CEDAR FALLS - They say the body's strongest muscle is the mind, and next weekend, the Cedar Falls High School Swartdogs are prepared to have their synapses firing on all cylinders.

After nearly a decade competing in robotics tournaments, the team won its first regional competition last month in Minneapolis. The finish earned the squad a ticket to an international championship April 17-19 in Atlanta.

"In our nine years we've never even won a semifinal match, and in our last two years we've always lost in the quarter-finals," said senior John Lantz, the team's captain. "This year is really special. This is huge for us."

The Swartdogs compete in contests sponsored by FIRST, a Manchester, N.H., nonprofit corporation that seeks to increase youth participation in science and technology activities. About 600 teams from high schools across the U.S. and from countries including Canada, Israel and Brazil will participate in the upcoming championship.

The Cedar Falls robot - a 5-foot, 150-pound machine designed to pick up a 40-inch diameter ball, race around a track and then launch the ball over a bar - has already been shipped to Georgia. Still, the team is working overtime to prepare for the contest.

"It's a whole 'nother ballgame in Atlanta," adviser and Cedar Falls science teacher Kenton Swartley told squad members at a meeting last week. "We're going to see a lot more defense and higher caliber teams."

That night, squad members discussed strategy, scouted their competition online and brainstormed ways to reduce friction created by their machine's wheels.

But the team's leaders agree that robot is already near the top of its game. At the Minneapolis tournament the team received the Motorola Quality Award for "machine robustness in concept and fabrication." Engineer Bruce Newendorp, one of the team's mentors, also was recognized with an award for his work teaching math, science and creative design concepts to the squad.

"So far we haven't had to make any major repairs," said junior Jennifer Hurban. "The simplicity of our design, I think, has really helped us."

And the team - which also took part in a St. Louis tournament in January - has experience on its side. In Atlanta, students will be asked to complete the same tasks they've tackled all season.

FIRST organizers develop a new game annually for contestants. This year, most of the tasks involve manipulating a giant ball. Rules are announced in January, and teams are given six weeks to fashion a robot that can complete the required tasks. At tournaments, teams are placed in groups of three and compete against other trios.

"We know the game," said senior Jaron O'Dell. "They'll be more teams, and better teams, but we still know the game."

About 25 students worked on Swartdogs projects this year. Roughly 20 students will make the trip to Atlanta where they will compete in front of an arena of screaming fans.

"It's like a sporting event, but it's a sporting event for the mind," said Jan Newendorp, a former teacher and team mentor. "As you go into the quarterfinals and semifinals the intensity goes up. It's an unbelievable experience."

Contact Mary Stegmeir

at (319) 291-1482 or

mary.stegmeir@wcfcourier.com.