The TechHOUNDS robotics team will host its call-out meeting for the 2011-2012 school year on Sept. 1 in the community room. Industrial technology teacher George Giltner, who has seven years of experience as club sponsor, said he is excited for what TechHOUNDS members will accomplish in the new school year.

“Last year, over 100 students showed up (to the call-out meeting), but that usually dwindles down to about 60 members,” Giltner said. “I’ve already had freshmen and others email, asking about joining the team.”

According to Ryan Wilmes, team leader and senior, TechHOUNDS is an extracurricular club in which members are introduced to engineering and business concepts.

“There’s really no other club (at CHS) where you get the hands-on experience. You get to use stuff you see in the classroom in real-world settings,” Wilmes said. “And you get to see all the hard work after six weeks at the competitions. It’s a lot of fun.”

TechHOUNDS’ official season begins in January, when 3,000 robotics teams worldwide receive the game for the current season. A six-week build season follows, and the final robot is shipped to regional, and possibly international, competitions. However, Wilmes said the team wastes no time prior to January.

“We train all the new members and make them competent so they’re ready for the (official) season,” he said.

This school year, TechHOUNDS plans to build skeletal robot bases during the pre-season. According to Giltner, these activities will let new members gain experience and allow veterans to practice their driving abilities.

Last year’s competition performance broke the teams’ two-year winning streak at the Purdue Boilermaker Invitational.

“Last year was sort of a learning experience,” Wilmes said. “A lot of members are better prepared this year.”

Giltner said he has a feasible goal of regaining the first-place title, as the returning members are stronger in terms of preparation. The team has also made minor changes in its structuring and in some of its approaches. Wilmes said there are new divisional leaders for specific teams within TechHOUNDS: robot ops, programming, construction and animation.

Over the summer, TechHOUNDS members attended a competition at Lawrence North High School and hosted the FIRSTEP Summer Camp at CHS for students in first through eighth grade. For more information about this camp, see http://www.techhounds.com/team/FIRSTEP/FIRSTEP.html.