![Team 4536 - The Minutebots [NEW]](/uploads/4/3/8/9/43890635/1467406193.png)
Team History
The MinuteBots were founded at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year by head coach and architect John Lavik and former woodworking teacher Dan Nelson. In its rookie year, the team consisted of only 5 members. These 5 students, along with Lavik and Nelson, joined and competed in the 2013 FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) game, called Ultimate Ascent. That year, the team's robot, "NN," placed 38th out of 63 participating teams at the Minnesota 10,000 Lakes Regional Competition.
The next year, the MinuteBots' membership grew from 5 students to 15. That year, the team also gained 4 new mentors: two employees of 3M, a student at the University Of Minnesota, and a former PTC employee who is now a Vice President at US Bank. At the end of 6-week build season for the 2014 FRC game, called Aerial Assist, the MinuteBots had built their second robot, "Onyx." At the 10,000 Lakes Regional Competition, Onyx was ranked 4th out of the 63 participating teams. Because of the team's high rank, they were able to select an alliance, composed of Harding High School and Eagle Ridge Academy, to compete in the tournament portion of the competition. This alliance was able to make it to the finals of the competition, winning the MinuteBots a place at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Because of a lack of funds, the team had to quickly raise the money needed to travel to St. Louis. Through many generous donations and the help of many parents eager to get involved, the MinuteBots eventually acquired the funds needed to make the journey. Even though the team placed only 76th out of 100 teams in the Galileo Division of the competition, it was able to provide a life changing experience to many of its members. After the World Finals, the team participated in the state competition, where they ranked 5th out of the 30 best teams in Minnesota.
At the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, the MinuteBots gained 11 new members, bringing the total membership to 22. The team attended two game scrimmages, in which they were part of the 4th place and 3rd place alliances, respectively. They also held fundraising events at local grocery stores to raise money and help spread the word about robotics in the Twin Cities. Now, the team is hard at work building their robot for the 2015 season.
The build season started on January 3rd, 2015. The MinuteBots along with other St. Paul teams headed to Harding High School to watch the kick-off live stream where the 2015 game, Recycle Rush, was revealed. During the build season the MinuteBots worked hard to create their main robot, Zenith which was built to make large stacks of totes in a short amount of time. Zenith competed in the Week Zero event hosted by the MinuteBots at their high school before being bagged on the following Tuesday. The MinuteBots' build season didn't end there. The MinuteBots then worked to create their second robot, Zipline, which was able to grab two recycling containers and hold them up in the air for Zenith to place stacks under. Zipline was completed during the six week period between the end of the build season and the beginning of the competition.
At the 2015 10,000 Lakes Competition the MinuteBots were able to earn another chance to participate in the International Championship in St. Louis, Missouri. While the competition started out poorly due to communication issues with Zenith the MinuteBots were able to turn it around. During alliance selection the MinuteBots were selected by the KnightKrawlers, team 2052. The Robocats, team 4198, were also selected by the KnightKrawlers. Together the robots were able to make it into the finals and earn a spot in the championship event. After a succesful fundraising session, the team traveled to Saint Louis once again. There they ranked 52nd in the Carver division and, although they weren't picked for eliminations, the team had a great time and learned a lot! Now, on May 16th, the team will travel to Williams Arena for the second time this year to compete in the Minnesota State Championship.
The next year, the MinuteBots' membership grew from 5 students to 15. That year, the team also gained 4 new mentors: two employees of 3M, a student at the University Of Minnesota, and a former PTC employee who is now a Vice President at US Bank. At the end of 6-week build season for the 2014 FRC game, called Aerial Assist, the MinuteBots had built their second robot, "Onyx." At the 10,000 Lakes Regional Competition, Onyx was ranked 4th out of the 63 participating teams. Because of the team's high rank, they were able to select an alliance, composed of Harding High School and Eagle Ridge Academy, to compete in the tournament portion of the competition. This alliance was able to make it to the finals of the competition, winning the MinuteBots a place at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Because of a lack of funds, the team had to quickly raise the money needed to travel to St. Louis. Through many generous donations and the help of many parents eager to get involved, the MinuteBots eventually acquired the funds needed to make the journey. Even though the team placed only 76th out of 100 teams in the Galileo Division of the competition, it was able to provide a life changing experience to many of its members. After the World Finals, the team participated in the state competition, where they ranked 5th out of the 30 best teams in Minnesota.
At the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, the MinuteBots gained 11 new members, bringing the total membership to 22. The team attended two game scrimmages, in which they were part of the 4th place and 3rd place alliances, respectively. They also held fundraising events at local grocery stores to raise money and help spread the word about robotics in the Twin Cities. Now, the team is hard at work building their robot for the 2015 season.
The build season started on January 3rd, 2015. The MinuteBots along with other St. Paul teams headed to Harding High School to watch the kick-off live stream where the 2015 game, Recycle Rush, was revealed. During the build season the MinuteBots worked hard to create their main robot, Zenith which was built to make large stacks of totes in a short amount of time. Zenith competed in the Week Zero event hosted by the MinuteBots at their high school before being bagged on the following Tuesday. The MinuteBots' build season didn't end there. The MinuteBots then worked to create their second robot, Zipline, which was able to grab two recycling containers and hold them up in the air for Zenith to place stacks under. Zipline was completed during the six week period between the end of the build season and the beginning of the competition.
At the 2015 10,000 Lakes Competition the MinuteBots were able to earn another chance to participate in the International Championship in St. Louis, Missouri. While the competition started out poorly due to communication issues with Zenith the MinuteBots were able to turn it around. During alliance selection the MinuteBots were selected by the KnightKrawlers, team 2052. The Robocats, team 4198, were also selected by the KnightKrawlers. Together the robots were able to make it into the finals and earn a spot in the championship event. After a succesful fundraising session, the team traveled to Saint Louis once again. There they ranked 52nd in the Carver division and, although they weren't picked for eliminations, the team had a great time and learned a lot! Now, on May 16th, the team will travel to Williams Arena for the second time this year to compete in the Minnesota State Championship.