On April 15, the Huntsville High School (HHS) Hoya Robotics Team 4152 travelled to Houston, Texas, after ranking third in their division at the Ontario Championship at the beginning of the month.
Thanks to Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) and local industry and community members, the team, made up of Grade 11 and 12 students were able to organize the trip in under one week!
The 2025 FIRST World Championship was hosted by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST®) and saw 600 teams compete from around the world, with over 50,000 people attending the event. Teams were randomly organized into eight different divisions, each named after a scientist. In the Hoya’s division, Milstein Division, there were 75 teams. Each team played 10 matches to determine their rankings for playoff selections. From there, the highest ranked teams form eight alliances, selecting three other robots to be on their alliance. The Hoyas was the first picked robot by Alliance #4.
Overall, the Hoyas came out third in their division!
“Our team had a rough schedule but managed to make it into the playoffs,” explained HHS teacher and lead mentor, Ian McTavish. “A highlight in the playoffs was playing against Team 254, otherwise known as the Cheezy Poofs, in Match 7. This team has won more World Championships than any other team and is considered to be one of the best teams in the world. The Hoyas ended up winning that match!”
Another highlight throughout the weekend was that the team’s mentor, Sam Topps, and lead programming student, Gabriel Nakamoto, were asked to speak at a workshop for over 200 attendees. Their use of simulation software when programming the robot is considered to be the most innovative and successful by the company that produces the software, MapleSim.
“Thank you to the HHS staff and the community mentors who have made this experience possible for our students,” said HHS principal, Kelly Picken. “The hard work and the hours spent troubleshooting and problem-solving has paid off! The HHS Robotics Team has made all of us proud to be Hoyas!”
The Hoyas are still accepting donations through their Canada Helps page to support a number of scholarships and are the newly created Lego Robotics Teams at various elementary schools in TLDSB.
