Upper St. Clair High School’s robotics team TeraBridges 18603 finished eighth and earned the 1st Place Connect Award (a judged honor recognizing the team’s exceptional outreach efforts and industry engagement) within the 64-team division at the 2025 FIRST Championship, held April 16–19, 2025, in Houston, Texas.
Over the past eight months, our team collaborated with more than 17 STEM professionals across the Pittsburgh area, gaining valuable insights, feedback on robot design and programming, and mentorship opportunities. Through these industry professional visits, our team secured the 1st place connect award in the Edison Division.
Competing in the Edison Division, TeraBridges finished eighth out of 64 teams after 10 intense qualification matches over three days, with a final record of 8 wins to two losses. Based on our performance, our team earned the role of seventh alliance captain in the Edison playoffs, selecting Elephant Tech 25218 from Shanghai, China and MECH 17969 from Denver as alliance partners.
Out of the Box 7244, another team from Pennsylvania, brought a practice field. Through a collaborative funding effort, we purchased the conference room and utilized the field for practice.
The competition included teams from all over the world. Our team got the opportunity to meet teams from countries such as China, Kazakhstan, Romania, South Korea, and Libya.
In preparation for world, our team created a lot of merchandise, including buttons and shirts. We made over 3500 buttons! At Houston, we exchanged our merchandise with other teams.
Many sponsors provided donations, helping make the trip possible. Thanks to all the donators for your support, we couldn’t have participated at the world championship without you.