Our two FTC Robotics teams, #9570 Gear Girls and #5321 TechHeroes, competed at the Philadelphia Qualifying Tournament.  This tournament was the culmination of our season, and the results of which determined the teams that would progress onto the state-level tournament.  There were 29 teams from all over the city at the Philadelphia Qualifier, most of which were public school teams, however there were a few private, charter, and homeschool teams as well.  Both of our teams competed in five qualifying matches and persevered through even though they experienced some technical difficulties with the robot controllers and scoop mechanism.  The TechHeroes ended up in 13th place and the Gear Girls in 19th.  The Gear Girls also won the 2017 Motivate Award which is given to the team that best “represents the essence of the FTC competition through team building, team spirit, and displayed enthusiasm…[and who] makes a collective effort to make FTC known throughout their school and community, and sparks others to embrace the culture of FTC.” Overall, both teams are very pleased with the results and are already planning for next year’s qualifier.