By R. R. Branstrom

rbranstrom@dailypress.net

GLADSTONE — The Gladstone BraveBots, the robotics team of high school students and mentors, recently traveled to and from Houston, Texas for the world championship of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). Out of 75 teams in their division, they finished second. Seven other divisions were also competing in parallel; there were 601 teams and an estimated 50,000 people in the George R. Brown Convention Center for the event of April 16 to 19.

Each year, robotics teams around the globe are tasked with building and programming machines to perform certain tasks for games that change each season. Following the introduction of the challenge for the year, an eight-week build period occurs.

This year, there were 3,690 teams competing at the FRC high school level; other FIRST leagues exist for younger students, too.

Gladstone’s team, sponsored by EMP, Gladstone Area Schools, and Main Street Pizza, has been around been around for 14 years, though obviously the roster changes as students graduate. However, some stick around as mentors — a role that’s key in helping students understand the various aspects of robotics.

“Our kids are learning as they go; we don’t require them to know coding or CAD prior to joining the team,” Coach Tim Barron said.

After the build stage, competitions begin. A team has to participate in at least two district events in order to qualify for the next regional stage. The BraveBots, team number 4391, won first place in both district events in which they participated — the FIM District Escanaba Event presented by Highline Fast in week two and the FIM District LSSU Event presented by LSSU in week four.

In week six of competitions, the BraveBots went to the FIRST in Michigan State Championship in Saginaw. There, they finished second of their field and were ranked eighth in the state. Their performances earned them and 82 other Michigan teams invitations to the week eight World Championship in Texas.

It was approximately 1,400 miles each way — a 24-hour drive — and the BraveBots did it in rental vehicles and lugging their trailer. The group of about 50 people — 27 students, plus coaches and mentors — left the Upper Peninsula on Sunday, April 13, stayed overnight in Missouri, and put in another 12 hours on the road the next day. The matches began on Thursday the 17th.

The 601 teams who qualified for worlds came from 14 different countries. They were randomly assigned to seven divisions named for famous scientists from history — there was the Galileo Division, Curie Division, Newton Division, etc. In each division, 75 teams (except Curie, which had 76) faced off in series of two-and-a-half-minute matches, trying to score as many points as possible. Rather than playing one-on-one, the teams play in alliances.

The BraveBots, playing in the Archimedes Division, had eight wins and two losses during the qualifying matches and were seeded fifth going into the playoffs. As one of the top eight teams, they got to choose three other teams to ally with. Based on observations of other matches by the BraveBots’ scouts, they chose a team from Israel, one from Illinois and one from Virginia.

During the playoffs, the BraveBots knocked out teams ranked above them and ended up losing to the number one seed. The team from Gladstone took second overall on the Archimedes Court — a major accomplishment, Barron pointed out. And it’s the farthest the BraveBots have ever gone.

“What makes us unique is that we are a small school, from a small community with limited resources, in comparison to the powerhouses we play against. Our main sponsors are EMP, the Gladstone Schools and Main Street Pizza not GM, Ford, Haas or Dow,” Barron said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishments of the 2025 team and grateful for support from our community.”

Anyone interested in helping the BraveBots fund their next missions can send checks c/o Gladstone Robotics to the Gladstone High School, 2100 HWY M-35, Gladstone, MI 49837.