By Audrey Wang and Hannah Mu

On February 3 and 17, Winsor’s two robotics teams, the Winsor Wildbots (FTC #13620) and the Winsor Wirecats (FTC #20409), attended the FIRST Tech Challenge regional qualifiers at Needham and Canton High School. The team was so excited for the opportunity to participate and interact with other teams. 

At the February 3 qualifier, the Winsor Wildbots received the Motivate Award for excellent outreach and spirit, while the Winsor Wirecats received the Innovate Award for the team’s unique robot mechanisms. At the February 17 qualifier, the Wildbots placed 4th and competed in the semifinal matches with the Wirecats. The Wirecats also won the Connect Award for active participation in the Boston STEM community. Most excitingly, the Wildbots won the Inspire Award, the highest honor given by the FIRST Tech Challenge, and therefore received an invitation to the state competition at Andover High School on March 4, 2023! 

The Winsor Robotics club has come a long way since its origin in 2017. It started as one team, the Winsor Wildbots; after student interest grew and the club gained more members over the years, the club decided to split into two teams last year, thus creating the Winsor Wirecats. Club members and their mentors from MIT, Marlyse Reeves and Rachel Holladay, are so proud of how well both teams have done, despite the challenges of building and coding two separate robots in one short season. The club’s faculty advisor, Mr. Cox, says, “Everyone has been working really hard, and it’s definitely paying off. I am so impressed by the skills and resilience of both teams!” Anaya Raikar, a coder on the Winsor Wirecats, adds: “Winsor robotics and FTC have not only taught me about coding and engineering, but have also brought me into a wonderful community of students with similar interests as me. I hope the club can bring our passion and excitement for robotics to everyone at Winsor!”

The Robotics club is so excited to attend the state competition, either as volunteers or as part of the Winsor Wildbots competition team. For more information, check out their Instagram @winsorrobotics or email winsorwildbots@gmail.com.