The Becker Robotics Team (dba: The Coalition of Independent Students #4607) will be competing in the 2015 North Star Regionals at Mariucci Arena on the U. of M. campus Thurs. April 2 through Sat., April 4th. 

 

The event is open to all spectators free of charge, and the 51-member team is hoping for another large turnout of family and friends at the event, according to Coach Alex Jurek.  Parking at the venue is $4 per day.  The best viewing day will be Sat., April 4, with competition starting at 9 a.m. and continuing until 4:30 p.m. The team will also have T-shirts available for $10 at the venue for added team spirit. 

 

The team now preparing for their third season of competition climbed from “rookie team” status at the start of 2013 to win their Regional, the MSHSL Tournament, and qualify for the World Championships; all in their first year.

 

Avoiding the dreaded “sophomore slump,” the team then fought hard in the North Star Regional in 2014, winning 12 matches in row and only losing to the eventual champions.  They also qualified for the MSHSL tourney again in their second season,  finishing second in the final to the team ranked number four in the world, the famous “Fighting Calculators” from the Math and Science Academy in Woodbury, MN. 

 

“It was a bittersweet loss. We have worked so closely with the Calculators in the past, and we knew it would come down to the final cycle. They made their last shot and we were fractions of a second short on ours,” Jurek said.

 

After a successful regular season, the team was invited to compete in the Minnesota Robotics Invitational, where they beat the state champions in the final.  This is a team that started less than 24 months ago (and has already hung five championship banners).

 

The team held their annual pancake breakfast in early January, where they also hosted the robotics teams from Elk River, Monticello, and Buffalo, and put on training sessions for students, parents, and mentors.  The team also welcomed a new addition to the event, a college team from NDSU that was in town to build a competition robot in three days.

 

This year the team also mentored a rookie team from Buffalo, closely corresponding with its mentors, coaches, and students.  The team has spent many days and nights working with Buffalo, including having a contingent of CIS students answer questions about FIRST Robotics during Buffalo High School's lunch periods.  Becker’s Captain Emma Schreifels said that “we invited Buffalo’s robotics team to one of our off-season competitions, where we showed them how to successfully run a pit and some tips to use for competition season.”

 

After six grueling weeks of building in which the team put in late nights and long Saturdays, the team completed and sealed the 2015 competition robot Tue., Feb. 17.  According to competition rules, they cannot touch the machine again until the April tournament begins in the Twin Cities. 

 

Once the build season was finished, a contingent of Becker’s team travelled to Duluth to aid Buffalo in their regional event. The team also did some scouting, as Schreifels and team leaders Jacob Charbonneau, Dani Girtz and Sydney Mastey spent the day getting a feel for the 2015 game and learning what the other teams had accomplished over the build season.

 

To learn more about the team, visit their website at https://beckerrobotics.wordpress.com/, or contact them at at beckerrobo@gmail.com  to  subscribe to their weekly newsletter.