Superior Roboworks qualifies for World Competition, raising funds to support travel and lodging

Superior Roboworks qualified for the World Championships after overcoming early breaks at the state competition. 

Over the weekend the Houghton High School superior Roboworks participated in the FIRST Robotics of Michigan State Championship tournament. The 160 teams invited were split into four 40-team divisions. Houghton started strong before running into mechanical issues, causing the team to drop in the round’s ranks to 32nd.

However, Superior Roboworks was able to overcome the challenges during the qualification matches. In the playoff rounds, the team joined the Steel Armadillos from Warren and the Killer Bees from Auburn Hills. Their partnership worked well making it the best two of three final rounds. Superior Roboworks currently ranks 42nd in the state out of 512 robotics teams in Michigan.

A total of 857 teams will qualify for the national competition taking place in Houston, Texas April 17 to April 20. Superior Roboworks hopes to raise $20,000 to support the 14 students’ transportation and lodging costs to attend the world competition. The team’s season is supported by several local businesses including General Motors, Great Lakes Sound and Vibration, Thermo Analytics, Calumet Electronics, Koppers, Orbion Space Technology, GS Engineering, The Michigan Department of Education, Xeratec, and David Kent Consulting.

Those interested in supporting the team’s travel to Houston can find a link to the team’s GoFundMe page here or can send a donation directly to the high school, marked: Attention HPTS – 857 Robotics Teams.

Keweenaw Bureau Correspondent Thomas Fournier contributed this report.