Six Teams Will Represent Freehold at Annual Future City Competition

Our future leaders will be tested tomorrow at the fifth annual Future City Competition Regional Finals.

80 teams from all over New Jersey will travel to Rutgers Livingston Campus this Saturday to present their method of providing electricity for a “future city”. At this years competition, 6th through 8th grade students will present their models that find a way to use an energy source that does not deplete natural resources and has limited impact on the environment to run their city.

According to the competition’s press release this year’s project theme is “Fuel your future: imagine new ways to meet our energy needs and maintain a healthy planet.”

Students across the state began preparing for this competition in the early fall when they were asked to write an essay describing their concept of a future city. After essays were completed, teams were required to write a narrative that outlined key features of the city that dealt with the competitions theme.

Competing this weekend are two teams from Freehold’s and four teams from the . The Eisenhower teams are named Hodgepodge City and Kurdat Ka Karishma and they are led under the supervision of teacher, Thomas Foreman. The four teams for Barkalow are named Luren Ciutate, Camelot, Rebirth Island and Windbreaker City. Barkalow’s teams are led under the supervision of teacher, Catherine Creech and two volunteer mentors, Ronard Rontunno and Kostas Svarnas.

These six teams will have to impress a panel of seven judges with a visual presentation on the logistics of their city. After, the panel will ask each team questions about their future city and combine the presentation score with the already judged essay.

Judging for the competition begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and awards will be given out at 5 p.m. The top 10 teams will be awarded in addition to 15 special category awards. A few winning teams and their teachers get Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) grants ranging from $500 to $2,000. However, only the first place team will advance from the regional competition to the national competition in Washington D.C. There, the NJ finalist team will have to compete again against another 37 teams from across the nation.

Although a lot of work for students and competition volunteers, the competition teaches students how to think strategically, critically and creatively, while also giving them an opportunity to practice public speaking and learn how to work on projects over a span of months.

For more information on the future city competition, and to see last years compeition visit their website at www.futurecity.org/newjersey.