March 26, 2018
We had an amazing time at the Rhode Island District Event, thank you to all the volunteers and to NE FIRST for all their work in setting it up and running the event!
After the WPI District Event, we went home and thought about the changes we needed to make not only to the robot, but to the data and strategy we collect from watching other teams as well as ways to get more spirited in the stands. Turns out, all of the hard work paid off! We ended the qualifying matches ranked 12th out of 41 teams and we were picked by the 7th ranked team, FRC Team 78 Air Strike, to make an alliance with for the finals rounds. We also got the Judges Award, which is awarded to a team that the judges find exceptional but the reason for picking the team may not fit into any specific award category. The judges liked our robot design for the “vintage” features in it (we used some old techniques such as lead screws for the arm and dewalt transmissions for our drive base) and they saw our enthusiasm in the stands and in the pits. We are so thankful and grateful that they thought of us for this award!
Still, there is always room for improvement! Our next competition is the Championship event in Detroit, which we are able to attend because we have legacy team status from being an original FIRST Robotics team. Some small robot changes may be and we are looking to improve our strategy even more for this event since there will be about 100 teams in our division (600 teams total there!).
Keep checking back for those updates and for ways to watch us at the Detroit Championship April 26-28!
Thank you to all of our sponsors, especially Jabil/Nypro, the Clinton Schools, and the parents and mentors that continue to support our endeavors! We couldn’t do it without you!
FIRST robotics Team 126 