Apr. 1—Students from dozens of schools spent Easter weekend in Washington looking for a lot more than chocolate eggs. Thousands of visitors made their way to Washington for the First Robotics competition at Washington High School.

“This is really cool, because I am the lead mentor for our robotics team. We participate in the First Robotics Competition and I am really happy we can bring this big competition to Washington,” said WHS Computer Science and Robotics teacher Matt Riney. “The kids are really into it because they have this creation they made. They want it to do well. They built it from the ground up and they are excited to showcase their abilities and to show what this thing they created can do.”

“This is really exciting to have people come to town for this. We are a smaller school and they are seeing what we have to work with. This is Hatchets Robotics and Hatchets pride,” said WHS senior Hallie Hill. “This is the first real southern Indiana event. There are not a lot of teams in southern Indiana and it is nice not to have to travel to compete.”

Teams began assembling in Washington on Thursday in preparation for a competition that has been months in the making.

“We started working as a group in August starting to learn what we do. The actual competition starts Jan. 6. That is when we begin building the robot for this competition,” said Washington senior Aleida Sanchez who is a member of one of the two teams competing. “There is a lot of collaboration. We divide into different groups. Some take building, some work on the code for the robot and others who wire it.”

“I was part of the design, but we keep working together and I enjoy working with my area to make their areas easier to do,” said WHS senior Elijah Parsons. “It’s been busy. We started in January and we have been putting in 20-hour weeks since then. We have put a lot of work into this robot and it feels great to watch it compete.”

The robotics teams in some ways mirror sports like auto racing. There are design teams, construction crews, even specialized pit and repair crews.

“I am part of the team that fixes the robot. Sometimes it can break down in the middle of a match and afterwards I help put it back together. My specialty is the climber,” said WHS freshman Grant Fry.

With hundreds of students on dozens of teams participating in First Robotics community support has been key in making it happen.

“The response has been overwhelmingly positive. We have a great community that has come out and volunteered,” said Riney. “The city brought out some temporary transformers because it takes a lot of power to run these machines. I can’t believe the amount of positive energy we have here to support our schools and our kids.”

“This is a huge event. Most people don’t realize how big this event is,” said Washington Mayor David Rhoads. “It is huge for Washington and WHS.”

The event was sponsored by Toyota and Vincennes University. While everyone wants to hold up the championship trophy at the end of the event, there are a lot more ways to walk away from this competition as a winner.

“I am going to walk away with more friendships than I started with. More bonds with my peers at my school and experiences to tell my family and my friends,” said Fry.

“We have a really nice robot. Even if we do not come home with a trophy, if we can get enough to go onto the state championships that will be good,” said Parsons.

By hosting the event organizers are hoping to send a message to students and the state alike.

“Hosting this feels absolutely surreal,” said Sanchez. “I’ve been doing this for four years and I have been to plenty of competitions but it has never been here at home. It is so cool to walk into the Hatchet House and see the game field.”

“When this is over and everyone is packing up to leave that they realize Washington is on the map for STEM education,” said Riney. “I want people to see Washington as the STEM capital of southwest Indiana.”