Comox Valley Schools鈥� Robotics71 Team 9641 finished fifth in B.C. and clinched the Rookie All-Star Award at the Canadian Pacific Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is an international youth organization that operates the FIRST Robotics competition, along with other mind-testing competitions.
The event, held at Victoria鈥檚 Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena, saw teams participating from Alberta, B.C., Michigan, Hawaii, China, Brazil, California, and Idaho.
Team 9641 made its mark in their first qualifying match, allied with teams from Calgary and Hawaii. The team was often the high scorer in its alliances, surprising many established teams with its performance.
In the playoffs, the team faced a double knockout, before losing its first match against the alliance that eventually won the tournament.
Team 9641 went on to win its next match, before being narrowly defeated due to penalty points in its final contest. Team 9641 ended up finishing a commendable fifth place in their playoff group.
鈥淭hese students should be incredibly proud of themselves moving from Vex Robotics to FIRST Robotics,鈥� said team mentor and SD 71 district careers co-ordinator Steve Claassen. 鈥淭his strong showing demonstrates the talent within the Robotics71 program, which is supported by the district鈥檚 continued focus on technology programs.鈥�
The team advanced the furthest among Vancouver Island teams, finishing fifth place out of teams from B.C., and winning the prestigious Rookie All-Star Award.
Despite facing challenges, including supply chain issues, coding challenges and technical problems, the team demonstrated resilience and dedication. Team members committed their after-school hours, weekends, and spent late nights designing and building to meet their two-month deadline in order to compete.
Eager to participate in next year鈥檚 FIRST Robotics tournament, the team is already applying lessons learned to future competitions.
Team 9641 extends heartfelt thanks to all sponsors who made this journey possible for the Robotics71 students.
