Spectators at Duluth's robotics competition this week surely have seen the enthusiastic master of ceremonies.
On inline skates.
"It's all about the blades," said Blair Hundertmark of Portsmouth, N.H., who has been working as a game announcer and emcee for FIRST since a friend introduced him to it in 1998. He brought on the skates, he said, to get around better in the large competition venues, and they stuck.
When asked what she thought of the blading emcee, spectator Nancy Watsten of Brainerd seemed impressed.
"Better than I could do," she said.
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Hundertmark said in addition to the spirit and hospitality of the competitions, he likes to hear about the impact that FIRST has on students, mentors and spectators.
"It's the little things for me," he said. "I love to be a fly on the wall and listen to people's stories."
He has a story of his own: His name means "hundred mark" in German, though during a visit there while in college, he said he was given a different rate of exchange.
"Blair Fiftybucks," he said.
Nick Studenski is a senior on Eagan High School's Blue Twilight team.
