Goleta’s Octobots Robotics Team Heads to State Championship

By Ella Heydenfeldt, Santa Barbara Independent

Tue Apr 07, 2026 | 2:36pm

In a cavernous room in Goleta, a loose constellation of high school students hovered around a three-foot-tall, half-built robot — wires exposed, laptops propped beside it. Others lingered nearby, talking, laughing, eating spaghetti out of takeout containers. Mentors circled, offering guidance but not taking over. It felt like a workshop-meets-hangar-meets-clubhouse.

Now, that same group — the Octobots robotics team — is headed to the state stage.

The Octobots Robotics Team 9084, a Santa Barbara–area, student-led team, will compete in the FIRST Robotics California Southern State Championship, April 9-12 at the Anaheim Convention Center, after advancing through two district competitions and earning the “Quality Award” for their robot’s “robustness in concept and fabrication.”

“Only the top 60 out of 151 Southern California teams make it this far,” said team parent and boardmember Diana Pereira. “These kids put in thousands of hours and they earned every point.”

Read the full story: https://www.independent.com/2026/04/07/goletas-octobots-robotics-team-heads-to-state-championship/