or mdivittorio@tribweb.com.

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