Milford Robotics Team Wins Division At World Championship Competition

MILFORD, CT – Milford Robotics Team MOJO Reached Einstein Round in the FIRST Championship held in Houston, TX.

“We are proud of what we accomplished as a team.” Gavin Nett, a member of MOJO, said. “We’re grateful to our coaches and mentors for giving us this amazing opportunity.”

On April 22, Milford MOJO, FIRST Robotics Competition Team 8085, had high hopes of demonstrating their skills and getting picked up by an alliance to play in the playoffs.

However, their impressive performance in the qualifying rounds ranked them 7th in their division, making them alliance captains and allowing them to choose their playoff partners.

Milford MOJO selected a fellow team from New England, Team 6328 Mechanical Advantage from Littleton, Mass., Team 972 Iron Claw from Los Gatos, Calif., and Team 687 The Nerd Herd from Carson, Calif., to form their alliance.

After losing their opening match of the double-elimination tournament, the alliance had to win four straight matches to advance to the best two out of three finals.

During eliminations, the team faced tough competition but showed resilience and determination. They made strategic decisions, including putting in their fourth alliance partner during a crucial match, which helped them secure the win that advanced their alliance to the division finals.

In the division finals, MOJO’s alliance came back from a loss in the first match to win the last two and earn them the title of alliance captain of the Archimedes Division Winning Alliance -advancing them to the coveted championship “Einstein” round, where they were eventually eliminated.

Though MOJO didn’t win it all, just making it to Einsteins was a great accomplishment as they became the first 8000 team ever to reach the Einstein round.

“Competing against teams from around the world on the scale of the world championship was a unique and amazing experience,” Nett said.

The opportunity to compete in Houston would not have been possible without the support of their sponsors: OTIS Elevator, Technology Associates, Schick, Lockheed-Martin/Sikorsky, Raytheon Technologies, Optimum, Avangrid, Bowman Signs, and Costco, along with very generous individuals.

Businesses interested in future sponsorship of the team should visit milfordmojo.org.

Milford Robotics will participate in The Great Give, May 3-4. You can find them at https://www.thegreatgive.org/organizations/milford-robotics.