Last week, for the fifth straight year, Becker Robotics Team FRC 4607 C.I.S. headed to the World Championships. Held in Detroit, MI this season, they were one of 28 teams representing Minnesota.

 

The robotics championships are divided into six divisions, each named after different scientists and inventors. Teams are separated into 68 teams per division, and they then compete against each other throughout qualification matches.

 

The top eight teams draft three other teams for their alliance and the alliances then battle each other in a bracket tournament (best of three). The champions from each division then compete against one another on Einstein Field.

 

Becker started out ranking #6 on Carson Field after the first day. The team came out strong, going 4-0 on Thursday before taking their lumps on Friday, finishing the competition with 10 wins, three loses and one tie and ranking 23 out of 68 teams.

 

The wins weren’t without challenges, however. At one point their robot’s belt was skipping, and as it was already as tight as it would go the pit crew changed it to chain-driven. A gearbox and motor leads on two motors went out, which the pit crew also quickly repaired.

 

The finals on Carson Field were made up of the best teams in Minnesota, and were a huge draw as many of the other Minnesota teams gathered to watch the match-up between Minnesota rivals.

 

“It was incredible to see,” said Head Coach Alex Jurek. “As I looked around in the crowd it was all familiar faces, the stands were packed with Minnesota teams. Best feeling in my 14 years of coaching bar none.”

 

At the awards ceremony Becker received the Quality Award, given out to the team with the highest quality concept and fabrication of their robot.

 

“This was our first-ever award at Champs and our fifth appearance there,” said Coach Maggie Maine. “It was also our first-ever Engineering Award, so hats off to our engineering team and mentors!”

 

Team member Sarah Schmidt won Safety Star of the Day, an award given out to the person who makes the strongest impact on other teams by being helpful and encouraging them to be safe.

 

After the awards ceremony Becker was drafted to be part of the #2 alliance for the next series of competitions. The alliance was captained by FRC 5050 CowTown Robotics from Carleton, MI, who also drafted FRC 111 Wildstang from Arlington Heights, IL and FRC 2052 KnightKrawler from New Brighton, MN.

 

KnightKrawler has been Becker’s Achilles heel all the way back to the 2014 State Championship finals, however, this time around Becker was one of the fastest cyclers in the event and KnightKrawler was tapped to play blistering defense. The pairing proved to be a success, as the alliance breezed through the quarterfinals and semifinals without a loss.

 

In the first of the next three matches Becker was on the sidelines as the alliance captain, FRC 5050 from Michigan, subbed them out in favor of their own robot. They lost 106-92. In the second match, they put Becker in their place and won 97-94. Realizing Becker was making the difference, 5050 kept them in and after a tough match they won again, 100-92.

 

“The noise was deafening,” said Maine. “Everyone was screaming, crying, hugging each other. This time 4607 won, this time it was us!”

 

For only the fourth time in 30 years, a Minnesota team would be playing on Einstein Field, the height of competitive robotics.

 

“Making it to Einstein was been a dream since Mark (Kolbinger) and I started the team back in 2012,” said Jurek. “We were close last year when we lost in the finals. It was a validation for the program, our sponsors, our families and everyone back in Becker that has supported us the last seven seasons. To hear Becker, Minnesota announced alongside all of those great teams from other countries, other states, was awesome! Little-old Becker along with all of those power-house teams.”

 

Becker’s luck started to change on Einstein, however. In the first round-robin play between the six division champions, their robot started to slow. The pneumatics system failed and the team struggled to get it running again. The alliance captain took Becker’s place and fell short throughout the remaining four matches, losing each by three points.

 

Ultimately, the alliance was named the #5 best alliance in the world, an incredible achievement, especially considering there are 7,500 robotics teams around the globe.

 

Becker Robotics still isn’t finished for the year. Next up is the Minnesota State High School League Championships at Williams Area at the U of MN May 18, where 36 of the best teams in Minnesota will be competing.