Press Release from the Valley Regional Robotics Team

One of only 24 high school robotics teams across the state to qualify for the competition, Valley made it into the final round at the recent CIAC State Championship in Glastonbury.

On June 24, the Valley Regional Robotics Team, Team 5746 Human Error!, competed in the CIAC State Championship at Glastonbury High School. After the qualifying rounds, they became part of the first seed alliance, joining with teams from Southington and Milford and ultimately making it all the way to the final round of competition, where they were defeated by only seven points in the third contest of the best of two out of three play with the fourth seed alliance.

To be invited for advanced competition, Human Error! previously participated in the NE FIRST Robotics Waterbury District Competition at Wilby High School in Waterbury from March 10 to 12 where they finished eighth out of 39 teams in the qualifying rounds of the competition, earning them a guaranteed spot in the competition finals where they were eliminated in the third round. They also competed in the NE FIRST Robotics Connecticut District Competition from March 31 to April 2 in Hartford, where they finished 12th out of 40 teams in the qualifying rounds of competition and, after being chosen as an alliance member for one of the finalists, were again eliminated in the third round of the competition finals.

This is the first time in the team’s eight-year history that it has qualified for advanced competition, earning spots in both the district and state competitions, although they chose not to participate in the district competition because of timing and cost.

Team members included seniors Julia Donahue (captain) and Madison Sedgewick; juniors Alex Gatto, Connor O’Rourke, Ella Murray, Will Fleischer, Cooper Edwards, and Sean Magee; as well as sophomore Nicolas Cartagena. J.L. Kopcha, a material processing, manufacturing, and construction teacher in the Valley Regional Career & Technology Department, advises the team.

For more information about Valley’s robotics team, how to make a donation, or how to become a team sponsor for the 2024 season, contact JLKopcha@reg4.k12.ct.us . To follow the team on Instagram, see @5746humanerror or visit their website at www.humanerror5746.weebly.com to see the history of the team’s robotics journey.