A team from this year’s robotics program from Central Middle School (CMS) will be competing at the state level for the first time in three years. The Nuclear Knights team from the First Tech Challenge (FTC) program placed second overall in qualifications matches and third place after finals playoffs at a competition held on Nov. 23 at Prior Lake High School and will go on to compete at state in February 2025.

The FTC season kicks off in September, with seventh and eighth grade students designing a robot to meet a specified challenge. This year’s Eden Prairie program consists of eight teams, which met for two hours three days a week during an 11-week build season prior to competition.

During qualification matches at competition, teams are assigned to another team, which becomes their alliance. They compete with one other team in their round and work together to score points. During the final playoffs, the teams get to choose their own alliance based on strategy. In the November competition, the Nuclear Knights formed an alliance with the Tempest team from Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul.