Otsego robotics team qualifies for World Finals again

Team members and mentors for the Otsego High School robotics team–the Alotobots–were all smiles at the Michigan State Championship. (Photo provided)

The Otsego High School robotics team–the Alotobots–is team number 5152. (Photo provided)

Competition at the Michigan State Finals was tough, with the Alotobots from Otsego High School finishing with a record of 6-5-1. (Photo provided)

By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor

Houston, here we come … again.
That’s what members of the Otsego High School robotics team—the Alotobots—are saying after qualifying for the FIRST Robotics World Finals for the second straight year.
The Alotobots punched their ticket to the World Finals in Houston thanks to their strong showing at the FIRST Robotics Michigan State Championship at Saginaw Valley State University on Saturday, April 8.
Otsego High School/Middle School computer science teacher Michael Miller is the coach for the team.
“To qualify for the World Finals for the second year in a row is a huge accomplishment,” he said. “These kids have worked so hard and it’s so rewarding to see all of their hard work pay off like this.”
The World Finals will feature up to 600 of the best high school robotics teams from throughout the country and the globe.
“This really is a world-wide event,” Miller said. “Last year we competed with a team from Australia. There are also teams from Mexico, Israel and Spain, just to name a few. I even saw a country listed I hadn’t heard of before.
“It’s just such an amazing opportunity for our kids to interact with other kids from so many different cultures. Yeah, we’re going there for the robotics competition. But so much bigger than that and we really encourage all of our kids to talk to kids from other countries and get to know more about them.”
The World Finals begin Wednesday, April 19, and run through Saturday, April 22.
The Alotobots qualified for the State Championship based on their point total from the two district competitions in which they participated.
At the State Championship, the Otsego team finished the qualifying round with a 6-5-1 record. But it was selected highly for an alliance, which earned some bonus points.
By the time the competition was over, the Alotobots placed 16 at the State Finals. More importantly, their total score from the season ranked 76th in the state, with the top 86 qualifying for the World Finals.
There were 479 FIRST high school teams throughout the state.
“I was sweating it out a little bit as I waited to hear the final results and see if we’d finished in the top 86 overall,” Miller said. “But the kids did an amazing job and earned their place at the World Finals.
“And I know that having 86 teams from Michigan make to the worlds sounds like a lot, but our state has the highest robotics participation of any state in the country.”
As they did last year, the Alotobots are currently in the process of raising funds to help offset the cost of traveling to Houston.
Anyone interested in donating can do so at https://tinyurl.com/Alotobots2023.
“The plan is to have the kids take care of their plane tickets, with the team covering the hotel cost,” Miller said. “If we raise enough and can help reimburse some of the plane fare, then we will definitely to that.”
The goal is to raise $10,000 to $12,000.
A total of 28 individuals associated with the team—Miller and four other mentors in addition to 23 students—are planning to make the trip.
“We want to make this as much fun and as educational of an experience as possible,” Miller said. “And even though we went to Houston last year, only five or six of the kids on this year’s team went. We have a big freshmen group and some other new kids this year.”
Miller also thanked all of the team’s sponsors, including Peleton, Tengam and the Otsego Schools Foundation.
“Robotics is an expensive endeavor, there’s no question about that,” Miller said. “Our entry fees alone for our four competitions—the two district competitions, state and worlds—was about $15,000. So, we couldn’t do this without all of our amazing sponsors. We are so grateful for everything they do for us.”