In 2025, two Zebra Robotics teams represented Canada at WRO Americas in Panama City, Panama — one delivering a standout rookie debut, the other gaining invaluable experience against far more seasoned competition.
Pink Boba Pearls — Swara and Sadhya, both in Grade 11 — competed in the Future Engineers category with BETI, a self-designed Raspberry Pi-based robot. For a rookie team, the result was exceptional: BETI carried the pair to a 4th-place overall finish at WRO Americas, representing Canada on a stage typically dominated by far more experienced competitors. A debut performance like that says a lot about both the engineering and the composure behind it.
Teddy and Berry — Sarvesh Sathish, Maria Jiffin, and Tea Isono, all in Grade 7 — qualified for WRO Americas in RoboSports after finishing 4th at Canada Nationals. In Panama, they found themselves competing directly against university-level students — a significant jump in experience and skill. The team didn’t qualify for the playoffs this time, but walked away with something just as valuable: a close-up look at what top-tier competition looks like, and a clear sense of the bar they’re now aiming for.
A rookie team finishing 4th overall, and a group of Grade 7 students testing themselves against university competitors — both stories capture what WRO Americas is really about: not just the results on the scoreboard, but the experience of competing, learning, and growing from it.