Finger Tightan Emma Crossett is photographed with a member of the Netherlands-based team Pink to the Future. Photo courtesy of the Finger Tightans.

The Highland Robotics team the Finger Tightans has concluded their competition season with a trip to the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship in Detroit, Michigan.

The team placed 42nd out of 64 teams in their division, but they walked away feeling accomplished with their robot and teamwork. Coach Tim Surine shares how the team performed, “I felt like this time everybody did a really good job of kind of sharing responsibilities and helping each other out. And like I said, really just how much they interacted with the other teams was really incredible.”

Team member Emma Crossett traded one of the team’s signature paint-splattered lab coats for a pair of golden shoes from the Netherlands’ team Pink to the Future, and they’ve been communicating with each other ever since. Surine said he was also proud of five team members who took time out of the competition to be student ambassadors, giving tours to participating businesses and visitors. Though summer break is coming soon, Surine says the Finger Tightans are always thinking of ways they can be active in the offtime, hosting community events and preparing for the next competition season.