(CGUHS) Over Spring Break, March 12-15, the Robotics Team traveled to Flagstaff, Arizona, to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Arizona North Regional. This event is one of more than two hundred such events held annually around the world. At the Arizona North Regional, forty teams from as far away as Taiwan, Netherlands, Hawaii, California, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, and around Arizona competed in this three-day tournament.
The CGUHS team, known as FRC Team #996, finished the qualification tournament ranked 27 out of 40 with a record of 3-9-0 in qualification matches and won the Rising All-Star Award and the Safety Award. Only the top 24 teams qualify for the double elimination championship that leads to the world championship in Houston. This was the first time the CGUHS has competed at this level since 2022, having taken a two-year long hiatus. The team consisted of students who had never competed at this level. The official rookie year for Team 996 was 2002, but for this year’s team members, 2025 was their rookie year.
This year’s game was revealed to the world on January 4. The team first conducted an in-depth game and rules analysis to develop their strategic and tactical plans. Following this, the team spent three weeks designing a machine to play the game based on their strategy. Another three weeks into the fabrication and assembly process, the team was forced to pivot due to supply issues and redesign the robot from the ground up, including chassis and drive system, game mechanisms, control system, communications, and programming. Working daily after school and on Saturdays, the team was able to complete a competition robot. After a long discussion, the team named their robot Cliodhna, the mythical Queen of the Banshees and the Irish Goddess of love and beauty.
The Robotics Team will continue to compete through the summer and into the fall as a member of the Arizona Robotics League. Tournaments are scheduled monthly with the state championship occurring in October. Robotics is an AIA recognized activity and team members earn a CGUHS Varsity Letter for their participation in the sport from January through October.