The Robovikes are a team at GHS that participate in the First Robotics Competition. This small team has participated in this competition multiple times and creates some very cool robots.

“One of my favorite parts of our team is that everyone is welcome and we are always having fun,” Kelly Aceto said. “Even on our ridiculously long last-minute Saturday meetings, we still have fun.”

The people on the robotics team are always having a good time, even under the pressure of running out of time. Everyone that is part of the team agrees that they come back because of how fun it is, whether it is for the competition or just the random shenanigans that happen mid-season.

“There is just everyday something different you never know what you’re gonna expect,” Code Co-Captain Nick Svoboda said. “Sometimes it’ll be like either all day we’ll get stuff done other times there will be paracord that could go round the school 15 times that you have to untangle.”

This year’s season for the competition starts the last weekend of winter break and will give the teams 3 months to do everything for their robots. After the given time goes by the teams need to bring their bot to a stadium that the competition is held at so they can compete.

“The competition season is purposefully short, so it forces the team to plan out the time needed to create a robot that will be able to complete the given tasks,” Mrs. Aceto said.

The teams are given 3 months to design, build, and test their bots for competition.

“My favorite part of the Robotics Team is the competitions,” she said. “Seeing all of the hard work we have done both preseason and during competition season come together is exhilarating. Of course, nothing ever goes exactly to plan, so watching the Team engage in last minute problem solving is part of the fun too.”

This past season the students named their bot W4D3, or Wade, standing for wheels and duct tape everywhere.

“This year I am excited to keep working on our old bot in anticipation of being able to keep him for future years of demonstrations,” Mrs. Aceto said. “We will use this bot in an off-season competition, which is very exciting. We will also have a “Save W4D3 (wade)!” Campaign to try to raise enough money so that we do not need to harvest parts from him for next year’s bot. Having a permanent demo bot would be a big win for the team in terms of publicity and recruiting.”

Although there is a massive barrier to entry due to the price the team still has a great time and learns a lot of new skills.

“Robotics helps to give students hands-on experience and real-world skills that will prepare them for the future,” junior Soren Larson said.

The skills that students learn range from problem-solving and teamwork to machining and coding skills. For anyone wanting to gain some of these skills or just wanting to be part of a team the Robovikes are a wonderful place to be.