Robotics team 9848 GearView at the FIRST Tech Challenge New Jersey (FTCNJ) state championship on March 15.
Charging Pioneers of Clearview High (right side of ring) also competed in the championship by shooting balls into a basket.
The Clearview High School robotics team 9848 GearView qualified for the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics World Championship after their performance at the state-level contest last month at Hillsboro High School in North Jersey.
According to team FTC Robotics co-coach Ruth Barreiro, 22 Clearview students in the 9848 and Charging Pioneers teams competed across multiple events against other New Jersey schools. One event involved using a wheeled robot to collect balls and shoot them in a basket.
The Pioneers made the playoffs but missed a world championship.
“Team 20204 – the Charging Pioneers – had an amazing performance, winning three matches which earned them a spot in the playoffs,” said Barreiro. “Team 9848 achieved the New Jersey state record of 309 points, beating the previous record of 240 points, (and) was on the finalist alliance of their division.”
The team’s second place Inspire Award, she added, qualifies it for the world championship for the third consecutive year.
The world competition is the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) championship and will take place from Wednesday, April 29, to Saturday, May 2, in Houston, Texas.
“The 2026 FIRST Championship will bring together more than 1,000 student teams and 50,000 attendees from around the world for the ultimate STEM celebration,” according to a FIRST spokesperson.
GearView will be one of those teams, all of whom are competing for the title of the best robotics team in the world for students in grades nine through 12. To pay for travel expenses to Houston and robot parts, the team is hosting a fundraiser on GroupRaise.com, with a goal of $400.
