Bastrop High School Robotics Team Heads to World Championships

(Bastrop) – The Bastrop High School robotics group, called team 4610 BearTecs, has qualified to compete for the second time in the FIRST World Championship in Houston later this week. The team will travel to the George R. Brown Convention Center to compete with nearly 400 teams from around the world. The BearTecs will compete in the Turing division, one of six divisions. On Saturday, April 22, at the conclusion of the three-day event, the winning alliances from each division will transition to Minute Maid Park for the finals and awards ceremony.

“Robotics and engineering programs and activities have been very popular in our schools, and they only grow each year,” said Superintendent Steve Murray. “Robotics engages students and encourages them to use problem solving, creativity, and innovation in their thinking. It’s very rewarding to see the BearTecs succeed in this way, and we wish them luck as they represent Bastrop ISD and compete with schools from all over the world!”

Some of the students on the team were introduced to Lego robotics in middle school, and others just started at the high school level. “Regardless of their Lego robotics experience, they now understand the mechanical engineering design process,” said Ryan Gibson, BearTecs sponsor and coach. “They can do all of the electrical wiring for the robot, design parts using CAD, create parts using a 3D printer, program the robot using JavaScript, and work together as a team.”

The robotics team is currently in its fifth year. Under Gibson’s direction, the BearTecs have had an outstanding season. In January, the team was introduced to the FIRST SteamWorks game. They had six weeks to design, build, and program their robots for the game. Following that event, the BearTecs competed at the Dallas Regional in Irving and the Alamo Regional in San Antonio. The team was in the top eight for most of the qualification rounds at the Alamo Regional and finished with a rank of 12 out of 48 teams. The BearTecs then formed an alliance with team 3345 Metal Jackets of San Antonio and team 2158 ausTIN CANS. The three-team alliance fought hard in the quarterfinals against the number one seed, a team that went on to win the event.

“I want our students to be inspired by this, to set goals and reach for new levels of success,” said Gibson. He also hopes the community will get behind the team and support them in their quest for a championship. He knows it’s a team effort and without the volunteers who coach, mentor, support, and fundraise for the team, none of this would be possible.

Bastrop ISD is located 30 miles southeast of Austin and serves nearly 10,600 students from the communities of Bastrop, Cedar Creek, Red Rock, Rockne, Paige and other rural areas of Bastrop County.