A group of West Kelowna high school students is taking the robot they made to Texas, where they’re going to take on the world.
The West Kelowna robotics team gained entry to the world competition when they placed first at the First Robotics Competition (FRC) Canadian Regional Qualifying Tournament in Victoria at the beginning of March.
The Boucherie Bears Robotics Team was one of only two Canadian teams in the final playoff match of the tournament.
“Our team, we’ve been together since September and we practice with old robots that we’ve built,” said Boucherie Bears Robotics’ Team captain Simon Telfer.
“The game is released eight weeks before our competition. And so, we have an eight-week building period where it’s pretty much every day after school and some weekends and we work on building a robot and then at the end of the eight weeks we go down to Victoria to compete.”
The title has earned the team a spot at the FRC World Championships in Houston, Texas April 17-20 of this year.
The Boucherie Bears, a 22-member team from Mt. Boucherie Secondary School, is the only team from Western Canada that qualified for Houston and will be up against more than 600 teams from around the world.
“There were a lot of other robots that were doing a lot better than ours, so being able to place first and go to Houston is crazy and so exciting,” said Boucherie Bears Robotics’ Team social media manager Anaka Fuller.
“When we got picked to be part of the first alliance, I jumped up and started screaming for joy … It was great. I think I still have the same emotions going into Houston because I’m just so excited.”
Immediately after the team’s win, West Kelowna MLA Ben Stewart gave a shout out in provincial parliament.
“Join me in applauding the Mt. Boucherie Bears Robotics Team for their outstanding achievements and commitment to excellence,” said Stewart.
“Their accomplishments serve as an inspiration to us all, reaffirming the limitless potential of our youth in shaping a brighter future for generations to come.”
Stewart went on to ask the community to rally behind the Robotics team with “unwavering support.”
“Their outstanding performance in this competition reflects the accumulation of months of hard work, perseverance and unwavering determination. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of those who have supported Mt. Boucherie Bears Robotics Team in their journey,” said Stewart.
“Their success is a testament to the collective efforts of the team, administration, and local businesses and the broader community as they embark on their journey to represent our region on the global stage … I call upon the generosity of our community and urge businesses and individuals alike to contribute to this cause.”
The team is looking for help to cover the $8,000 registration fee and $15,000 transportation and accommodation costs to attend the World Championships in Houston, Texas.
“It’d be great to have the community help us represent B.C., we have quite a bit to go but thanks to the community we’ve raised about $2,000 on our GoFundMe right now, which is incredible. We’re super, super happy about that,” said Boucherie Bears Robotics’ Team electrical chief Sam Furman.
“But again, anything helps; the cost of this was a lot more than we expected it to be.”
Companies looking to partner with the Bears or help with a sponsor donation can call the school directly, or connect with the team online.
Individuals wanting help with personal donations can do so through the team’s GoFundMe campaign.
“Basically, everyone right now is a part of the business team because now that we’re shipping up our robot to send to Texas, everyone is like, hey, we need to get sponsors,” said Fuller.
“We need to be out in the community and bring recognition to the team, because we are representing Western Canada so that’s really exciting.”