Regis Jesuit’s very own Robotics Club is gearing up for this year’s competition.

This co-ed club, which has experienced exponential growth throughout its existence, now has about 30 members, and has won several national titles. Now, they are back to continue their winning streak. This year’s competition begins on January 4^th.

Once the competition is announced, the team has only six weeks to design, build, and program their robot.

“We never really know what we’re going to get!” says Elizabeth Lopez ’14, who is the head of outreach. She has been involved in the club for all of her four years at Regis Jesuit. “One year we had to build a robot that hung tubes and another year we had to build a robot that had to lift itself up and hang from a bar. Once we had to build one that shot basketballs or Frisbees, or climbed up a pole really fast.”

Although the idea of building a machine that can move, climb, and throw may seem daunting, Lopez says that the team has seen much success in the past. “My freshman year was our first year as a team, and we won The Rookie Seed Award and the Rookie All-Star Award, which got us to the national competition, or I guess the world competition, in St. Louis,” says Lopez. “We met teams from Australia and Japan and it was really fun.”

The Robotics Team also won the Judge’s Award the following year, and the Woodie Flowers award last year, an honor given to the team with the best mentors.

The club is open to anyone interested in designing and programming a functioning robot. “Anyone can join the club, but a bit of training is required before working on the actual robot,” says Lopez. “But what you put into it you’re going to get out of it. So the more times you go to meetings, the better job you’re going to get when it comes to the competition, and the more fun it’s going to be.”

The Robotics Club is a diverse bunch. “It’s actually not just a bunch of nerds, like everyone thinks it is,” Lopez says with a laugh. “It’s a lot of cool people… a lot of theater people, a lot of people from football that you wouldn’t expect to be there.”

Throughout their time together, the team has bonded tremendously. “It definitely gave me a place to go, and kind of a home and a family, so I’m hoping that’s what it is for all my underclassmen,” says Lopez.

Although it is her last year on the team, Lopez is more excited than ever. “I’m most excited to be able to be with my underclassmen,” she concludes. “I already know the ropes, and it’s time to teach them and let them lead, and it’s going to be a lot of fun!”