Both Upper School Robotics Teams Qualify for 2023 State FTC Tournament

Both Upper School robotics teams—nicknamed the Autonomice and The Robotters—advanced to the 2023 State FTC Tournament, held in February 2023.

The teams qualified for State after exceptional performances in the qualifying tournament, at which both teams were also the recipients of multiple awards. The Robotters won the Inspire Award, the highest award given at FTC competitions; the Inspire award is given to the team that best embodies the ‘challenge’ of the FIRST Tech Challenge program. The Robotters also won the Stratasys Award (for 3D printing) and were finalists for the Connect Award.

The Autonomice won the Connect Award (for connecting the dots between community, robotics, and the diversity of the engineering world), and were finalists for the Motivate Award (for working well as a team and encouraging others to participate in robotics).

“As coaches, we are so proud of our students, not just for their accomplishments at the tournament but for how well they represented SPA,” says robotics coach Dr. Kate Lockwood, SPA’s Upper School Director of Computer Science and Engineering. “Despite the long day, our students stayed focused, supported their teammates, and interacted professionally with judges, referees, and other teams.”