Underdogs In South Bay Robotics Comp Come From Behind To Win

REDONDO BEACH, CA —For the first time in 10 years, the group of South Bay high schoolers that make up the Beach Cities Robotics Team reigned victorious at the Aerospace Valley Regional Competition.

The mix of students from Redondo Union High School and Mira Costa High School created a robot that would compete in a music-themed competition called Crescendo, adviser Sara Kaesler told Patch. When the first match started, however, the team hit a snag.

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"Our robot was not fully functioning in the first two matches," Keasler said.

Thanks to some quick thinking and fast repairs, the team was able to come back from a tie in their first match and a loss in the second match. With the robot fixed, the next two matches ended in victories for the team.

The objective of the competition was for the robots to pick up orange music-note-shaped items and shoot them into goals. The Beach Cities team's robot was designed with a series of pulleys and wheels that helped take in the notes and then an appendage with a wrist-like function expertly took the shots.

With help from the team's mentors from places like Space X, the teens designed the parts of the robot and constructed it by hand. During the competition, Keasler said the kids were very independent and quick with their calculations for the best angles to shoot the notes to make it into the goal.

Now that the team has this victory under their belt, they are headed to the First Robotics World Championship in Houston, Texas starting April 17.

"None of the kids on the team have been to Worlds so it's really exciting," Keasler said. "We think we can definitely put up a really good fight in Worlds."

The team has organized a fundraiser to help cover travel and hotel costs. As of Wednesday, the team has raised $8,261 of their $20,000 goal on GoFundMe with a week left until Worlds.