A Cape Town robotics team has beaten the world’s best after they won the For Inspirational and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) World Championship in Houston, Texas.
The four-day competition, which saw more than 220 teams from across the world compete in the US, was about teaching the youth to learn and apply Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skills.
Based in Pinelands, team Texpand travelled to the global competition with nine members and two coaches.
They have members from various communities including Pinelands, Mitchells Plain, Plumstead and Grabouw.
The competition took place last week.
Isa Adams,14, from Mitchells Plain, says the event was exciting.
The Grade 9 pupil at Claremont High School added: “Robotics is a difficult sport to get into but once you understand it you will start enjoying it. It's fun to build and code the robot and see what it can do like picking up the pixels and hanging on the pole.”
One of Texpand’s coaches, Michelle Buckle, says it feels surreal and wonderful to be champions.
“We feel we have additional responsibility to carry on and encourage growth in robotics education in SA. Winning such a huge tournament is like a gift that gives us opportunities to boost and encourage people in our country to have hope, dream and work to do well on the world stage.”
The team qualified for the international event after winning the national championships in February.
Buckle adds: “We hope to get more funding now at the beginning of the next season so that they can develop an even more advanced and faster robot.
“The team also has plans to decode their recipe for success and make that available to other robotics teams.”