by Trevor Hass
Sports Reporter
The Cybernetic Crusaders had a very eventful and memorable day at the state tournament. At school, the robot they designed was scoring close to 600 points. At the tournament, the team advanced to the finalists for mechanical design. This award recognizes a team that designs and develops a mechanically sound robot that is durable, efficient and highly capable of performing challenge missions.
This was an impressive accomplishment for a first-year team, when one considers that of the original 632 teams, the Crusaders placed in the top six. The team also received the first place core value award for gracious professionalism. This award recognizes a team whose members show one another, and other teams, respect at all times. They recognize that both friendly competition and mutual gain are possible, during and outside of competition. This award is particularly meaningful because it reflects the principles and values taught at their school, St. John Lutheran in Elk River.
In summary, there are three main areas for awards: robot, project and core values. At the regional tournament, the team won an award for robot design. At the sectional tournament, the team won an award for its project. Finally, at the state tournament, the team won the core value award for gracious professionalism.
The Cybernetic Crusaders thrived at the state competition.
“The team had an amazing season and won awards in all three categories,” Crusaders coach David Inselmann said. “Of course, what they truly gained were increased skills, abilities, confidence, teamwork and had fun doing it.”
The other team that is based in Elk River – the FLL Minions – did well at state also. The Minions were finalists in the area of teamwork. They did not win any awards; however, these awards are extraordinary difficult to earn. Minnesota has the highest concentration of teams in the entire world.
At the tournament, it was stated that this tournament is the most competitive at the level it is at because of the number of teams. The final count (the numbers kept changing) was 632 teams in Minnesota, and 61 of them made it to the state level – less than 10 percent.