This past weekend, CHCA’s High School Beak Squad robotics team participated in their first competition of the 2025 season. The team traveled to Huntsville, AL, to compete against 40-plus other teams. In addition to nine other teams from Ohio, other competitors hailed from Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, and even Mexico.

Due to extreme weather, the Qualification Matches were condensed into one long day on Friday. Playoffs began first thing on Saturday, wrapping up around noon in hopes that local teams would be able to travel home safely before the bad weather settled in. Many teams, like Beak Squad, stayed an extra night to shelter-in-place as a safety precaution before returning home Sunday.

After playing all 11 Qualification Matches on Friday, Beak Squad was ranked #2 with a record of 10–1. On Saturday, as Captain of the #2 Alliance, Beak Squad was undefeated through Semi-Finals before ultimately succumbing to the #1 Alliance by 5 points in Finals.

In addition to Rank #2 and Competition Finalists, the team was also awarded the Industrial Design Award for their 2025 Robot, “Pearl.” This award celebrates the team that demonstrates industrial design principles, striking a balance between form, function, and aesthetics. The judges stated,

"From their sleek reinforced elevator down to their clean cornered bumpers, this team soared above the competition. Their robust design with low center of gravity and quick programming allowed for wheelies as a feature, not a bug. They may have left their leaf blowers at home this season [nod to Beak Squad’s 2024 award-winning robot, Fantom], but the judges are still beaked out about this team."

The Beak Squad looks forward to their second competition “at home” at Xavier’s Cintas Center on March 27-29. The event is free and open to the public as well as streamed live online at https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires8

The Beak Squad would like to thank their Corporate Sponsors: J&J MedTech, Redwood Technology Ventures, Trew, The Brown Dog Café, Cortex, Sonshine Covers, and JZ Enterprises as well as their generous Community Supporters whose donations and gifts-in-kind support both the current high school competition season as well as invest in and contribute towards the continued development of CHCA Robotics Programming Grades 3-12.

To hear more about the squad’s 2025 robot, Pearl, check out this feature on the FIRST Robotics YouTube channel.