GSSM robotics team wins international competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CALGARY, Alberta — The Golden Dragons robotics team from the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) and their alliance partner, ViCyber from Bucharest, Romania, captured the championship title at the Canadian Rockies FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Premier Event held July 24–26, setting two high-score records en route to victory over a field of 48 teams from 16 countries.

Despite an unpromising start—losing their first two qualification matches—the Golden Dragons rebounded to finish day one in 13th place with a 2-2 record. The team went undefeated for the remainder of the tournament, winning six consecutive matches to secure second place in qualification rankings, right behind the top-ranked ViCyber.

Having eyed a strategic partnership before the competition, ViCyber selected the Golden Dragons as their alliance partner for the playoff rounds. The duo swept the double-elimination finals, winning every match. Most final rounds were decided by margins exceeding 100 points, except for a high-drama final match.

After a heavy collision momentarily powered down the Golden Dragons' robot, ViCyber accidentally restored its power during a maneuver to clear a scoring zone. The Golden Dragons re-entered the match, helping the alliance seal their final victory by 44 points.

In addition to the tournament victory, the Golden Dragons earned the event's Control Award, which honors innovative software execution and sensor integration.

"What impresses me most isn't winning the event itself; it's the engineering journey that led there," said Dr. Elaine Parshall, GSSM engineering instructor and team advisor. "Since the World Championship in April, the team has completed three major redesigns of their robot, each one driven by careful analysis and a determination to improve. Watching these students iterate, test, and refine their ideas until they can compete with the best teams in the world has been extraordinary. Their technical growth this season has been nothing short of remarkable."

That relentless technical drive also caught the attention of school leadership.

"This victory is a testament to the technical ingenuity, resilience, and collaborative spirit our students bring to every challenge," said Danny Dorsel, President of GSSM. "To overcome an early setback, build a world-class international partnership with ViCyber, and set scoring records along the way shows extraordinary problem-solving under pressure. We could not be prouder of how the Golden Dragons represented our school on the international stage."

Following the tournament, the Golden Dragons hold an overall world ranking of 24th, as well as a 13th-place global ranking for autonomous scoring.

The team will reset its operations for the upcoming FTC season, which officially commences on Kickoff Day, Sept. 12 at 12 p.m. EDT, when the new season challenge is revealed.