SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The South Lake Tahoe GigaBites Robotics team shined recently at the Nevada state competition, doing well enough to qualify for the FIRST Tech Challenge Premier Event in the Netherlands July 1-5.
The South Lake Tahoe team qualified for the Northern Nevada regional contest and then headed to Las Vegas for the state championship with 23 other teams. The top two teams in Las Vegas are heading to the FIRST World Championship in Houston, while the teams in third, fourth, and fifth place earned a spot at one of eight global events.
South Lake Tahoe chose the Netherlands for their global competition.
While in Las Vegas, the team won a third-place Inspire award. This award is based both on their robot’s performance and the team’s community outreach. The South Lake Tahoe team spends time in the community with kid camps, teaching the younger generation about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and making it more accessible for all.
2025 is the team’s fourth season. In 2023, they won the Nevada State Championship, and in 2024, they made it to the semifinals.
This year’s robot challenge was “Into the Deep.” Robots are created to handle the task outlined in THIS VIDEO. Teams go against other teams in winning the challenge involving humans (or specimens) and blocks.
There are ten members on the South Lake Tahoe team, and their goal is to get all ten to the Netherlands by fundraising. (Go Fund Me here)
“Our team relies on community funding, and of course, going to the Netherlands is an immense expense,” explained team lead Arya Saini. “We hope to get publicity within our local community to gain sponsors and share our mission of spreading STEM throughout our community.”
There is only one individual award during the FIRST competition, the Dean’s Award. Three finalists from the Nevada championship were chosen, a total of 229 worldwide. From that group, ten in the world are given the Dean’s Award. Arya was selected after an interview process to be one of the three from Nevada, and she is moving on to the final step in April in Houston, Texas.
The South Lake Tahoe Team: Connor (Team Captain), Arya (Outreach Lead), Logan (Robot Lead), Jackson (Robot Lead), Bodie (Coding Lead), and members Josie, Jacob, Xal, Maddy, and Carter. They are coached by Monique, Michelle, David, and David.
Founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global nonprofit (501(c)(3)) organization that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12). Because their programs are More Than Robots®, FIRST participants are guided by a signature set of Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements.
