Local News Celebrates World Championship Success of Bubbles and Solvers of X & Y
After returning from FIRST Championship Houston, SolversMind Robotics welcomed NewmarketToday journalist Bailey Moreton to highlight FRC Team 10015 Bubbles’ Rookie All-Star Award and Solvers of X & Y’s World Festival Innovation recognition (NewmarketToday).
By SolversMind Robotics
Published May 12, 2025 | Updated August 2026
Reviewed by SolversMind Robotics mentors
A championship journey is not only measured by trophies.
It is measured by the people inspired along the way.
On May 12, 2025, journalist Bailey Moreton from NewmarketToday/AuroraToday returned to the SolversMind Robotics studio to meet with students and celebrate an incredible milestone: the successful completion of the 2025 FIRST Championship season by both FRC Team 10015 Bubbles and FIRST LEGO League Team Solvers of X & Y.
This was the second time Bailey Moreton visited SolversMind within the same season, following her January interview with the Ontario Champion Solvers of X & Y team. This time, the story was even bigger.
Both SolversMind teams had returned from Houston, Texas, after competing at the FIRST Championship, one of the largest youth robotics events in the world.
The resulting NewmarketToday article, “Houston, we have a winner: Aurora LEGO robotics team snags prizes,” highlighted the extraordinary achievement of two Aurora-based robotics teams earning international recognition in Houston.
The visit captured not only the awards, but also the educational journey behind them.
What did NewmarketToday highlight about SolversMind’s World Championship achievements?
NewmarketToday journalist Bailey Moreton visited SolversMind Robotics after the team returned from the 2025 FIRST Championship in Houston. The article highlighted that two Aurora-based teams achieved international success: FRC Team 10015 Bubbles earned the Rookie All-Star Award, recognizing the team as the top first-year FRC team internationally, while FLL Team Solvers of X & Y became a World Festival Innovation Project Award Finalist for their seaweed-based biodegradable plastic project.
The article showcased the unique SolversMind pathway, where students progress from FIRST LEGO League into advanced robotics programs.
It featured students including Ryan Zhang, Queena Lin, Renee Zhang, and Samuel Pan, highlighting how young people can grow through years of hands-on STEM education and student ownership.
For SolversMind, this recognition represented more than competition results.
It represented the success of a long-term educational philosophy.
How did two different FIRST teams achieve success at the World Championship?
The 2025 FIRST Championship was a historic milestone for SolversMind Robotics.
Two teams.
Two different FIRST programs.
One shared educational pathway.
FRC Team 10015 Bubbles
Bubbles competed against approximately 350 FRC teams in Houston during its rookie season and achieved one of the highest honors possible for a first-year team:
🏆 World Rookie All-Star Award
The award recognized Bubbles as the strongest rookie FRC team internationally. NewmarketToday noted that this was only the second time in more than a decade that a Canadian rookie team had achieved this global recognition.
The team’s robot, OctoMaster, represented months of student-led engineering work, featuring the innovative SpiRob bio-inspired soft robotic arm design.
Solvers of X & Y
The younger FLL team continued the success of the SolversMind pathway by becoming a World Festival Innovation Project Award Finalist.
Their project focused on developing a biodegradable plastic alternative using seaweed, addressing environmental challenges through research, experimentation, and innovation.
Together, these two achievements demonstrated the power of a complete student development pathway:
FLL builds curiosity.
FRC develops engineering leadership.
The connection between the two programs creates a sustainable cycle where students learn, grow, and inspire others.
Why was the NewmarketToday visit meaningful for SolversMind?
The return visit from NewmarketToday represented something beyond media coverage.
It showed how a local robotics program can create a meaningful impact in the Aurora community.
The story highlighted Aurora as an emerging centre for youth robotics excellence, where students are developing advanced STEM skills through hands-on learning.
During the interview, students shared their experiences from Houston, including:
Building and improving competition robots
Learning from international teams
Experiencing the global FIRST community
Growing as engineers and leaders
NewmarketToday also highlighted the welcoming and collaborative culture of FIRST. Students explained that the competition was not only about winning, but about learning from teams around the world and sharing a common passion for STEM.
This reflects one of the most important lessons of FIRST:
Success is not only measured by awards.
Success is measured by growth.
How does this reflect the SolversMind student-led education model?
The most important part of the World Championship story was not the trophies.
It was the students.
Many Bubbles students began their robotics journey years earlier through FIRST LEGO League.
Through FLL, they learned:
How to research problems
How to develop innovative solutions
How to communicate ideas
How to collaborate
How to overcome failures
Those skills became the foundation for their FRC success.
NewmarketToday highlighted that several Bubbles members transitioned from FIRST LEGO League into FRC, showing the importance of a continuous FIRST pathway.
At SolversMind, we believe students should not simply follow instructions.
They should become independent problem-solvers.
The role of mentors is to guide and support.
The role of students is to own the journey.
That ownership is what allowed students to achieve international success.
From local students to global ambassadors
The May 12 interview was a special moment for SolversMind.
Students who started by building LEGO robots in Aurora were now sharing their experiences from a global championship stage.
Their journey showed younger students what is possible.
A young FLL student watching Solvers of X & Y today may become tomorrow’s FRC engineer.
An FRC student today may become tomorrow’s mentor.
This is how STEM communities grow.
NewmarketToday’s coverage helped share this message with the broader Aurora community.
The story was not only about robotics competitions.
It was about students discovering confidence, creativity, and leadership through STEM.
SolversMind Robotics is grateful to Bailey Moreton and NewmarketToday/AuroraToday for documenting this important milestone.
The greatest achievement is not the awards displayed on the shelf.
It is the students standing beside them.
Because the true success of robotics education is not only building better robots.
It is building better leaders.
Reference
NewmarketToday / AuroraToday
“Houston, we have a winner: Aurora LEGO robotics team snags prizes”
By Bailey Moreton
Published May 24, 2025
Tags:
SolversMind Robotics, FRC Team 10015 Bubbles, Solvers of X & Y, NewmarketToday, Bailey Moreton, FIRST Championship Houston, World Rookie All-Star, FIRST LEGO League World Festival, Aurora robotics, Ryan Zhang, Renee Zhang