Every Saturday, 20 students gather in a small Bourgade Catholic classroom to contribute to the construction and design of a robot.

While the pressures of competitive robotics can fracture a team, this club’s main objective is to have fun and stick together.

“We go out there to have fun,” junior David Segovia Gutierrez said. “That’s what we’re all about.”

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) calls robotics the “sport of the mind,” but makes sure to emphasize students having fun as one of their core values.

The club has a quart-sized Ziploc bag filled with business cards that have quirky science jokes on the back with “Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!” on the bottom of each card as a simple reminder.

“The kids have fun,” lead moderator Lyn McLaren said. “This is a very fun group of kids and that’s one of the goals.”

Bourgade is unlike any other robotics team. The Electric Eagles go into each competition focusing on growth rather than winning.

“A lot of robotics teams come in with the competitive aspect of always trying to win,” team president and head programmer Johnathon Smolinski said, “This team takes a different perspective on it, which is very interesting, because instead of wanting to win and wanting to do better than everyone else we go into competition with the knowledge that we’re most likely not going to win.”

Smolinski is a senior who has seen the dynamic of the team change from last year, describing the current team as a living organism actively growing and bettering itself.

“A team is not just a bunch of people working together to get a goal done,” he said. “We’re learning new strategies and learning how to fully incorporate those strategies into the team to fully grow everyone rather than just one person by themselves. That’s a really nice aspect to have on a robotics team because when you grow, you learn how to interact with people in a way that you never thought possible.”

Team co-moderator Joel Cejka is proud of the team’s special bond.

“I like the group of kids that we’ve assembled,” he said. “These are people who if they didn’t have this [club], I don’t know how they meet each other… they’re very different personalities, have different experiences, but they love being around each other.”

Students learn electronical and mechanical enineering skills while building the robots they compete with. (Photo by Erica Morris)

Though winning isn’t the main objective for this team, the club had one of their most successful seasons last year.

Last fall, the team earned an eighth-place finish (out of 24 teams) in the Gilbert Christian Robotics Qualifier. In addition, they finished second in the Think Tournament and third in the Motivate Tournament. The club also scored third-place honors for the Rockwell Collins Innovate Award, an honor that recognizes teams that act with gracious professionalism.

With it being the club’s offseason, the team has worked hard with their fundraising to lessen the burden that financial dues have placed on members in years past.

“We’ve learned how important it is to fundraise for your team,” Cejka said. “You have to be creative. We’ve been learning to go out and get support from community organizations and companies.”

From selling snacks from a booth on a Saturday to repairing damaged Chromebooks for the school, the team has been productive in garnering funds for the upcoming season.

More than anything, the team moderators recognize the freedom that an unlimited budget gives the team.

As moderators, McLaren and Cejka serve more as supportive forces behind the students who are in full control of designing that season’s robot.

“We just stand in the background… it’s really the kids that do it,” Cejka said.

As the Electric Eagles await competitive action, the group will continue building their dynamic as a team by learning, growing, and having fun together.

“What you learn is more important than what you win,” McLaren said, and with this team, having fun and forging strong friendships have proven to be more important.