Inspire Award at Brookline Robo Rally 1 Qualifier Event on January 31, 2026 Finalist Alliance - 1st Team Selected at Brookline Robo Rally 1 Qualifier Event on January 31, 2026 Design Award at the Tech on the Valley Qualifier Event on January 3, 2026

ARC Thunder is one of four "sister" teams in the Andover Robotics Club (ARC) at Andover High School in Andover, Massachusetts. Two of the other teams qualified to participate in the New England Premier Event, and the fourth team qualified for the World Championships in Houston. The team made great strides over the course of the DECODE season, winning the Design Award at the first qualifier and the Inspire Award at the second qualifier. Unfortunately, some design upgrades made immediately prior to the Massachusetts State Championship did not work as intended on the day of the competition. The team learned from these challenges and made adjustments to the robot afterward, so that it would perform well for outreach events (local middle schools, the local senior center, a 4-week summer program for elementary-aged students, and more!).