Royal Thunder Robotics, a Sarnia-based team of students, extended their winning streak by earning the Connect Award at the Mississauga Qualifier, marking their sixth consecutive tournament award.
Royal Thunder Robotics, a Sarnia-based FIRST Tech Challenge team, continued its award-winning streak last Saturday, November 30, by earning the Connect Award at the Mississauga Qualifier event. This marks the team’s sixth consecutive tournament award since 2022. The Connect Award recognizes the team that best engages with their local STEM community, a significant achievement for the Sarnia students.
The team, composed of seven students from across three Sarnia schools, overcame a slow start to perform strongly at the event. Competing against 34 teams from across Ontario, Royal Thunder Robotics scored a high 136 points in their final match. They also faced last year’s world record holders in their first match, narrowly losing 101-119 in a hard-fought battle.
Royal Thunder Robotics began competing in 2005 in the FIRST LEGO League, advancing to the Ontario Championships 11 times in 14 years and earning awards at each championship. Post-COVID, the team transitioned to the FIRST Tech Challenge, which allows students to build and compete with robots in a more advanced format. Since 2021, they’ve competed in seven tournaments, winning awards at all but one.
This year’s competition tasks included placing blocks, called samples, into baskets, attaching clips to samples, and climbing a two-rung ladder—all within a 2.5-minute match. Teams also had to quickly strategize with alliance partners revealed on the day of the competition, testing their collaboration and problem-solving skills.
“Our goal is to make it to provincials to demonstrate the strength of robotics in Sarnia-Lambton,” said team captain Jillie B. “The Connect Award takes us one big step closer to that goal.”
The team’s next chance to qualify for the Ontario Championships is in Bolton in two weeks. Royal Thunder Robotics welcomes inquiries from prospective members and encourages students in grades 7–12 across Sarnia-Lambton to learn more by emailing [email protected].
