Citrus Circuits, the robotics team made up of students from Davis junior highs and high schools, has qualified for the world championships for the fourth straight year.

The team competed for the first time in the Inland Empire Regional in Grand Terrace from Feb. 28 to March 2 and marched through the competition without losing a single match — winning 19 in all — to earn a return trip to the world championships in St. Louis, Mo.

Last year, Citrus Circuits and the two other teams in its alliance made it to the final four in St. Louis, in a competition featuring more than 2,700 teams. It was their highest finish ever.

This year’s FIRST Robotics competition features robots that have to throw large exercise balls into goals a few meters above the field. Students operate the robotics remotely from outside the playing field.

The robots work in three-team alliances against other alliances and earn extra points by passing the ball to other teams in their alliance. They also earn extra points by throwing a ball over a truss in the middle of the field or catching a ball thrown by another robot.

After 13 qualification matches during the regional competition in Grand Terrace, Citrus Circuits was ranked first and won all of the following matches with the help of alliance partners Eagle Robotics and the T-Birds.

Davis residents will have two chances to see the team in action before they head to the world championships in St. Louis, April 24-26. The team will compete in the Sacramento Regional, which will be held at the UC Davis ARC Pavilion March 14-15, and the Silicon Valley Regional, to be held at San Jose State University, April 3-5.

Learn more at www.citruscircuits.org.

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