Team Juice 16236 secures Houston berth after strong regional performance
A group of local middle and high school students is once again headed to the global stage after the Folsom-based robotics team Team Juice 16236 earned qualification for the 2026 FIRST Tech Challenge World Championships in Houston, Texas.
The team secured its berth following a standout showing at the Northern California Regional Championship, where it advanced to become a divisional finalist and earned the third-place Reach Award. The performance placed the team among the top robotics programs in the region and secured its place at the international competition.
The achievement marks the third time Team Juice has advanced to the world championships since the program was founded in 2019. The team first qualified during its rookie season in 2020 and returned again in 2023, establishing a track record of consistent success in one of the fastest-growing youth robotics competitions in the world.
In addition to its repeated world championship appearances, Team Juice has become one of the top-performing teams in Northern California. The team is a two-time Northern California champion and has maintained a perfect playoff qualification record in regional competition since its inception.
On the global stage, the team has already proven it can compete with the best robotics programs in the world. During a previous championship appearance, Team Juice advanced to the World Division Finals and finished ninth overall out of more than 7,000 teams worldwide.
Team Juice competes in the FIRST Tech Challenge, an international robotics program for students in grades 7 through 12 that challenges teams to design, build and program robots capable of completing complex engineering tasks during head-to-head competition. The program emphasizes real-world engineering skills while also fostering collaboration, innovation and leadership among students.
Founded in September 2019, Team Juice initially began as part of the Folsom High School robotics community before evolving into an independent program operating under Silent Bot Deadly STEM Education Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting science, technology, engineering and math education for youth.
Today the team consists of 15 students from middle and high schools across the Folsom area who work together throughout the year on robot design, programming, strategy and outreach initiatives.
Beyond competition, the team places a strong emphasis on inspiring younger students and promoting STEM learning within the community. Members regularly participate in outreach events and demonstrations designed to introduce elementary and middle school students to robotics and engineering concepts.
The upcoming FIRST Tech Challenge World Championships in Houston will bring together many of the world’s top student robotics teams for several days of international competition, engineering showcases and collaborative STEM experiences.
For Team Juice, the trip marks another milestone for a program that has quickly grown into one of the region’s most accomplished robotics teams while continuing to represent the Folsom community on the global stage.
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