Tonkabots Booster Club

Hello from the 2024 MN State Robotics Champions!

We are the "Tonkabots," a FIRST Robotics team of 8th-12th graders at Mound Westonka High School.  While the support from people like you is vital to our success in the competition arena (see our past season's successes outlined below), your funds reach so much farther beyond our awards and accolades! As they say, FIRST is about so much more than robots! By supporting the Tonkabots team you are investing in the lives and future careers of dozens of local kids, helping to fuel their passion for STEAM by connecting them with professionals through training and mentorships, encouraging future workplace collaboration through "coopertition," and fostering integrity through "gracious professionalism." 

Each year a new and complex challenge is developed and released through live stream to over 3,000 teams worldwide in early January. With only 6 weeks to design, build, and program a 125 pound competition-ready robot, we rely heavily on our coaches, mentors, community and sponsors to help make it happen!

Until recently the Tonkabots have flown under the radar, operating on very limited resources as a young team, but "Dark Horse" and "Cinderella Story" are just a couple of the terms used to describe our season last year! Having never previously won a competition or even qualified for a playoff match, our 2024 season produced jaw dropping win after win as our robot "Sid" soared through the ranks, putting our virtually unknown team on the map, ranking in the single digits on challenge tasks amongst over 3,000 teams. 

Last March we won first place in our regional in Duluth as well as the Autonomous Award and the coveted head-to-head "Double DECCer," landing us an opportunity to compete for the first time ever in Worlds in April. 

Our team was invited to compete just one month later in the MN State High School League's State Championship at the University of Minnesota, taking home another win as #1 team alliance captain. But we didn't stop there...this fall we participated in the Minnesota Robotics Invitational, again taking home the win as #1 alliance team captains!

We look forward to making our donors proud once again this season! Thank you for believing in us!

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