by Frank Lee
operations@thenewsleaders.com
Six boys from Boy Scout Troop 211 are hoping to make history by beating the world’s best robot-building teams in a four-day completion in Louisville, Ky., that ends Saturday, April 23.
St. Cloud Technical and Community College were among the institutions who provided a couple of dozen robot-building kits to the Boy Scouts and others to get them interested in the idea.
“We’re mostly in it just to have fun,” said Kevin Schatz, coach of the BeatBotz team and assistant scoutmaster for the troop.
To earn the trip to the World Championship, the BeatBotz won the Robot Skills Championship along with winning the Create and Sportsmanship Award, which is the second time the BeatBotz won the award for creativity in robot design.
The team also captured many awards at the Minnesota State Robotics Tournament in St. Cloud before the team members from Sartell face competitors from Japan, China, Australia and more.
“I think it’s an amazing accomplishment they’ve made it this far,” Schatz said. “And we’re just going to experience the world’s competition and meet some people from all over the world.”
Five years ago, a robotics merit badge was started in the Boy Scouts, said Schatz, a Sartell resident who runs his own business recycling and reclaiming Freon gas in the Twin Cities.
“I believe we are the only Boy Scout team going to the World Championship,” Schatz said. “Just about every other team in the United States is sponsored through schools.”
Callan Markey, 13; Colten Sigurdson, 15; Josh Harrington, 14; Zachary Christopherson, 16; Peter Amundson, 15; and Bryan Amundson, 14, were at a troop meeting April 11 at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell before heading to the world championship, which ends tomorrow.
“We’re super excited,” Sigurdson said. “It’s really cool that we get this chance to go to Louisville and participate in this because there are going to be teams from all over the world.”
Robotics is the branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science that deals with the design, construction, operation and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback and information processing, said the BeatBotz website.
“There is a different game every year that’s run by VEX, and they are also the people who provide the parts for the robots we build,” Sigurdson said. “But this year it’s a game kind of like basketball where we shoot the balls through hoops using the robots.”
Christopherson, who is a Sartell High School student on Team BeatBotz, had nothing but praise for the robot-building competition.
“It’s fun and it trains people in STEM fields,” Christopherson said, referring to the acronym for careers in science, technology, engineering and math. “It prepares them for the changing job environment and that’s very important.”
Sartell residents and members of Team BeatBotz are the following (from left to right): Callan Markey, 13; Colten Sigurdson, 15; Josh Harrington, 14; Zachary Christopherson; 16; Peter Amundson, 15; and Bryan Amundson, 14. Here the team crowds around its creation during a troop meeting April 11 at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell before heading to the world championship, which ends Saturday, April 23.
To earn the trip to the world championship, the BeatBotz won the Robot Skills Championship along with winning the Create and Sportsmanship Award, which is the second time the BeatBotz won the award for creativity in robot design as the team captured the prize at the Granite City VEX Tournament in Albany in December with a different design.
Robotics is the branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science that deals with the design, construction, operation and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback and information processing, according to Team BeatBotz.
Sartell High School students Colten Sigurdson, 15, and Zachary Christopherson, 16, are members of Team BeatBotz, a six-person group from local Boy Scout Troop 211 that captured multiple awards at the Minnesota State Robotics Tournament in St. Cloud and is competing at the world championship that runs April 20-23 in Louisville, Ky.
