2026 Bot Intro and its Sussex Scrimmage Debut
We are excited to introduce our 2026 REBUILT competition robot, Gary, recently debuted at the Sussex Scrimmage.
We had a great day testing our robot and connecting with the other Wisconsin teams. Since then, the mechanical team has been modifying our hopper and shooter to make them more effective; electrical has been installing light gates; software has been adding features, tuning, and debugging code; and the drive team is exposing all the failure modes! đ Our Field Team has built field elements for half of the field, and they are currently working on the full field. Lastly, the strategy team is training our teammates for the scouting activities at this weekendâs Lakeland District competition.
FIRST Leadership Award – Anvi Mathur and Audrey Ivey
The FIRST Leadership Award recognizes exceptional student leaders who demonstrate technical expertise, further the mission of FIRST, and exemplify our core values. We are excited to introduce our nominees, Anvi Mathur and Audrey Ivey. We look forward to cheering them on and watching them advance.
Anvi Mathur has been part of the FIRST community for 8 years, in 3 states, and she is in her second year with BEAST. Sheâs currently one of our electrical leads, and she will serve as a FIRST Ambassador at Wisconsin events this year. Anvi even designed a high-speed modification for a planetary motor, which has now been adopted commercially.
Audrey Ivey has been a valuable teammate for three years, and this year, she is one of the mechanical leads. As a lead, she was instrumental in brainstorming ideas for our fuel shooter prototype, she is leading the building of our second concept robot, and she regularly volunteers at team outreach events. Outside of robotics, Audrey is an accomplished, award-winning curler.
Woodie Flowers Nominee – Pam Laufenberg
The Woodie Flowers Award, named in honor of FIRSTâs co-creator, is an annual, student-nominated award presented to an outstanding FIRST mentor who inspires, leads, and makes a lasting impact.â
Pam Laufenberg is our teamâs 2026 Woodie Flowers Award nominee. Mentor Pam has been with the team since 2017, and she leads our strategy subteam. Mentor Pam emphasizes that learning is a life-long skill, and she equips students with tools for college and career. In 2019, Mentor Pam and her strategy team created one of our teamâs favorite annual events, the âGame Simulation!â During this mock competition, students roleplay robots to gain a better understanding of the new game following Kickoff. Mentor Pam and teammates also attended the 2019 FIRST National Advocacy Conference in Washington DC, which led to the creation of the FIRST WI Advocacy Day in Madison. Mentor Pamâs tireless work has shaped our strategy team and strengthened our entire team. Beyond FIRST, Mentor Pam is a data engineering manager and senior MarkLogic developer. BEAST Robotics is grateful for all that she has done for our team and FIRST.
FIRST Wisconsin State Advocacy Day
BEAST students joined almost 200 FIRST students across the state in Madison to advocate for increased DPI Participation Grant funding. This funding would enable younger FIRST Explore and FIRST Challenge teams to pay for robotics supplies and tournament fees, a common barrier to entry in those programs. We met with Rep. Robyn Vining and staff from Sen. Rob Huttonâs office, and then we had an opportunity to tour the state capitol.
Elmbrook Education Foundation (EEF) Explore STEAM Event
BEAST also demonstrated our robot at the EEF STEAM event to more than 1,500 students and parents across the district. It was a great opportunity to showcase robotics progression at Elmbrook, from FIRST Lego League Explore all the way to FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2202, BEAST Robotics. We look forward to having our elementary and middle school friends join our team in a few years.
Unified Robotics
Unified Robotics
Last week, we hosted Brookfield Eastâs Best Buddies at our Unified Robotics event. Our team created a specially designed challenge for this group that used FTC pieces, a challenge mat designed by BEAST team members, and SPIKE Prime Robots. About 30 students participated in small groups. Some groups expanded the learning and created attachments for their robots. We look forward to inviting interested students from this group to join BEAST in the fall.
Lakeland District Competition
March 7 and 8, 2026, we will compete in our first official event of the REBUILT Season! Please come and cheer for us at the Wehr Athletic Center on the Lakeland University campus in Plymouth, WI. Itâs free and open to the public. If you canât join us in person, please follow the livestream at https://www.youtube.com/@FIRSTWisconsin.