Lakerbots finish strong season competing in world championship in Houston

MEREDITH — The robot built by Lakerbots Team 8046 earned them a trip to the FIRST Championship in Houston, where hundreds of teams put their science and technology skills on display.

While the team finished in the middle of the pack at the world championship event — 45th out of 70 in their bracket — it was a highly successful season for a team of 20 Inter-Lakes Middle High School students.

“Some of the matches didn’t break our way, but we were certainly competitive,” lead mentor Joe Derrick said. “It’s not always your fault that you lose a match. All the teams were really good.”

World championship competition

The 2026 FIRST Championship took place April 30-May 2, at the George R. Brown Convention Center, and involved around 600 teams.

“The competition was tough, but we improved throughout the whole experience, and overall, the kids had a great time,” Derrick said. “The atmosphere was electric.”

FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is a nonprofit organization focused on science, technology, engineering, and math learning, involving thousands of students aged 4 to 18 across the world. The focus is on teamwork, mentorship, creativity, and engineering through a variety of challenges and, notably, the building of a robot.

The Lakerbots faced the top teams in the U.S., as well as teams from Israel, Mexico and Canada. Despite the global competition, the team prepared basically the same way they had for each contest before.

The team had attended a recent competition in a school gym in Falmouth, Maine.

“We normally compete against teams from New England, but in the end, we talk about the same things no matter who we are facing,” Derrick said. 

Derrick said the world championship is unique and different in many ways, but the students felt comfortable right off the bat.

“It is kind of cool to be new, exciting and different, but also familiar, so they can feel empowered to apply things they learned all season,” Derrick said.

The robot

Team members range from seventh through 12th grade, and had been working since February on creating a “complex” robot. Their preparation included design work, building and prototyping using wooden models, 3D printing, and metal models.

The robot — dubbed Cannon — is controlled by a driver using a remote to pick up balls, known in the competition as “fuel,” to be launched into a hoop. There are hundreds of balls laying in a field, and the goal is to pick up as many as possible, drive the robot back to a location, and shoot the fuel into the basket.

The robot has both a manual and automatic mode, where it operates completely autonomously.

Teammates have a wide range of roles, including manufacturing, coding, engineering, software, spirit, and driving. They also explored different roles throughout the season.

In the game, teams win or lose the match based on score, and earn additional ranking points based on specific tasks. In the world championship, the ranking point values were raised significantly to reflect the level of competition.

“All of the teams had gotten better throughout the season, so the level of competition rose so much that those levels needed to be raised,” Derrick said. “Otherwise, there would be no differentiator. It is an indicator that all the teams throughout the country improved so much over the course of the year.”

Derrick said the team qualified at the New England District Championship on April 18, and it was a quick turnaround to ship the robot the following Tuesday.

This meant that any repairs or adjustments needed to be done in Houston. While this presented some minor issues, they were able to implement current-limiting software, to prevent the robot from drawing too much power, and stalling.

“We made some changes and continuously improved,” Derrick said. “We made a new autonomous routine to be compatible with other robots. So that was a cool part of the event, being on the practice field getting to run that.”

A solid season

Derrick praised the team, and focused on a group of seniors who brought exceptional leadership.

Hayden Brunell was the team’s driver and designed the intake system; Aiden Price was one of the lead fabricators and manufacturers; Anthony Surace was involved in the computer numerical control and manufacturing parts; and Wil Fuller joined this season and contributed to the design, while notably helping solve a fuel jamming issue.

“Their effort and dedication was commendable,” Derrick said. “They helped lead a team that had an influx of younger kids, who got a good taste of what it’s like. The seniors inspired them, and built a good base for the future.”

Derrick said the team’s two biggest accomplishments were the IMPACT Award, for the team’s community involvement, and the Quality Award, which celebrates “machine robustness in concept and fabrication.”

“These are two things that a good team should have, not only excellent community service, but also quality engineering,” Derrick said. “These are two aspects our team embodied.”

The IMPACT Award, which the team received at the Pine Tree District event, gave them an automatic entry into the New England District Finals at the Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The award showed what the team does for the community, which included cleaning trash on the road, holding bake sales, and volunteering at the Gilford Regional Foam Recycling Center.

The Lakerbots were commended for their community engagement, and also competed well, with a semifinal bid at the event.

Their success continued at the New England FIRST UNH District event, finishing third out of 38 teams in a competition March 27-29. This is also where they received the Quality Award.

The Lakerbots then placed 14th in their division out of 100 teams at the New England District Finals in April, qualifying them for the Texas contest, for the first time since 2023. Derrick said it was fun for older students to make trip back to Houston, and also exciting for the younger teammates who worked so hard all year.

“Last year, we just missed out, this year we just squeaked in,” Derrick said. “It’s competitive. There are 200 teams from New England, and the top 30 go, so that’s a small portion. Getting there is very rewarding."

Derrick praised the program for creating an environment where kids can engage in real-life problem solving activities. It encourages teamwork and gracious professionalism, which is a key phrase used in FIRST, meaning to treat other people and teams with respect.

“I think the team established itself as a well-respected team in the community, both in the robotics community, and the Lakes Region community,” Derrick said. “I’m very proud of the team, and also thankful for all the community support."

Derrick said he recently went to Moulton Farm wearing a Lakerbots shirt, and was immediately confronted by people interested in how the team did in their competition.

He said the team is happy with what they've achieved, and the robot they created will be put to work during offseason events. This includes Girls Behind the Glass, an event that involves all-female teams designed to encourage more opportunities for female students in STEM. This was created by Lakerbots Team 8046, and co-hosted by the Prospect Mountain High School robotics team. They will be going to Worcester Polytechnic Institute for an offseason event called Battle Cry on Saturday, May 30.

Derrick said a summer camp being held at the Belknap Mill, in Laconia, reached out to the team about coming for a demonstration with the robot in August.

“I asked if they wanted to go down to the camp, being the summer, and they said, 'Of course,'” Derrick said. “The kids get it. It’s nice to be recognized and for them to be able to give back to the community.”