Spartronics headed to World Championships for first time in 9 years

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 17, 2026

Bainbridge High School Spartronics Team 4915 is headed to the World Championships for the first time since 2017. After a major win against the current reigning champions, “Jack in the Bot,” from Jackson High School, BHS secured a spot at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston from April 29 to May 2.

The win against Jackson High School was with BHS Spartronics’ ARTEMIS robot, which efficiently gathers projectiles and won the Innovation in Control Award at the 2026 PNW District Glacier Peak event.

ARTEMIS is a 114.5-pound robot about the size of a washing machine, the name standing for Articulating Rotating Turret with Ejection Mechanism with Intake on Swerve. “We always name our robots after figures in Greek Mythology, and the name is always a backronym,” said Team 4915 coach Austin Smith. “We’re always fixing her up and improving her capabilities, tuning up vision, dialing in the shooter, but we build one competition robot each year which plays at each event.”

In Greek Mythology, Artemis is a huntress. She is a goddess of hunting, wilderness, and wild animals, with powers such as healing, or conversely, bringing sudden death upon others. In mythology, Artemis is known as a fierce fighter and protector with goals of defending her domain. ARTEMIS the robot executed her skills of fighting, thanks to Team 4915, with their big win at Glacier Peak, ranking them fifth out of 126 teams in the Pacific Northwest.

This spring will be BHS Spartronics’ third time in team history attending the world championships since the program began in 2014. This season, however, is coach Smith and all student team members’ first time attending the world championships.

Before the big event, Team 4915 is busy repairing their robot from wear and tear at the recent district championships. “The game isn’t Battle Bots, but there are collisions and we do take damage that needs fixing,” said Smith. “We have a week to get our robot fixed, and we also have to assemble a wooden pallet-crate to ship it to Houston. There is a lot going on with a short amount of time,” said Smith. Other preparation for team 4915 includes getting all of their pit tools, backup parts, and the pit itself also shipped out to Houston.

Smith shared that ARTEMIS itself is very rugged, but wires can disconnect, a radio can lose signal, and critical parts can get bent in a match, so it’s best to be prepared for any outcome. “When our robot is reliable and performing its best, we’re a contender in pretty much any match against any team,” he said. “But that reliability part is where the uncertainty comes in. If we can stay functional, we can at least hold our own against any team; we also have a very talented and experienced drive team this year and that makes a huge difference, too.”

At the recent district championships, Smith shared a memorable moment for him and all his team members. “They paused all of the matches to show on the jumbo-tron the descent of the Artemis mission as it reached splashdown in the Pacific Ocean,” said Smith. “The team wheeled ARTEMIS out of the pit and pointed her camera toward the screen so the robot ARTEMIS could watch her namesake return to Earth. I’ll admit, I got super emotional about it. We did, in fact, name the robot after the Greek figure, not the NASA mission, so it was neat how all of this just lined up by chance. I’ll never forget it.”

As Team 4915 prepares for the world championships, Smith reflects on the connections that the program provides for both past and present team members. Many BHS Spartronics alumni will return to the high school and share what endeavors they are pursuing, with many being in STEM, Smith shared. “Spartronics is a community and I love that we stay in touch across the years,” said Smith. “All of them are very confident and driven individuals in their own way.”