Outmanned four-to-one and outspent six-to-one, Thomas Jefferson High School’s R.A.I.D. Robotics team still defiantly refused to be outworked and outsmarted.
The team and its little engine that could went to Portland last weekend and, against tremendous odds, won the FIRST Robotics Pacific Northwest District Championship, earning themselves a berth in the competition’s world championships.
“When Thomas Jefferson’s R.A.I.D. Robotics was established four years ago, no one envisioned the success it would have in such a short existence,” said Jeff Knutson, one of the Jefferson team’s mentors.
The team now heads to the FIRST Championship event, held April 27-30 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. The outright victory at regionals is a crowning achievement for a relatively new robotics program that does better and better each year it competes. Last year’s R.A.I.D. team narrowly eked out a qualification at the 2015 regional competition, and this year’s squad felt the program’s upward trajectory and entered regionals cautiously optimistic.
“We thought we might get about the same as last year, 16th or 17th [place],” said student Kory Byquist. “But after the first day of competition, we started thinking about first.”
There was, it turned out, no reason to stop thinking about it.
“Once we felt first [place], we didn’t want to let go,” laughed teammate Owen Anderson.
The relative youth of Jefferson’s robotics program means fewer resources and lighter participation numbers compared to many of the more than 3,000 other teams across the U.S.
“This past weekend at regionals in Portland, [R.A.I.D.] went up against teams four times the size, with 60-plus members,” Knutson said. “Most of these teams have annual budgets of $30,000 to $100,000.”
This year’s R.A.I.D. team is made up of 14 active student members who raised and spent about $15,000 on their robot, the minimum cost for participating.
“This was ‘David vs Goliath,'” Knutson said.
The Goliaths’ advantages are legion. FIRST Robotics rules are strict, requiring that the teams’ robots, all designed and assembled in just six weeks, be built and then set aside until the time comes for it to compete. Other teams were able to build a second robot with which they could practice, while R.A.I.D. had no choice but to wait while their sole machine – known affectionately as “Lance” for its polearm-like appendage – sat beneath a protective tarp.
The contrast between the haves and the have-nots is stark between the time teams can start building and the day the first competition rolls around. After that, however, teams are happy to help each other out and do what it takes to ensure a good competition. FIRST Robotics prides itself on fostering enviornments of “gracious professionalism” and “coopertition,” emphasizing that opponents can maintain empathy, respect and a blend of competition and cooperation.
At regionals, those values were on full display for the Jefferson team. R.A.I.D. members were helped out mid-event by Error Code Xero, a team from Wilsonville, Oregon, who were technically the opposition.
“They gave us two steel gears to use to replace our aluminum gears,” Kory Byquist said, displaying a gear pulled from Lance that had been stripped entirely cog-less during the meet. “The competition this year was really brutal on the robots.”
“The graciousness of other teams to help out when things went wrong is something you often do not see in sports,” Knutson said. “Kids helping kids, what more do you want?”
This will be R.A.I.D.’s first trip to worlds. Last year’s squad, the team that also qualified, was unable to attend the championship due to lack of funding. It highlights another hurdle that has to be cleared for a burgeoning program that relies heavily on fundraising and community support.
“In a world that is dominated with science, technology, engineering and math, it is important that programs such as R.A.I.D. Robotics continue and receive funding necessary to sustain its ability to compete with the ‘Goliaths’ in the world of robotics,” Knutson said. “This is an after-school program, run by mentors and an adviser; countless hours go into the build season.
“By the time the second tournament is complete, a student has easily put in over 400 hours. As a team, that’s 5,600 man hours of labor and sweat.”
It’s all worth it, of course, if a team gets a win like Jefferson did – or if participation inspires a student to keep exploring science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
“This program has a tremendous impact on the lives of many students,” Knutson said. “Because of this program, several current and former members are focusing on STEM careers. It is because of this program and other STEM experiences that my son was accepted to the engineering program at Gonzaga University as a freshman.”
