Washburn Students Compete in National Robotics Championship

Think of it as three-on-three basketball, but with robots.

This is how ’s Sara Etzel described the two and a half minute, high-adrenaline bouts of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition.

In the competition, three-team alliances of high school students use robots they've designed and built in just six weeks from a common kit of parts to compete against each other in organized games. Etzel, an engineering and robotics teacher, has been involved in the Washburn Millerbots since the school’s robotics group was formed in 2008, as has her fellow teacher Peter Grul.

Mike Meyer, a Washburn freshman who does the media work for the robotics team, said he was surprised by the quick pace and exciting atmosphere of the world of competitive robotics. 

“My first impression of the robotics team was that you needed much more analytical knowledge and it was more academic,” Meyer said. “But as the team proceeded, I realized how much of a sport it really is. There are so many things that go into it, you’re working around the clock; it’s quite intense.”

Today, the Washburn Millerbots are headed to St. Louis, Missouri for the international FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Championship. 

The FRC Championship is the final event in a competition series that began in January with the six-week long “build” season, followed by regional competitions in March and April. 

The Washburn Millerbots qualified for the Championship at the recent Minnesota Northstar Regional Robotics competition. This marks the third time in its four short years that the team has advanced to the FRC Championship round.

More than 2,000 teams competed in the FRC this year. Out of those, some 352 qualifying teams from the US, Australia, Canada, Israel and Mexico will make the trip to St. Louis to put their robotic creations to the test. There will be 15 teams from Minnesota competing, including the Henry Herobotics from Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis.  

The FRC game changes each year, keeping it fresh for students who return year after year to compete. This year’s game is called Logo Motion. In Logo Motion, three-team alliances will compete head to head with robots weighing about 120 pounds. The teams will attempt to get their robots to hang triangle, circle and square pieces from the FIRST logo on poles. In the last 20 seconds of the game, mini-bots can be deployed to climb the poles for bonus points. 

While it all may seem like fun and games, Sara Etzel said the goal is really to “build our career workforce for America” by bolstering students’ interest in engineering and science.

Freshman Matt Kinney is the rules and safety captain for the team. He said he joined the Washburn Millerbots this year because it looked like fun, and while the challenges faced by the team have proved stressful at times, he will “for sure” be returning to the team as a sophomore.

“It was a lot of work and a lot of time, but we bonded as a team and overcame problems. It was exciting,” he said. 

The FRC Championship will be held at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis from April 27 to April 30. About one-third of the Washburn team (11 of 29) are traveling to the championship. Funding for the Washburn Millerbots is provided primarily by Medtronic and the Washburn High School Foundation.