Carla Clark | For The Republic Aditya Bannerjee,from left, Rishi Rao, Kelden Wright and Jiaxuan Wang, all high school seniors and part of Team 4926, take the cover off of the robot during the Robot Reveal at Galactech headquarters, Monday, February 28, 2022.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — A local robotics team will host a competition and charity event this weekend, with groups coming from all over North America to compete.
Team 4926, also known as “GalacTech,” will host the 2022 Indiana Robotics Invitational at Columbus East High School Saturday and Sunday. An opening ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, with matches starting at 10:15 a.m. and continuing on Sunday. There will also be a silent auction to benefit mental health services for youth.
According to Columbus Robotics president and Team 4926 founder Sam Geckler, there is no entry fee for spectators.
The competition’s line-up includes 51 robotics teams. Most are from the United States, but there are also a few from Mexico and Canada. Team 4926 is among the list of competitors.
Indiana Robotics Invitational will include the usual setup for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) events — qualification matches, followed by alliance selections and playoffs — and utilize the organization’s 2022 game, “Rapid React.”
The invitational is also a charity event and will feature a silent auction, which is scheduled to begin Saturday morning and end after the first round of elimination matches on Sunday. According to organizers, proceeds from the auction will benefit the Riley Children’s Mental Health and Behavioral Health program. Payment via cash or check is preferred, but a card reader will be available.
There will also be a school supply drive.
“We ask all competing teams (any anyone else who wants to help!) to bring a backpack filled for an elementary student,” the event website states. “These will be distributed to students in some of the most needy schools in our host team locations.”
The Indiana Robotics Invitational is an off-season event for FRC teams. Geckler said that while the competition is typically held at Lawrence Township schools, both Lawrence North and Lawrence Central High Schools are having some construction work done and were unable to host this year.
A couple of FRC teams from Indiana have been the “historical organizers” for IRI, including the Kil-A-Bytes (Team 1024 – Indianapolis), Cyber Blue (Team 234 – Indianapolis) and the TechnoKats (Team 45 – Kokomo). The event was not held in 2020 and 2021.
