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Story and photos by Terry Jacoby/Weloveannarbor.com
Ann Arbor Public Schools welcomed 36 robotics teams to Forsythe Middle School on Saturday for the Ann Arbor FTC Middle School Qualifier where six teams advanced to the Michigan FTC State Championship-SE. The event was a spirited gathering of enthusiastic and determined students along with a packed gym of supportive parents and fans that made for a very special and long day that started at 6 a.m. and ended with the awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m.
The qualifier included 17 teams from Ann Arbor Public Schools.
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Other Ann Arbor teams included Rudolf Steiner School, Emerson School, Central Academy and Future Innovators Academy. The Dexter Dread Bolts represented Mill Creek Middle School and Saline, Milan and Temperance were among other school districts to send teams to Ann Arbor.
“We were thrilled to open our doors at Forsythe Middle Schools to host 36 remarkable teams who have dedicated months to building and coding robots for this year’s First Tech Challenge Game: Into the Deep,” said Cynthia Heraud, STEAM/PLTW Teacher at Forsythe Middle School and First Tech Challenge Robotics Coach. “Each team showcased not only their technical expertise but also the spirit of Gracious Professionalism®, a core ethos of FIRST that encourages high-quality work, values respect for others, and emphasizes community.”
Gracious Professionalism® is intentionally open to interpretation, reminding us that competition can—and should—be win-win, where respect and kindness elevate everyone involved.
“As teams took to the field, they competed fiercely for top spots while lifting each other up and making each contribution a valued one,” said Heraud. “This is the true spirit of FIRST Robotics—learning to excel together, ensuring no one feels excluded or unappreciated.”
Tom Pachera, AAPS Career and Technology Education Director, and Tammy Damrath, Vice President FIRST in Michigan, also helped organize the event and were on hand throughout the day to help make sure the bots – and event – ran smoothly.
Damrath was appreciative that AAPS stepped up to host such a worthwhile event. “Creating a forum where we collectively encourage and celebrate the accomplishments of these future Michigan STEM professionals is key – not only to their future but to the future of the Michigan workforce,” said Damrath.
Pachera said it was Ann Arbor’s honor to play host on Saturday.
“Seeing these students demonstrate such skill, teamwork, and dedication has been incredibly inspiring,” he said. “Events like this showcase how robotics education goes beyond technology — it builds critical thinking, resilience, and collaborative skills that are essential in today’s world. Robotics prepares these young innovators not just to meet the challenges of tomorrow but to shape the future. I couldn’t be prouder of the impact we’re making through Career and Technology Education, empowering students to become the leaders, creators, and problem-solvers our world needs.”
Sarah Van Loo, Technology & Engineering Teacher at A2 STEAM, added: “Saturday’s tournament was exciting! The rookie team at A2 STEAM had so much fun participating in their first event. It was a great start to their robotics career.”
FIRST is more than robots – it’s a vision to help develop the next generation of innovators and leaders. FIRST Tech Challenge is a middle school program with teams featuring middle school grade/age team members that allows students their own turf where they can learn, play, hone skills, and acquire new ones.
The teams design, build, and program an 18”X18”X18” robot; connect classroom lessons to real-world application; see STEM fields as areas of study and career choices; apply and document the engineering process; get hands-on programming experience; develop problem-solving, organizational, and teamwork skills; and compete and cooperate in alliances at competitions.
Four teams finished with a top score of 2.00 and 5-0-0 records on the day, including the Slauson MS Golden Bears who took fourth to qualify for the next round. Other teams scoring 2.00 were The Fighting Gnomes from Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor; F.L.A.G Fight Like a Girl from Bedford Junior HS; and Classical Engineers from Bedford.
The other two teams to finish in the top six were the Automated Eagles of Emerson School and Frost RoboFalcons from Livonia.
The Clague CouGears from Clague MS finished eighth, the Ragnorok from Forsythe MS finished 10th, and the Trojan TechBots from Tappan MS finished 12, all with scores of 1.20 and 3-2 records in the five matches. The Roadrunner Bots 2 from Scarlett MS finished 14th and the Clague GearCats finished 16th, both with a 1.20 RS and 3-2 records.
The Spark Squad from The Future Innovators Academy in Ann Arbor finished 11th.
The Dexter Dread Bolts finished 20th with a .80 RS and 2-3 record on the day.
The event also includes plenty of other award winners who were honored in a number of different categories.
The Valkyries of Forsythe Middle School took second place in the Motivate Award.
The Dread Bolts, who were among many teams that showed a great team atmosphere in which all the members were contributing to the success, took third place in the Inspire Award, and second place in the Think Award.
The Fighting Gnomes of Rudolf Steiner School were named Winning Alliance – Captain and won the Design Award.
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