Two Upper School Robotics teams qualify for 2023 State FTC Tournament

On Saturday, January 21, SPA's two Upper School Robotics teams competed in an First Tech Challenge (FTC) qualifying tournament. After exceptional performances, both teams--The Autonomice (team #11117) and The Robotters (team #12660)--advanced to the 2023 State FTC Tournament, which will be held February 10-11 at the River Center in St. Paul.

In addition to qualifying for State, both teams were the recipients of multiple awards, which are based on match performance, a series of presentations, and questions from the tournament judges throughout the tournament. The awards won by the two SPA teams were:

• The Robotters won the Inspire Award, the highest award given at FTC competitions; the Inspire award is given to the team that best embodies the ‘challenge’ of the FIRST Tech Challenge program. The team that receives this award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and a role model FIRST team. The Robotters also won the Stratasys Award (for 3D printing) and were finalists for the Connect Award.
• The Autonomice won the Connect Award (for connecting the dots between community, robotics, and the diversity of the engineering world), and were finalists for the Motivate Award (for working well as a team and encouraging others to participate in robotics).

"As coaches, we are so proud of our students, not just for their accomplishments at the tournament but for how well they represented SPA," said robotics coach Dr. Kate Lockwood, SPA's Upper School Director of Computer Science and Engineering. "Despite the long day, our students stayed focused, supported their teammates, and interacted professionally with judges, referees, and other teams. We are excited to start preparing for State!"