After scoring errors, two teams named champions of Minnesota state robotics championship

Two high school robotics teams have been named co-champions of this year's state tournament, weeks after the event concluded with a single school being named the winner.

The reversal came after teams raised questions about how scores were tabulated in the tournament, which was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tournament officials spent nearly two weeks reviewing the matter before reaching a decision: Faribault High School, which had initially been named state champion, would share the title with Eagle Ridge Academy, a Minnetonka charter school. The team from East Ridge High School in Woodbury placed third.

FIRST in Upper Midwest, the robotics organization that runs the state tournament in partnership with the Minnesota State High School League, said in a statement that a committee worked with all the schools involved to sort out the scoring issue and come up with a resolution, praising the teams for their "gracious professionalism."

The state championship win is Faribault's first in robotics. It is Eagle Ridge Academy's first state title in any sport or activity governed by the state high school league.

Teams competing in the tournament qualified through their placement in other competitions.

Each team constructs a robot and then operates it through a series of challenges, earning points for speed and accuracy of movement.

Erich Martens, executive director of the state high school league, took note of tournament organizers' work to transform what usually is a large in-person event into a virtual one.

"We are looking forward to returning to our typical in-person state tournament format as soon as next year," he said.

Erin Golden • 612-673-4790