The robotics team, The Body Electric, competed in the quarterfinals of the Chesapeake District championship this past weekend after weeks of preparation. After a strong showing at this weekend’s tournament, the team now looks to Worlds, where they will be competing against 900 international teams.

After reaching semifinals in two district competitions in March, the team qualified for the district championship held at the UMD Xfinity Center April 9. The team’s success at the district competitions placed them in a raffle, which they won, for a spot at the FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) Robotics World Championships in St. Louis April 28.

If the team makes it to the elimination rounds at the world championships, this will be their best season ever, team mentor J.J. Biel-Goebel said.

FIRST competitions combine the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology, recognizing the mental gymnastics it takes to build a functioning robot, according to their website.

“It’s more of a sport for the mind than anything else,” Biel-Goebel said.

At the beginning of January, The Body Electric had six weeks before the first competition to build a robot that could overcome various obstacles, including drawbridges and sliding walls, as well as roll or throw boulders into the opposing team’s tower to score points.

“This particular year’s challenge has been the most ambitious I’ve seen,” judge adviser Philip Ardanuy said, noting the course’s complicated components.

In the preliminary rounds at the district championships, the team formed an alliance with two randomly selected teams to compete against another three-team alliance. Each of the top eight teams then picked two teams for an alliance in the elimination rounds.

Mostly due to connectivity and battery problems with the robot, The Body Electric finished preliminary rounds with a ranking of 51 out of 58 teams, however they were still selected by a top three team for an alliance in quarterfinals.

“We have the most complex robot we’ve ever built,” junior Ari Mindell said. “It’s definitely caused us a lot of problems, but I think getting it to work has been a really big accomplishment for us.”

The team is now gearing up towards Worlds, where they hope to improve their communication for an overall better performance, Mindell said.

In her freshman year, junior Grace Montagnino never imagined she would be able to attend worlds and has come to appreciate the team atmosphere.

“I love the challenge, I love the creative thinking and I love the teamwork,” Montagnino said. “I love the team.”