Team 686 Bovine Intervention

Gina Lin
CHS Class of 2024

(2/2023) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), as an extracurricular concentration, doesn't receive sufficient media attention, in Frederick County. Many aren’t even aware of Team 686 Bovine Intervention. Team 686 is part of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics, a global robotics competition with over 3,000 teams in the US alone; and teams in 26 countries.

It is also a member of FIRST's Chesapeake district, which consists of teams from District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Bovine Intervention is composed of student engineers from three FCPS highschools: Catoctin High School, Linganore High School, and Walkersville High School. Some FCPS high schools have exclusive teams, including Tuscarora High School and Urbana High School.

Team 686 was started by a non-profit Bovine Intervention Booster Organization (BIBO) in 2001. Currently, the team is co-advised by a Catoctin High math teacher, Jennifer Mayrovitz; and John Murtaugh. Additionally, the young innovators receive support from numerous mentors, many of whom had participated in FIRST Robotics. These mentors are professionals in their field of concentration, including mechanical engineering, design and computer programming. The mentors teach students essential technical skills and provide the necessary assistance.

Co-advisor Murtaugh boasted of the merits of Team 686, "Each year, Team 686 inspires and guides high school students to develop valuable tradecraft skills in engineering, programming, decision-making processes, and business operations, in line with the FIRST Robotics charter." Bovine Intervention, which has been in session for the past 20 years, has moved from various locations around Frederick County and relies on the generosity of donors to support their work. Currently, Team 686 constructs their robots in a commercial building in Thurmont.

FIRST Robotics competitions share some qualities with sports. The student engineers exercise teamwork, in order to build robots that will be used to compete against opposing teams during matches. Additionally, during the yearly competitions, FIRST teams will be given the opportunity to advance beyond regional competitions, to state, national, and even international competitions.

Bovine Intervention is different from other extracurriculars, as it allows students to experience real world applications of STEM–something that is lacking in the school curriculum. Another aspect of this program is that students are able to work alongside their mentors. Murtaugh added, "Through the mentoring process, students gain hands-on experiences in building robots, programming, engineering designs, computers, leadership, teamwork, and much more. It is an investment to help prepare high students for 21st-century workforce opportunities."

There are four students who represent Catoctin High in the robotics team: Ben Harbaugh, Will Kimbark, Jackson Lin, and Kyle Mullenex; all of whom are freshmen. The team is relatively young, but they had built up necessary technical skills during the FIRST off-season. During the off-season, the students work with their robot from the previous season. Currently, FIRST teams have been given their project criteria, and are in the process of constructing their robots. But, Team 686 has been preparing since last summer! In August 2022, the team competed at the West Virginia Robotics Extreme (WVRoX), which consisted of teams from all across the US. Furthermore, Team 686 participated in the Maryland Robotics Alliance (MRA). More recently, the team had partook in the Bunnybots competition held at Montgomery Blair High School in Montgomery County.

Contestants were allocated three months (from October to December) to build and construct a new robot. As you can see, Team 686 really maximizes their off-season! "All in all, the students inspired each other [and] had lots of fun competing." Murtaugh recalled.

This year's FIRST competition theme, "Charged Up", was released on January 7th. Team 686 is in the process of designing and building their robot, to complete the obstacle courses that will be present. Team robots are placed in an arena, about 27 by 54, to compete. At Chesapeake district events, there are usually 40-50 teams present. Two alliances, each alliance composed of three teams, compete in the arena. The alliances earn points through successful completion of the challenges presented to their respective robots. Also, the alliances aren’t permanent for smaller events, but permanent alliances are selected for teams that prevail in the finals. On March 18th and 19th, the team is expected to compete at an event, held at Hayfield Secondary School located in Alexandria, Virginia.

The second event will be taking place at Dulaney High School in Timonium, Maryland and will be held on the 25th and 26th of March. The qualifying teams in those two regional competitions, will advance to the Chesapeake District Championship. The district championship is being held at George Mason University Eagle Bank Arena, from April 6th to 8th. Winners of the Chesapeake District Championship will then proceed to the World Championship, in Housten, Texas.

Despite the teams’ small size, the team has had substantial successes over the years. Team 686 has completed 23 seasons, and 37 events. Moreover, the team has accumulated 13 wards. In the 2022 season, Team 686 qualified as a district event finalist at the Chesapeake District Greater DC Event. More notably, the team traveled to the Worlds Championship, in 2016– a huge achievement!

In a summary of 2022, Team 686 competed in six FIRST on-season and off-season robotics competitions. Those outcomes are considerable, as the team has resumed after a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Additionally, it was also the most events that Team 686 had participated at, in all of their years of performance. Team 686 was able to pull out an event in 12th place, out of the 60 teams. The team experienced some challenges but they weren’t deterred.

Community engagement is relevant to Team 868. In addition to off-season conditioning, Team 686 has been conducting community outreach to increase cognizance of the robotics program. One of Team 686’s objectives is to " inspire youth and provide public awareness of the robotics program." Bovine Intervention has been involved in numerous FCPS programs– directly and indirectly. For example, the team has supported New Midway Elementary’s Elevate Summer Academy, and has displayed their work at the FCPS STEM Showcase.

In 2022, the Team visited Thurmont Middle School’s rising freshmen, and Catoctin High School's back-to- school night, in an effort to recruit more young engineers. They performed robot demonstrations with VEX robots and provided presentations. Team 686's community engagement initiatives can be spotted at popular local events also, such as Thurmont Ambulance Carnival and the annual Catoctin Colorfest.

For more information about Bovine Intervention, visit their website at bovineintervention.org, or email the team at: contact@bovineintervention.com