STMA Robotics

Thank you for visiting our Give to the Max page! We are the STMA Robotics high school team, Binary Battalion - 7028. We are a community education-based and student-led competitive robotics team of over forty students, supported by three awesome coaches and a dozen generous volunteer mentors. 

High school robotics is a competitive activity that enriches the lives of students worldwide. Not only do we develop engineering, design, building, and programming skills, but also business skills such as public speaking, media creation, and sales.

Each January, a new game is released as part of an international robotics competition led by a non-profit called FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Thousands of robotics teams work tirelessly for six weeks to design, build, and program their unique robot, as well as closely analyze and master the game rules to score points in competitions.

Our team's commitment during these six weeks (called the "build season") is astonishing. We meet three days a week after school (or more!) and all day on Saturdays. When build season comes to an end, teams begin to travel with their robot to compete in district or regional competitions. Our first competition of the 2024 season is the Great Northern Regional in Grand Forks, ND. 

Our team travels to regional competitions by bus with our robot, and participates in three full days of activities with 40-50 other teams. Regional competitions are long days of practice driving/scoring, scouting the competition, learning about other teams' robots, competing, and cheering on our drive team from the stands. But we also have a ton of fun eating in the dining hall of the University of North Dakota, staying at a local hotel with a pool, hanging out playing games and just enjoying being on the road with our teammates. The excitement that surrounds this competition is incredible. There is nothing better than watching all of our hard work pay off, and sharing our accomplishments and experiences with other teams. 

Please take a look at this short video highlighting some of the excitement from our regional competitions in previous years: 

We have a commitment to each other to provide an opportunity for the entire team to attend these competitions. We all contribute to the final outcome of the robot and each team member participates in several important aspects of the season. Unfortunately, we get no financial support from our local school district, so our team members participate in numerous fundraising events and activities throughout the year to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for every student. The total annual expenses associated with our team are great, and can exceed $100,000 if we earn a trip to the World Championships. But before we set our sights on the World Championships in Houston, TX, we have to qualify by winning a regional competition. Please consider donating to our team to help fund our team trip to the Great Northern Regional in Grand Forks, ND. The more we raise during Give to the Max, the more likely each and every team member will be able to participate in this awesome experience!