ViperBots team Leviathan 18030 made a powerful impression at the FTC World Championship, placing second among many teams from around the globe in a high-stakes competition held in Houston, Texas. Over four intense days of competition, Leviathan went head-to-head with top teams from around the globe, all showcasing robots they had spent months designing, building, and perfecting. Despite the high stakes, team members said the experience was both fun and unforgettable.
“I’ve always liked robotics and engineering since I was young, so I decided to join FTC in high school,” sophomore Brett King said. “Worlds was a lot of fun, we ended up doing pretty well and we ended up being the second place team in the world.”
That success didn’t come overnight. According to King, the team dedicated hundreds of hours to refining their robot and sharpening their strategy.
“Throughout the summer and this year, we’ve been doing a lot of practice and putting a lot of time into robotics,” King said. “We had a lot of weeks where I probably put in over 40 hours.”
In addition to long hours building and programming, the team worked with mentors and companies throughout the year to improve their design.
“We had a lot of outreaches with different companies who taught us different things about robotics,” King said. “Also, just talking to other teams and looking at other designs helped us figure out what to improve.”
For senior Celina Yang, robotics was a bridge to her future. Yang plans to study computer science in college, and mentioned how robotics gave her hands-on experience in the field.
“I pursued robotics because I was interested in computer science, and it’s a career I want to go into in the future,” Yang said.
Reflecting on the competition, Yang described the World Championship as “really cool and surreal.”
“It was really cool because you’re seeing all the top teams in the world and you’ve watched videos about them,” Yang said. “The skill level of everyone there is so high.”
Despite their initial expectations, the team’s performance exceeded their own hopes.
“It feels really surprising,” Yang said. “We didn’t think we were going to place that high. We were just trying to have a good time there.”
She added that the biggest challenge was standing out at the world level.
“Everyone’s so good, so we had to figure out what we were best at and strategize from there,” Yang said.
She offered thanks to the team’s coach, Mr. Bowen, for his leadership and encouragement while keeping the team focused and leading them to success at the FTC Worlds Championship.
“He was such an awesome team coach and really helped keep the team focused,” Yang said.
With their impressive showing at the World Championship, team Leviathan 18030 not only earned a place among the global elite but also demonstrated the power of dedication, teamwork, and a passion for robotics.
