The Becker robotics team, FRC 4607 The Coalition of Independent Students (C.I.S.), recently competed in the Great Northern Regional (Grand Forks, ND) and performed well on the field, as well as in the other awards competition.

The team won the prestigious Engineering Inspiration (EI) award and as a result, they will be competing against the top teams from across the globe at the FRC World Championships, held in Houston from April 21-23.

FRC describes the EI award as one that, “celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization and community.”

It not only recognizes a robot that was engineered to a high level of precision, but also how the team performs when the judges come into the pit for interviews. Team members need to be able to articulate how the students show a commitment to science and technology education among the team, school and community.

“Our Chairman’s Award Team came in with zero experience and didn’t start our work until the season started,” said Nash Super, Chairman’s Team Member. “Now with the help of our team we walked away from GNR with the Engineering Inspiration award.”

It wasn’t just the judge’s awards where C.I.S. excelled, but it was also on the playing field.  Becker sported one of the top offensive robotics in the entire field of competition, and ended up as the captain of the seventh seed alliance.  From there, Becker’s scouting team went to work and came up with great teammates to draft, in Team 3293 The Otterbots, from Fergus Falls, and team 8188, from Grand Forks.  Those teams were ranked just 29th and 38th, respectively, coming into the finals, but Becker had done its homework.

“We knew Grand Forks could play great defense and the Otterbots could climb and had a good drive train,” said team scout Lucas Broberg.  The strategy worked, as Becker made it to the finals, where they fell in a very close string of matches.

“We were the only seventh seed in any competition this year to make it to the finals,” Coach Alex Jurek said.

“This weekend was so much fun,” said Emilia Hansen, the team’s robot operator and marketing lead. “I am so proud of our team for all of the hard work everyone has put in and our accomplishments.”

Worlds

Jurek and his team are certainly familiar with the World Championships, as this will be the team’s sixth trip, and fifth straight, in just 10 years of competition. COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the last two season’s championships, but the team is itching to get to Texas to show what the team and robot can do.

“This will be my first time going to champs and I am excited to see all of the other top teams from around the world there,” said Adam Sura, programming lead for the team.

Team safety captain Haiden Berrios is looking forward to the many opportunities that will present themselves for students who attend the championships.  

“I am ecstatic about my opportunity to go to the World Championships. The opportunities I have received through this team have given me valuable experience and connections that can help me have a successful career in the future,” Berrios said.

In addition to the team’s excellent progress, Becker also saw one of its team leaders recognized as one of the country’s top robotics students.  Greg Headley was named a Dean’s List Finalist and will now compete in Houston against the top team members from all over the world. The Dean’s List is often compared to the National Merit Scholarship competition, as it truly recognizes elite academic and leadership skills.

“I am honored to have been nominated as a Dean’s List semi-finalist and even more honored to have been selected to compete as a finalist in Houston during the FIRST Championships,” Headley said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the support of our awesome team, coaches, and mentors, as well as my supportive family.”

In Houston, Headley will compete for one of ten awards that are given annually to the top students in the world. The award comes with incredible scholarship opportunities, as many colleges competitively recruit Dean’s List winners to their campus.

“The team and myself would love to bring home some more plaques and banners from the championships, but even getting this far has been a huge accomplishment for us,” Headley added. “We look forward to representing Becker on a global scale.”

While the trip to Texas is an incredible opportunity for the team, it also comes with an enormous price tag.  While NASA will be covering the team’s $5,000 entry fee due to the EI award, the travel alone will cost $20,000.

“We looked into airfare, but it’s over $1,000 per student so we are going to travel by bus,” Jurek said, noting high fuel prices that have resulted in an expensive 19 hour bus trip.  

With hotel costs, transportation and meals, it could easily cost each student nearly $1,000 to participate. Then there are the costs of equipment and other materials needed to compete at the highest level.

Jurek and the Becker Robotics Booster Club are exploring some fundraisers, including one with Pizza Depot in Becker, but the team’s leadership is also collecting donations and is hopeful that several additional sponsors may step forward to help offset some costs.

“The community has always been wonderful with their support and we appreciate every dollar that comes in,” Jurek said. “Our sponsors continue to step up and we couldn’t do this without them.”

While the team understands most fans won’t be able to follow the bus to Texas, they are hoping that the community uses one of the many social media channels to follow the action.  

“I am so exited to be a part of such a fantastic team and we want our fans to follow our progress by taking a look at our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts,” said media lead Kayla Meyer. “It is going to be a life changing experience!”

Current team sponsors include: Liberty Paper, The Lions Foundation, Becker Robotics Booster Club, Grand Irrigation, Central McGowan, Darter Plastics, Ultra Machining Company, Delta Modtech, Hubbard Electric, Sherburne State Bank, EMR, Charlie’s Sports Bar and Grill, Jurek Brothers Construction, Minnesota Limited, Paradigme Engineering, TeamVantage Molding, Country Lumber, TJ Potter Trucking and Lutgen Siding.