A group of bright young students have made an impressive showing in robotics competitions, earning them an invitation to the Festival of Champions.

Sonoran Science Academy’s First Robotics Competition team, called CRUSH 1011, had a successful year, making it all the way to the FIRST World Championships in Houston, where they competed with four hundred teams from across the country and globe.

For the first time in their fifteen year history, the team secured an 8th seed position overall at the World Championship. Their strong performance brought them to the challenging finals, where their alliance was named the Houston FIRST World Champions.

Along with the winning alliance from the other FIRST World Championship held in St. Louis at the end of April, CRUSH has been invited to compete in an exposition called the Festival of Champions. Held at a school near FIRST Headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire, where the inaugural competition was held over twenty-five years ago, this first-time event will give CRUSH and other top teams the chance to compete and celebrate. Students will get the chance to attend a VIP dinner with FIRST officials and Founder Dean Kamen, as well as tour headquarters, DEKA and much more!

The team has established a GoFundMe campaign to help offset some of the costs for students to participate in this amazing opportunity. To learn more about the team and their fundraiser, visit their page to make a difference.