FIRST FRC Regional 2009

Wow, what an adventure! The students did an awesome job in the FIRST FRC Regional. The blizzard we had here in Colorado interrupted things a little, but sure didn't interrupt the excitement. I was able to head down all day Saturday, the final day.

It was like going to an NHRA drag race at Bandimere Speedway! Controlled chaos. Pits lined with students, robots, tools, all kinds of crazy costumes. Thousands in the stands, giant arena in the center, huge PA system and big screen display. Wow. Heck, we were even in the news.

The team had a roller coaster ride. Their first few matches went really rough. The very first match they DQed and ran into penalties later. Unfortunately the team was absolute dead last all throughout the competition. You can imagine how disappointing that would be after working so hard for 6 weeks on the robot. Nevertheless they were having fun and kept a positive attitude, which is a credit to the character of each of them.

We had a good bot, and it worked great. It was one of the most maneuverable and fastest on the field. So it didn't seem fair to be at the tail end of the listings. They did catch a break towards the end with a couple good matches. But things totally turned around when we got picked by one of the finalist teams to join their alliance!

From low to soaring in a hearbeat! The last three games we got crushed, I'm sad to say, but it was still a triumph for Team 443, which had never made it that far in regional competition. So pretty soon it was time to pack up the robot into its shipping box, pack up the tools and head home.

I'm really proud of the students. They are an impressive lot and if they ever doubted it before, I hope they know now that they can do anything they set their minds to.


FIRST 2009: [Lunacy! | Five Week Flurry | Under Pressure | Away | Progress | More Progress | Done Building! | FRC Regional 2009 ]