Bellaire’s robotics team has done it again. After a year of unsuccessful attempts at victory, Team 2585 Impact won first place in the Houston Independent School District’s Midway tournament. This being the first time in a year since their last victory, the win brought some well needed morale to the team and provided the necessary motivation for the team to prepare for the next robotics competition in January.

The competition, which started in late July, was a basketball-style game in which competitors were to build a robot designed to throw a 4 inch ball into a hoop. The objective was to throw as many of those balls into the goal as possible while providing a good defense in case the other team decides to play offense. And all this has to fit in a robot that is 18 inches cubed.

However, along with those problems, they had other more concerning issues as well. The team started construction in late October, months after the start of the competition. But they pulled through, working over the Thanksgiving break to make a robot that could maximize scoring potential. And because of that, they pulled through.

The team will be heading to the State competition in January, as well as focusing on the new FIRST Robotics Competition coming out next year.