11 Awards in Two Seasons: Bubbles Proves the Power of 100% Student Work

FRC Team 10015 Bubbles earned 11 official FIRST awards and recognitions in its first two seasons, reached the FIRST Championship twice, and ranked fourth among 357 teams in the 2025 rookie class on Brennan Bibic’s FRC Analytics. Behind this extraordinary record is SolversMind’s commitment to rigorous training, student leadership, and 100% student work.

By SolversMind Robotics
Published July 17, 2026 | Updated July 29, 2026
Coached by Dahai Zhang
Reviewed by mentors of FRC Team 10015 Bubbles
Data audited and verified against official FIRST Event Web records

Why is Bubbles’ first two-season performance so impressive?

FRC Team 10015 Bubbles earned 11 official FIRST awards and recognitions across its first two seasons, including five in its 2025 rookie year and six in 2026. The team reached the FIRST Championship in both seasons and was ranked fourth among 357 teams in the 2025 rookie class by Brennan Bibic’s FRC Analytics. Its recognition spans competition performance, rookie achievement, engineering, industrial design, team growth, and student leadership. What makes this record especially meaningful is how it was built: 100% student work. Bubbles students lead CAD, manufacturing, assembly, wiring, programming, testing, strategy, scouting, documentation, fundraising, judging presentations, and community outreach. Mentors provide rigorous training, safety supervision, technical guidance, and feedback, but students remain responsible for the work and decisions. The results validate coach Dahai Zhang’s philosophy that effective training and genuine student ownership can produce not only competitive robots, but also capable, confident, and recognized young leaders (FRC-Event).

How many awards did Bubbles earn in its first two seasons?

Official FIRST records list five awards and recognitions for Bubbles in 2025 and six more in 2026. The team’s official profile records 11 total awards, one event win, and two trips to the FIRST Championship in its first two seasons (FRC-Event) (BlueAlliance).

The range of recognition is as impressive as the total. Bubbles has been recognized for competition performance, rookie development, engineering, industrial design, team potential, judging, and individual student leadership.

What made Bubbles’ 2025 rookie season exceptional?

Bubbles entered FRC in 2025 as a new community-based team from Aurora, Ontario.

At its first official event, Bubbles won the ONT District Newmarket Event with alliance partners FRC Team 4946 The Alpha Dogs and FRC Team 5409 Chargers. The team also earned the Rookie All-Star Award (BlueAlliance).

Bubbles then received the Judges’ Award at Durham College before advancing to the FIRST Ontario Provincial Championship. At Provincials, the team earned the District Championship Rookie All-Star Award and qualified for the FIRST Championship in Houston (BlueAlliance).

The students completed their first season by receiving the Rookie All-Star Award in the Milstein Division on the world stage (BlueAlliance).

Bubbles’ 2025 rookie-season results (FRC-Event)

Brennan Bibic’s independent Best Teams by Rookie Year ranking placed Bubbles fourth among 357 teams in the 2025 rookie class, as shown on the ranking page. Brennan’s team profile also records Bubbles with 11 total awards, one blue banner, and two seasons of competition. This is an independent analytics ranking rather than an official FIRST ranking, but it provides meaningful external recognition of Bubbles’ exceptional position within its rookie class.

How did Bubbles build on its rookie success in 2026?

The challenge after an extraordinary rookie season was to demonstrate that the first year was not a one-time result.

Bubbles responded by earning six additional official awards and recognitions in 2026, one more than during its rookie season.

The season began with the Rising All-Star Award at Durham College, where Bubbles ranked fourth and captained a playoff alliance for the first time (BlueAlliance).

At North Bay, the team ranked second after qualifications with a 10–2 record, finished as a District Event Finalist, and earned the Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Littelfuse. Ryan Zhang was also selected as a District Championship FIRST Leadership Award Semi-Finalist (BlueAlliance).

At the FIRST Ontario Provincial Championship, Bubbles received the Industrial Design Award, while Ryan advanced again and became a FIRST Leadership Award Finalist. The team then returned to the FIRST Championship for the second consecutive season (BlueAlliance).

Two-season performance (FRC-Event)

This is not simply a long list of trophies. The recognitions cover nearly every major dimension of FIRST Robotics Competition: robot performance, engineering, design, team development, outreach, and individual student leadership.

How does Bubbles compare with highly decorated young teams worldwide?

Bubbles’ 11 recognitions place it among the most decorated young teams we have identified through official FIRST team histories.

The comparison below uses the same counting approach displayed on official FIRST team pages. It includes event wins and finalist results, judged awards, rookie recognitions, and individual student awards associated with the team.

Selected verified first-two-season records (FRC-Event)

LYNK earned 16 recognitions during its first two seasons, while G-Force Robotics earned 14. Ice Cubed recorded 12 during its first two seasons, one more than Bubbles.

This is a comparison of selected, highly decorated teams, not a complete official worldwide ranking. FIRST has operated for decades, and award structures, event formats, and the number of competitions available to teams have changed over time.

The strongest accurate conclusion is:

With 11 official FIRST awards and recognitions and two FIRST Championship appearances in its first two seasons, FRC Team 10015 Bubbles achieved one of the most decorated starts by a young community-based team in FRC history.

Where does Bubbles rank among all Canadian FRC teams after two seasons?

After a Canada-wide audit of official FIRST team histories, FRC Team 10015 Bubbles ranks second among Canadian FRC teams for awards and recognitions earned during their first two competition seasons (see table below). Bubbles earned five in 2025 and six in 2026, reaching 11 total, only one behind FRC Team 1305 Ice Cubed, which recorded 12 across 2004 and 2005 (FRC-Event). Six Canadian teams are tied behind Bubbles with nine: Simbotics, THEORY6, OP Robotics, Alberta Tech Alliance, W.A.F.F.L.E.S., and The Alpha Dogs. The next verified total is eight by Lo-Ellen Robotics. Under this counting method, Bubbles stands alone in second place nationally. Its recognition spans event performance, rookie achievement, engineering, industrial design, team development, and Ryan Zhang’s student leadership. For a community-based team built around rigorous training and 100% student work, this is an extraordinary result and powerful evidence that students can achieve at the highest level when they are properly trained, trusted, and given real ownership.

Canada-wide first-two-season FRC award ranking (FRC-Event)

Official FIRST records show that Ice Cubed earned four recognitions in 2004 and eight in 2005. Bubbles followed with five in its 2025 rookie season and six in 2026. Simbotics, THEORY6, and OP Robotics each recorded nine across their first two seasons.

Alberta Tech Alliance, W.A.F.F.L.E.S., and The Alpha Dogs also earned nine. Lo-Ellen Robotics recorded eight, establishing the next verified level below the six teams tied for third.

The full audit covered Canadian FRC teams across all provinces represented in the official records. The article table shows every Canadian team with nine or more first-two-season recognitions, together with the next verified team at eight so that the national cutoff is clear.

How was the Canadian ranking calculated?

The comparison uses the award entries displayed in official FIRST Event Web team histories. Each recorded recognition was counted once, including:

• Event winner and finalist results

• Judged engineering and design awards

• Rookie awards

• Team culture and outreach awards

• Individual student awards connected to the team

• Championship division and overall competition results

Text such as “FIRST Championship Qualifying Award” appended to another award was not counted as a separate recognition. Offseason events were excluded. When a team registered but did not officially compete, that year was not treated as one of its first two competition seasons.

FIRST has changed its competition structure, award categories, district system, and number of available events over time. This ranking therefore compares the number of official recognitions recorded by FIRST. It does not suggest that teams from different eras had identical opportunities to earn awards.

FIRST does not publish an official national leaderboard for first-two-season award totals. This is an independent Canada-wide audit based on official FIRST records currently available.

What makes Bubbles’ second-place national position so meaningful?

Bubbles did not build its record through one successful event or one type of award.

Its first 11 official recognitions cover an unusually broad range of achievement:

That breadth shows that Bubbles was not recognized only for building a competitive robot. FIRST judges recognized the team’s engineering, design, growth, culture, competitive performance, and student leadership.

The national comparison also places the result in its proper context. The teams around Bubbles include some of the most respected programs in Canadian FRC history. Simbotics, THEORY6, OP Robotics, W.A.F.F.L.E.S., The Alpha Dogs, Ice Cubed, and Alberta Tech Alliance have built significant records within Canada and at the FIRST Championship.

For Bubbles to enter that group after only two seasons is remarkable.

For Bubbles to stand alone in second place is extraordinary.

What does 100% student work mean at Bubbles?

Bubbles is built around one clear principle:

Student work, 100%.

This does not mean that students receive no instruction or mentorship. It means mentors train, guide, question, and protect students without replacing their thinking or completing the work for them.

When the robot fails, students diagnose it.

When software needs improvement, students revise it.

When a mechanism must be rebuilt between matches, students manufacture and install the solution.

When the team speaks with judges, sponsors, educators, or members of the public, students explain their own ideas and their own work.

That ownership makes every award more meaningful because the recognition belongs directly to the students who completed the work.

How does Bubbles’ record validate Dahai Zhang’s philosophy?

Coach Dahai Zhang’s philosophy is not to measure a robotics program by how much adults can build for students.

It is to measure the program by how much students can eventually design, build, understand, communicate, and lead independently.

The robot is the vehicle. Building capable young people is the real purpose.

This philosophy combines two elements that are sometimes mistakenly treated as opposites:

1. Rigorous technical training, so students develop the knowledge and discipline needed to complete advanced engineering work.

2. Genuine student ownership, so students use that knowledge to make real decisions and accept responsibility for the outcome.

Bubbles proves that student-led does not mean untrained, unsupported, or unstructured.

Effective student leadership becomes possible when students receive years of preparation through the SolversMind FIRST ecosystem and are then trusted to apply what they have learned.

Many Bubbles members entered FRC after developing foundational skills through FIRST LEGO League. They arrived with experience in programming, mechanical design, research, teamwork, presentation, project management, and competition strategy.

The team’s 11 recognitions, two Championship appearances, and fourth-place position in its rookie-class ranking provide powerful evidence that rigorous training and student ownership can succeed together.

Dahai Zhang’s philosophy works.

Not because adults built an award-winning robot for students, but because students were trained and trusted to build it themselves.

Why is Ryan Zhang a strong example and role model?

Ryan Zhang represents the type of student leader this philosophy is designed to develop.

As team captain and lead programmer, Ryan has contributed to robot software, technical decisions, strategy, team coordination, documentation, and knowledge transfer. He has also helped ensure that students across different subteams take ownership of their work rather than waiting for adults to solve difficult problems.

Ryan has helped sustain and strengthen Bubbles beyond the robot. He has supported fundraising efforts, represented the team at many outreach events, mentored younger students, and served as one of only 20 student members of the FIRST Canada Youth Council.

Through these roles, he has continued to share the values of FIRST with the broader STEM community.

His leadership was formally recognized twice in 2026. Ryan was selected as a District Championship FIRST Leadership Award Semi-Finalist at North Bay and then advanced to become a FIRST Leadership Award Finalist at the Ontario Provincial Championship.

A strong captain does not try to complete every task personally.

A strong captain helps other students become capable of completing those tasks themselves.

Ryan’s example shows younger students that leadership is not defined only by a title, an award, or technical ability. It is demonstrated through responsibility, consistency, humility, service, and the ability to help others grow.

He is an impressive student leader, a powerful example of the SolversMind philosophy, and a role model for younger students entering FLL, FTC, and FRC.

Why is Bubbles so well recognized in the FIRST community?

Bubbles has been recognized in almost every major area of FIRST.

This breadth is important.

It shows that Bubbles is not known only for building a competitive robot. The team has been recognized for engineering, design, culture, leadership, outreach, student growth, and future potential.

The FIRST community has repeatedly recognized not only what Bubbles built, but also how the students built it and who they became through the process.

More than 11 awards

Wow. What an extraordinary first two seasons.

Behind every award are late nights, failed tests, damaged components, difficult decisions, repeated practice, and students choosing to try again.

Bubbles demonstrates what can happen when young people receive serious training and are then trusted with serious responsibility.

The result is not only a robot that can compete.

It is a team of students who can design, manufacture, program, troubleshoot, communicate, fundraise, teach, and lead.

That is the real meaning of 100% student work.

The 11 awards are impressive. Two consecutive trips to the FIRST Championship are unforgettable. Ranking fourth among 357 teams in the 2025 rookie class is meaningful recognition.

But the greatest achievement is the growth of the young people behind those numbers.

Dahai Zhang’s philosophy works. Ryan Zhang is a powerful example and role model. FRC Team 10015 Bubbles has become one of the most impressive and well-recognized young community teams in FIRST.

The mentors provided the training.

The students completed the work.

100% student work. 11 recognitions. Two World Championship appearances. One extraordinary beginning.

One of the strongest beginnings in Canadian FRC history

The completed national audit gives Bubbles a clear and defensible position:

With 11 official FIRST awards and recognitions in its first two seasons, FRC Team 10015 Bubbles holds the second-highest recorded first-two-season total among Canadian FRC teams, based on official FIRST histories currently available.

Only Ice Cubed recorded more, with 12.

Bubbles stands ahead of six respected Canadian teams tied at nine.

This is an amazing competitive and organizational achievement. More importantly, it was achieved through rigorous training, meaningful student ownership, and 100% student work.

The mentors provided the foundation.

The students designed, built, programmed, presented, fundraised, and led.

Second in Canada. Eleven official recognitions. Two FIRST Championship appearances. One powerful example of what students can accomplish when they are trained and trusted to lead.

Tags:

FRC Team 10015, Bubbles, Ryan Zhang, Dahai Zhang, 100% Student Work, Student-Led Robotics, FRC Rookie Team, Rookie All-Star Award, FIRST Leadership Award, Industrial Design Award, Excellence in Engineering Award, FIRST Championship, Aurora Robotics, York Region Robotics, Ontario Robotics, SolversMind Robotics