The robotics team Sprockets & Screws won fourth place out of 12 teams at its first competition this school year, the Chicago First Tech Challenge Competition on Nov. 13. Another U-High team, We Byte, placed 10th.

Adviser Daren Fuller said the We Byte team was made up of mostly ninth graders, and they used the competition to gain experience driving the team’s robot. The juniors on the We Byte team coached the ninth graders. 

Sprockets & Screws included more experienced junior and senior members, who were used to working together. 

When the competition started, each team participated in five matches, each consisting of a challenge for the robot. The robots delivered boxes and balls and completed goals to score points. 

“In terms of Sprockets, the team dynamic has been very good,” Nico Ahmed, a builder for Sprockets & Screws said. “We have almost all of these people who have done these competitions for three years now, so we all know each other pretty well, and it’s been very good especially compared to other years.”

Sprockets & Screws is now fifth in Chicago, and We Byte is 26th after the competition.

Both teams are now preparing for competitions on Dec. 11 and Jan. 29 as well as the regional on Feb. 19. They are utilizing their new practice and building space to prepare. 

According to Mr. Fuller, the teams will spend most of their time up to the competition building the robot. After the competition, the team will spend more time practicing, driving and making smaller adjustments to the building.