Freshman Brandon Gaines, sophomore Elijah Goins and sophomore Ethan Johnson work to make repairs to the Athens Bible School robot in between rounds.

The Athens Bible School Trojans robotics team, Trobotics, ended its season Sunday, Dec. 5, after reaching the semifinals in the South’s Boosting Engineering, Science, & Technology (BEST) Robotics regional championships held at Auburn University.

ABS outlasted fellow local hub representatives Madison City and Decatur Heritage Christian Academy in the 38-team tournament that drew from the four surrounding states.

“As coaches and mentors, we are proud of the Trobotics accomplishments for 2021,” head coach Scott Britnell said. “While we didn’t win the regional competition, we did fight our way into semifinals and have a lot to be proud of. We are a young team and have lots to learn from this experience.”

In November, ABS won the regionals bid through a second-place showing at the Tennessee Valley BEST local hub held at Calhoun Community College. A 60-person contingent of team members and supporters traveled to Auburn University, the No. 1 college for engineering in Alabama according to U.S. News & World Report, for the weekend highlighting engineering and technology skills and careers.

“Auburn has hosted BEST for almost 20 years because it is an important and valuable program. We see a difference in students who have participated in BEST,” said Dr. Veronica Morin, assistant director of STEM outreach programs at Auburn University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics. “It includes teamwork and collaboration to problem-solve and create a product that is technically sound and marketable. That’s a critical piece; it has to be useful. BEST students, as they enter college, are well-rounded because the program is multifaceted. It incorporates the economics of business with the technical pieces.”

By using the BEST competition as a framework for an after-school Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) program, ABS exposes its students to highly sought-after workforce skills in high-paying careers. Students learn to use current manufacturing tools like a CNC machine and industry-standard software like SolidWorks.

They write programming code using Easy-C and learn industry best practices for collaboration and documentation. ABS takes advantage of BEST events that include business and marketing skills like financial reporting, public speaking, graphics design and content writing for communications.

“We are thrilled that, for many years, students at Athens Bible School have had the opportunity to develop STEM skills beyond the classroom through our robotics program,” ABS Principal Chris Duke said. “We believe Trobotics provides an important stepping stone to future academic and career success by exposing students to a wide range of vital skill sets.”

The 22-member ABS team includes eight girls and 13 boys from grades sixth through 12th, with most participants from the lower grades. Fifteen mentors, who have experience in technical and business fields, guide the students through the six-week preparation followed by the local and regional tournaments. Sponsors help support the team’s need for equipment, tools and supplies.

“It’s a lot of work, but I like learning how to write code that drives the robot through a course and makes it perform specific tasks to score points,” said seventh-grader Caleb Williams, software lead team member. “I think I might want to be a programmer one day, so it’s fun to already be doing that,” he said.

After the weekend competition it was later discovered there had been a scoring error in one of the contests. ABS Trobotics earned second place in the team exhibit and interview portion of the competition.

The ABS team will now debrief and prepare for off-season plans, like participating in a marketing club and hosting summer software training. Sponsorships are available.

— Kate Hargrave contributed to this article