High school students from across Montana gathered at Carroll College in Helena on Saturday to showcase their robotics skills in the FIRST Tech Challenge state qualifying competition.
Twenty-five teams participated in the event, demonstrating months of preparation in coding, engineering and teamwork as they competed for spots in the state championship.
WATCH: Robotics teams compete in FIRST Tech Challenge in Helena
"Oh my gosh the pressure is on right now, but it really kinda strengthens our communication," said Lucia, a student competitor from Team FB3 out of Fort Benton.
The competition required teams to program and operate robots to score balls into goals in a specific color order. This task appears simple but demands extensive preparation and technical expertise.
Over the past year, participating teams spent countless hours designing and redesigning their robots, troubleshooting technical issues and solving complex problems to prepare for the competition.
"When I create something... and it works, you know, maybe after twenty tries of it not working... the feeling that I get from that is just incredible. I don't think I've felt many feelings that are quite like that," said Josiah, a member of Team Panther Robotics from Alberton.
Beyond technical skills, the competition emphasized collaboration and mentorship among participants.
"To ask people for help and, reach out to those who have more experience in programming. And our mentors are kind of amazing that way," said Samantha, one of the teammates of Team Fusion in Helena.
The robotics program helps students develop public speaking abilities, learn to work under pressure and build social connections.
"I used to hate getting out, talking to other people. Now I'm pretty comfortable doing that," said Hudson from Team Nebula.
The Montana Robotics Alliance aims to inspire students about future possibilities, regardless of their competition results, according to Reynolds, the Board Chairman of the organization.
The alliance of E-Hackers from Eureka and Thunder Lab from Columbia Falls finished with the first seed in the competition.
| Alliance Seed 2 | Prairie Bytes | Lazer Sharks in Space |
| Alliance Seed 3 | The Ottermators | Analysis Paralysis |
| Alliance Seed 4 | Rockets Robotics | Reboot |
| Alliance Seed 5 | Nebula | Protostars |
| Alliance Seed 6 | Fusion | Sunburst B1gBrains |
The teams listed in the table above, along with E-Hackers and Thunder Lab, will advance to the Montana State Championships scheduled for February 6 in Bozeman at Montana State University
For those thinking about getting into robotics and want to learn how to participate in competitions like this one, visit the Montana Robotics Alliance website.
