Some Bloomington South students are currently competing for an IU affiliated robotics team that is ranked second in the world. ICE Robotics is a First Tech Challenge (FTC) team that competes on a circuit with a presence in more than 30 countries, spread amongst 7000 different teams. Out of everyone involved in robotics in the Bloomington area, this team is made of mostly BHSS students.

The members of the team jumped at the chance to create new opportunities for themselves, which is how the IU affiliation came about. It was decided that it would be best for growth and development of the team if they could move away from the BHSS affiliation. South does still have its own robotics team, but the members of ICE Robotics compete on a different circuit. Junior Dianna Lynch said, “I’m excited to see how [the South Robotics team] does.” 

After the move, ICE Robotics had next to nothing. All of the previous resources and contacts that had been used during past seasons belonged to BHSS, so the team had to start from scratch. Through the very few sponsors they have, and connections from members of the team, they managed to land a sponsorship from Indiana University’s Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. This was a huge gain of resources for the team, and it is something that has played a significant part in the success of their season. Lynch said, “[the team] likes to think of robotics as the closest thing [there is] in high school to engineering.” The team used their critical thinking skills, and they managed a great success. “We have been able to grow a lot from previous years, and I think that having the freedom to explore robotics mostly independently has been a really good opportunity for me,” sophomore Sean Borneman said. 

Overall this team has put in a massive amount of effort and it has clearly paid off with the success they have had. When asked about this season, Lynch said, “it’s a lot of work that you have to put in, but it’s the most rewarding work that I have ever done.”