FIRST Robotics Canadian Pacific Regional<\/a> at Vancouver\u2019s Pacific Coliseum last month, competing against 44 teams from across Canada and around the world.<\/p>\nThe team\u2019s robot, Alioth, was designed and built in just seven weeks, shared team captain and Grade 12 student Pietro Faria.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince we are Team 9180 Ursa Major, we name all our robots after stars in the constellation,\u201d added Grade 9 student Shannon Zhu, who is in charge of the team\u2019s marketing and media efforts.<\/p>\n
Scott Smith, the robotics teacher sponsor for Team Ursa Major explained he told the students this was all their project. He said it made him happy seeing them work through everything leading up to the competition and also, during.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the robot shoots a ball, they\u2019re all high-fiving and jumping around and that\u2019s when it\u2019s like, \u2018Wow!\u2019\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n
The annual competition challenges students to create a robot capable of completing a new game each season.<\/p>\n
Team administrative lead and Grade 11 student Aikhem Rai explained this year\u2019s challenge involved scoring points by shooting yellow game balls into a six-foot-tall hub during fast-paced matches.<\/p>\n
Each match begins with 30 seconds of fully autonomous gameplay, followed by a driver-controlled period, with teams competing in ranking rounds after advancing to playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn paper it looks very simple, but then you actually see it happen and it goes by so fast,\u201d said Zhu. \u201cThere\u2019s so much stress and intensity in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ursa Major advanced through two days of preliminary rounds before entering a tight, three-round final alongside alliance partners from Hawaii and Ontario.<\/p>\n
Once the final round was completed and the results were being read out loud, Zhu shared that she was severely nervous. It was Ursa Major team captain Faria who kept the mood light and everyone calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they announced \u2018We want to select 9180\u2019, I screamed,\u201d recounted Zhu, adding how ecstatic the whole team was. \u201cThe excitement that everyone has when it all comes together is just absolutely exuberant.\u201d<\/p>\n
A big blue banner now hangs in the front entrance at the school showcasing the big win.<\/p>\n
Zhu joked that the win was all due to their toy fish Phineas, who was strapped to the front of their robot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put him on the cart and we started winning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team is made up of multiple departments, all working together to ensure the robot performs at its best, Faria noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just about physically building it,\u201d Faria said. \u201cThere\u2019s electrical, programming, designing, and even the business and media side of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grade 12 student and head coder Tawesha Palmer added that collaboration between departments is essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf one part isn\u2019t working, like mechanics, then the code doesn\u2019t work and the same goes the other way,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of back and forth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s not just for the people who really love tech. There\u2019s a field in here for everyone, and a space for everyone,\u201d continued Zhu.<\/p>\n
Zhu, Faria, Rai, Palmer and Smith all emphasized the importance of every role on the team and the welcoming environment they\u2019ve built.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter who you are, this is a place where if you put in the hard work, we\u2019ll accept you. We are all bonded here for a love (of) the game,\u201d said Zhu.<\/p>\n
Even for those without a background in robotics, the team encourages students to get involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never really had an interest in robots and I came here because I heard about the community, and I found love in this community so I stuck around,\u201d said Rai.<\/p>\n
Beyond competition results, the team is also focused on making an impact in their community.<\/p>\n
Rai explained that FIRST Robotics places a strong emphasis on outreach, with teams often recognized through the competitions Impact Award, which celebrates community involvement as much as technical success.<\/p>\n
This is an award the team hopes to achieve in the near future.<\/p>\n
Team Ursa Major regularly hosts workshops, supports youth robotics programs and works to build interest in younger students so that they can one day join the Grandview Heights team too.<\/p>\n
Despite their win, the team narrowly missed qualifying for the world championships in Houston after alliance selections.<\/p>\n
Still, their victory places them as the top-ranked robotics team in B.C., a milestone the school is proudly celebrating.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, the team hopes to expand their competition experience next year, with plans to attend a regional event in Montreal.<\/p>\n
Smith shared that the dedication from the students is what continues to stand out, year after year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no assessment, no marks \u2013 they just come because they want to be here,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they didn\u2019t want to be here, it wouldn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A South Surrey secondary school\u2019s students are celebrating a major win after their robotics team took first place…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-624393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}