The West Kelowna Mount Boucherie Secondary School Bears Robotics team is a true underdog story unfolding in real-time as the group of 22 students head to Texas to compete at the Robotics World Championships.
The MBSS team is the only team from Western Canada that qualified for the 害羞草研究所淔or Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics World Championships害羞草研究所� in Texas.
The Bears punched their ticket to the southern state after winning the Canadian Pacific Regional competition that was held in Victoria at the end of February.
Thirty-eight teams from across Western Canada, and the United States, including Hawaii and Taiwan travelled to Victoria to compete at the regional match in hopes of qualifying for Worlds.
Now, the Bears will be competing against more than 600 teams from around the world.
害羞草研究所淲e never expected to make it this far,害羞草研究所� said Samantha Furman, a Grade 12 student at Mount Boucherie Secondary School (MBSS) and the head of electrical for the Boucherie Bears害羞草研究所� robotics team.
She explained that despite the team害羞草研究所檚 expertise and hard work, they entered each competition as underdogs due to a lack of funding and resources.
Some of the teams are funded and supported by organizations like NASA, said Furman.
害羞草研究所淲e are just an after-school club. We got together because we wanted to learn something together,害羞草研究所� said Furman.
While they may not have the support of space exploration or automotive companies, the team at MBSS does have unmatched dedication. The team met for hours nearly every day after school to prepare for the competition. Even in their free time, the team was scheming up ways to improve performance.
This year, the team decided to put their money into the purchase of a fancy 害羞草研究所榮werve motor害羞草研究所� system for the 2024 robot.
The purchase paid off and Furman said it played a large role in the team害羞草研究所檚 ability to secure the win at regionals.
Each year, just two short months before the regional qualifying competition, the teams are told what specific challenges the competition will entail. Then, it is a rush to construct and customize their robot.
This year the competition害羞草研究所檚 theme is 害羞草研究所榗rescendo害羞草研究所�, and requires that the robots be able to pick up and throw foam rings into targets while avoiding collisions with other bots, in addition to other challenges.
West Kelowna's own Mount Boucherie Secondary School Robotics Team is headed to the FIRST Robotics World Championships in Texas and need the community to step up and support them 馃
Furman said that each member of the team brings a unique set of interests, perspectives and skills to the group. Some people, like her, focus on the robot害羞草研究所檚 electrical components, while others focus on the body of the machine.
Some team members are involved exclusively with the business aspect of the project and focus on securing funding for their build.
害羞草研究所淭hese students have gotten involved with a FIRST team for different reasons,害羞草研究所� said Mike Boulanger, a teacher at MBSS and the team mentor and coach. 害羞草研究所淢aybe it was to socialize, or maybe it was because they already had an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).害羞草研究所�
Regardless of their reason, Boulanger said that all students who participated in the project gained skills in robot design and fabrication, business, and programming, as well as additional soft skills like teamwork, cooperation, critical thinking and collaboration.
The Worlds FIRST Robotics competition takes place in Houston Texas from April 17 to 20.
If you are interested in donating to or sponsoring the Bears robotics team, contact the crew at mbsrobotics@gmail.com.
