FIRST Robotics team makes history in WVRox competition

A.W. Beattie’s FIRST Robotics team recently competed in WVRox in West Virginia where the team placed ninth.

The FIRST Robotics team earned its first captaincy in its history of competition. Teams earn captaincies in competition during qualification rounds through a combination of winning matches and achieving points throughout the game.

Captains in FIRST Robotics get to select their alliances for the tournament stages of competitions.

“You can’t luck your way into a captaincy,” Robotics Engineering Technology instructor and FIRST advisor Mr. Purucker said. “You have to earn a captaincy by being in the top group of scoring teams, and that’s exactly what our kids did.”

FIRST Robotics teams design and build robots that weigh more than 100 pounds for a variety of competitions across the world.

“We’re so incredibly proud of the work that the team has done this year,” Math Integration instructor and FIRST advisor Mrs. Groomes said. “WVRox is a 24-hour straight through competition. That doesn’t include traveling to WVU or load in, and the practice runs. Overall, they were awake for almost 36 hours.  The team overcame exhaustion to make it to the top tier. It was an amazing experience for all involved.”