A Richmond secondary school鈥檚 robotics team has returned from the world championships in Houston without a trophy, but their collective heads held very high.
The Burnett boys 鈥� who stunned everyone at the Canadian Pacific Regional Championships in Victoria last month with their wooden robot 鈥� managed to make it all the way to the quarter finals in their division at the worlds last week.
鈥�(They) only lost their final match by one point,鈥� said their proud principal, Wennie Walker, via email.
鈥淭hey were such a hit that one of the NASA engineering mentors took notice of them and have invited the team to the inaugural Canadian International Space Settlement Design Competition in May at UBC. The kids are very excited.鈥�
The Richmond News told last month how the Burnett robotics team pressured their teacher into entering the Canadian Pacific Regional Championships in Victoria, despite having barely enough cash to build a robot.
Seeded last of 35 in a competition awash with decorated and richly sponsored rivals from around the world, the rookie team鈥檚 cheap and cheerful 125-pound, 30-square-inch wooden invention won the team alliance category and were on their way to Houston.
The boys then spent the next couple of weeks frantically fundraising to pay the estimated $12,000 for the surprise trip to Texas, where they competed with around 300 teams from 72 countries.
Four teams from B.C., including Burnett, qualified for the world finals.
