Update: Secret City Wildbots compete in qualifying Friday, could make elimination rounds Saturday

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m.

The Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School are competing this week in the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

Here are pictures from the competition on Thursday by Angi Agle. Oak Ridge won its last round and was ranked #37 as of Thursday evening.

Here is a Friday morning update from Agle:

The Secret City Wildbots experienced both success and struggle on the first day of qualifying rounds on Thursday, but after an evening of fun at the RoboProm (as many students are missing their own high school proms this weekend in order to compete), they arrived at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis ready to compete.

After the day’s first match, it appears they’re serious about winning. Predicted to lose 136-111, the Wildbots and their allies rose to victory with a 202-124 finish (video uploaded). With the win, their ranking rose from 61 to 38, with a qualifying average of 120.6.

With five more qualifying rounds today (Friday, April 24), the opportunity remains to make it to elimination rounds tomorrow. Team 4265, the Secret City Wildbots, are in the Hopper Division. Fans can follow statistics at www.thebluealliance.com or www.atthecontrol.com, though updates are sporadic due to technical difficulties with the FRC API feed.

The theme of this year’s contest is Recycle Rush. The game is played by two alliances of three robots each. Robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter.

The competition combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. See the FIRST Robotics Competition website for more information, including on this week’s championship.

The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265, won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA during the Smoky Mountain Regional in Knoxville earlier this month. That award qualified them to compete at the World Championship in St. Louis from April 21-25, with the entry fee paid by NASA.

This is the Secret City Wildbots’ fourth year, and the team has earned the right to compete in the World Championship each of those four years.