Congratulations to our Team Waffles!
Assets robotics Team Waffles won four out of 11 matches at the FTC World Championship against the best teams in the world. The competition was held in Houston, Texas from April 17 - 22. Team Waffles ranked 39 out of 48 teams.
Team Waffles was selected by judges for the third place 2023 FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Championship Edison Division Connect Award.
According to the FTC website, judges give this award to teams that connect with their local science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community. A true FIRST team is more than a sum of its parts and recognizes that engaging their local STEM community plays an essential part in their success. The team that wins the Connect Award actively seeks and recruits engineers and explores the opportunities available in the world of engineering, science, and technology.
“The students had a blast and got to meet and bond with many other teams, and STEM companies and were able to connect with many universities,” said Coach Peter Han.
“It was fun,” said Leilei '25. “My favorite memory was being with our team, and enjoying the experience. I feel privileged to be here.”
“It literally means the world to me,” said Fay '23. I’ve been in robotics since I was a freshman. I always thought of this as an unachievable, imaginary thing, that I would never be able to attend by my senior year. But dreams could be achieved.”
There were from across the globe competing from New York to California and international teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, India, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Romania, South Africa, and Thailand.
Team Waffles is lead by Coach Peter Han, Coach Miles Yamamoto, and Coach Emi Hagiwara.
About 7,000 teams competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics league this season across the United States and 23 countries. Of those teams, over 190 teams participated in the World Championships in Houston to compete in four divisions. The winners from four divisions compete for the world champion title on the last day of the event on Saturday.
Team Waffles started in 2018 at Assets School. In just five years, the team has won the State Championship. As of August 2022, 43 students have graduated as Robotics participants, most pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) degrees post-high school.
Team MEAF Captain Aren '24, was selected as one of 209 Dean’s list finalists at the January State Robotics Championships. He was chosen because of his contributions to the team and outreach efforts. His outreach efforts included helping Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and showcasing our robotics efforts at the Okinawan Festival. He attended the FTC World Champion to represent Hawaii and Assets School.