We had an amazing time at the FIRST World Championship in Detroit, being able to see some of the best teams in the world and competing with and against them was an experience unlike any other.
Our first day at champs was dedicated to getting settled in and exploring the Cobo center. We got to go to the Innovation Faire and see the new technologies coming out in the world. We saw Jason, the FedEx robot, a jet engine, and robotic hands that could play tic-tac-toe and solve a rubix cube. It’s inspiring to see the new tech coming out in the world and how much STEM is advancing.
Day two was filled with qualification matches, after our five matches of the day we ended up ranked 14th. The strategy team filled the stands with spirit and the drive team felt the love at the end of the day. To say we were feeling good after day two would have been an understatement!
We had five more qualification matches on day 3, we won some, we lost some, but we had a great time! We ranked 26th at the end of the day and we were able to talk to many teams throughout the day, gaining connections and building relationships with FIRST teams near and far.
We also got to go on the Detroit Princess Riverboat that evening, sailing between the Canadian and United States border. We danced the night away and had such a fun time seeing the views!
On Saturday, the last day of competition, there was alliance selections. While we were hoping to get picked for the playoffs, the odds were not in our favor. We were, however, very excited to cheer on 195, Cyber Knights from Connecticut, who was picked by the number one alliance for the playoffs- they even made it to the Einstein round robin! We were also able to travel out into the city a little and got Detroit deep dish pizza from Buddy’s! Next year we’re hoping to find Detroit’s best Coney Dogs.
Our time in Detroit made us so excited for next year! They released the name of the 2019 game, Deep Space, we can’t wait to see what the game will be like and how we can improve after this season.
We want to thank everyone who supported us this season, from the Clinton community to our wonderful sponsors, we would not be able to do FIRST without you!
FIRST robotics Team 126 