For the Midnight Cicadas, Globe Unified School District’s robotics team, the competition is fierce and the road to achievement is inevitable.

On Friday, Dec. 6, robotics teams from Globe, Miami, and San Carlos held an open house and scrimmage to show off their highly impressive skills. One of the Midnight Cicadas teams recently won a tournament in Heber, which earned them a slot at the state championship in February. In an attempt to fund their attendance, the group is accepting fully-refundable Arizona tax credit donations. Donations can be made in person or online at: https://www.globeschools.org/domain/242.

Midnight Cicadas mentor, Darrel Yerkovich, broke down the different teams and groups involved in robotics. He listed four levels of teams, including a Jr. Lego League (K-4), Lego League (4-8), First Tech Challenge (7- 12 that were competing on Friday), and their First Robotics Competition team (8-12). “Given the current structure of our program a GUSD student has a K-12 robotics pipeline available. Miami and San Carlos also participate in First Tech Challenge which is a great step ahead for a student and would also make a transition to FRC much easier,” said Yerkovich. One unique thing that the group is doing is allowing for Memorandums of Understanding that allow the group to accept San Carlos USD and Miami USD students onto the Globe USD First Robotics Competition Team. According to Yerkovich, operating a FRC team is a fairly costly endeavor so from an economic standpoint it makes more sense to operate one team in the region. “Of course having only one team makes transportation to and from meetings a challenge for some students –– a challenge that we hope one day to resolve.”

Yerkovich also commented on the pace of a FTC event, stating it is hectic and a high-stress environment, but for a scrimmage like the one held on Friday, there is more cooperation between the teams. “I was very happy to see Globe, Miami and San Carlos teams working together to solve technical issues. Teams were sharing wheels, controllers, learning code from one another, discussing rules and strategy,” said Yerkovich. The cooperation between Globe, Miami, and San Carlos will be put to the test Jan. 11 when all three schools send teams to the Valley Christian Qualifier in Chandler.

Resolution Copper’s, Bryan Seppala was in attendance at the scrimmage to the support a growing interest in robotics. “I couldn’t be more proud of the Globe USD Robotics program. As a team mentor since 2014, I have seen the program grow immensely. Globe USD is the model for robotics, not only in rural Arizona but in the entire country,” said Seppala. “The addition of Miami and San Carlos’ participation strengthens this even more and creates a regional hub for robotics in the Copper Triangle.” Resolution Copper recently entered into a multiyear partnership with Globe Robotics to support and fund a new competition travel trailer, a vinyl cutter, CNC router, computers and other infrastructure needed for their continued success. “Resolution Copper’s partnership with the district has left such a positive impact on both the robotics program and the community,” added Seppala. “I look forward to continuing my role as a team mentor and watching the program’s continued success for many years to come.”