The Port Townsend FIRST Robotics Competition “Roboctopi” team headed into competition at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish from Feb. 28 through March 1, and they were so spent after their “very successful” efforts that team mentor Brian Morningstar noted the students took the following Monday and Tuesday off from their shop for “a well-deserved rest” and homework catch-up time.

Out of the 12 qualification matches the Roboctopi played, they racked up seven wins and five losses, and finished 14th of the 37 teams attending the Glacier Peak event.

As for the playoffs, the Roboctopi were the second pick of Alliance No. 6, racking up four wins and two losses before they were eliminated in the finals.

According to Morningstar, the Roboctopi were awarded 40 district points for their finishing position at the Glacier Peak event. But what does that mean?

“Those points will add to any points we get for our second event,” Morningstar said, referring to the Roboctopi’s follow-up round of competition at Bellingham High School from March 20 through 22. “Then, all 150 teams in the Pacific Northwest District will get ranked overall by FIRST Washington, and a select number that qualify will be offered positions at districts in Cheney from April 1 through 4.”

After the Pacific Northwest District event, Morningstar explained the winning teams will be ranked again, and the top teams will be offered slots at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) World Championships in Houston, Texas, from April 15 through 18.

“And that completes our competition season,” Morningstar said.

In the meantime, the team’s financial obligations are far from over.

“When we sign up for competition, we pay a registration fee for two regional events, which includes districts, if we qualify,” Morningstar said. “Hotels and transportation costs at all events are the team’s responsibility. As the potential increases of moving forward in the rankings, concerns about the team’s finances ratchet up exponentially.”

As a result, the Roboctopi continue to seek donations and sponsorships. Even as the students meet to devise battle plans for their next event and repair and rebuild their damaged robot’s components, they’re also weighing whether to stage one more open house event on Wednesday, March 18, to get the word out to the public and allow their current sponsors a second chance to attend.