The Texpand team has won the National Championships for a sixth consecutive year.
Image: Supplied / Peter Robinson
A local robotics team from the Western Cape are not just celebrating their sixth consecutive national win, but gearing up to represent South Africa in Texas next month.
Texpand will be competing at the high-stakes World of First Tech Challenge (FTC) - a global robotics programme for learners from Grades 7–12, where teams design, build, and code robots using Java to compete in alliance-based, themed games.
The team’s Matthew Greenwood was ecstatic after they won the South African National Championship and won the 1st Place Inspire Award.
He said 20% of teams competing at nationals were part of Ignite Robotics - the program Texpand created to bring competitive robotics to communities without access to STEM resources.
Two rookie teams from Khayelitsha and Thandokhulo High - Nguzo Sabers and C.O.D.E. Bot Crew outperformed 30% of veteran teams in their very first season.
The Texpand robot.
Image: Supplied / Peter Robinson
Ignite's Autonova won the prestigious Innovate Award and qualified for the World Championship alongside Texpand, while Wolfspark (2nd alliance captain) earned a spot at an international Premier Event.
Greenwood said those results are even more impressive given the challenge. This year's decode game required robots to collect and launch coloured balls into goals, create specific patterns, and navigate the field both autonomously and under driver control, with four robots in each match, demanding technical innovation and strategic game play.
"When our team members shared their highlights after winning Nationals, most talked about the performance of the Ignite teams," co-captain Ben Anderson said.
He was also named a Dean's List Finalist - one of only two students nationally to receive this honour.
Anderson explained their goal had been to raise the level of competition in South Africa.
“Our goal has been to raise the level of competition in South Africa. Seeing Texpand and two Ignite teams among the top-ranked teams at nationals showed us we're succeeding,” Anderson said.
Texpand said their success was not overnight. Their path to the national championship began with a win in the Western Cape Regional Championship. It also posted one of the highest-scoring autonomous games globally, and perfected innovations like custom-molded silicone intake wheels and a revolutionary v-groove bearing turret system that other teams across South Africa have since adopted.
Texpand are the 2024 FTC World Champions and were the first African team to captain a finalist alliance at the 2025 World Championship. The team has also assisted in educating teams that cannot afford technical coaches.
Over the past two years, Texpand has started 17 new FTC teams, secured funding for robotics starter kits, provided 1000+ hours of free technical training, created a shared equipment library, and connected South African teams with international mentors.
Texpand is excited for the World Championships in Houston, Texas and this would mean seven learners and two coaches will be competing against more than 340 robots from 66 countries with about 50,000 attendees.
“The trip represents a significant financial hurdle for a student-run team that's been investing resources into building South Africa's robotics infrastructure rather than just their own success. This isn't about one team going to Houston. When we return from world championships with greater credibility and international exposure, it proves to the Ignite students that world-class opportunities are accessible for South Africans,” Greenwood said.
The team is appealing to stakeholders to not just sponsor, but invest in them.
“Texpand isn't just asking for sponsorship, we’re offering an investment in a proven model that's already transforming tech education in disadvantaged communities across South Africa,” Greenwood said.
Those interested in supporting their world championship campaign can contact the team directly via email: [email protected] or website: www.texpand.org.
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