COA’s Riverside Robotigers Make their Mark at the Robotics World Championships!

This past weekend, the Riverside Robotigers robotics team from COA’s Community Learning Center (CLC) at Riverside High School traveled to Detroit to participate in the FIRST Robotics World Championships! From April 25th – 28th, the 20-member team got to compete against the top robotics teams in the world.

As they loaded up buses and headed to Detroit, the team was full of excitement. The Robotigers made it to the championships by surprise. According to COA’s Riverside CLC Group Leader Erik Orlowski: “Our team has been the underdog for a while.” The Robotigers qualified for the competition by upsetting a #1 team and being crowned regional champions back in April. Aside from their surprise regional win, the Robotigers stand out in another big way: the team is mostly female. “We pride ourselves on the fact that we are more female than male,” says Erik. “Our drive team is all female. This is rare in the world of robotics.

Despite some tough qualification matches during the World Championships, the Robotigers performed well enough to be selected to participate in the playoff tournament. They were invited to be an alliance for a top-eight team. Erik says the team was on cloud nine: “Being able to go from underdogs to saying that we were picked for the playoffs at the world championships has given the kids something to be proud of: they’re an internationally competitive team.”

The teens also enjoyed the chance to travel. Many do not often get the chance to leave Milwaukee, so they liked seeing what’s on the other side of Lake Michigan. They also got to see what’s on the other side of the border. According to Erik, “They loved being able to look across the river and see a different country: Canada.”

The Robotigers’ trip to the World Championships in Detroit was made possible thanks to the generous contributions of donors. In just three weeks community members, Riverside alumni, and Rockwell Automation chipped in a total of $14,000. This met the team’s fundraising goal and got them to Detroit. COA is proud of the Robotigers for their strong showing in the World Championships!