Team 293 was born in 1998 in the back corner of an old metal shop. Made of wood, the first robot was cleverly dubbed “Woody”. The second year, the team named itself the “Bullbots” (adapted from the bulldog, the school mascot) and named their robot SPIKE, eventually picking up the acronym “Students Participating In Killer Engineering.” SPIKE soon broke free of its constrained quarters, moving into donated space provided by World Water and Power Corporation. In the 2005 FIRST season, SPIKE VIII proudly participated in the New Jersey and Philadelphia regionals, and made its way to Atlanta for the Championship event. In 2006, they were glad to be allocated space within the school building. An old wood shop was generously given to them to convert into a functional metal-working shop for the students.
In 2007 the team went to Trenton and placed first in Annapolis, thus continuing on again to Atlanta. During the successful national competition, Team 293 got as far as the quarter finals, placing third in the United States. In 2008, the wood shop was given a complete makeover and became a fully functional Robotics Shop. In 2009 there were many changes in administration as the team tried to clean up the way things were run; the effects of seniors and mentors leaving had the remaining members scouting for recruits. Despite hardships due to lack of spirit and funds, the team was able to pull through and participate in both Trenton and Philadelphia regional competitions. In 2010 at the Virginia regional, Team 293 won two Innovation in Control awards. Another award won in 2010 was the Quality Award from the New Jersey regional. We won two creativity awards at the Washington D.C. regional in 2011. Team 293 was proud to attend the National Championship event in St. Louis in 2012. From 2013 onward the team has been very successful. We plan to continue growing and developing our team in the future. Team 293 is proud of its commitment of participation in FIRST Robotics and dedication to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) education.
