FIRST Robotics 2024 - Final Competition Report

The 2024 competition season is over.  It had its odd moments.  Our first tournament was in very early March.  We went up to Duluth Minnesota, about half way to the Arctic Circle, and had shirt sleeve weather.  Our second event was in early April and was a couple hundred miles to the south.  We set out in a blizzard.  

There was a lot of hard work in the intervening weeks.  The robot was simplified and where possible strengthened.  And unsurprisingly we did much better.  A 6-4 record and a ranking of 16th out of 54 teams.  Perhaps the highlight was a match where we were tasked to play defense against the number one ranked robot at the event.  We handed them their only loss of the weekend.

Ah, but constant pounding took its toll.  By our final matches it was obvious we had stressed the robot past its design limitations.  In retrospect an open eyed look at this year's game should have noted that in an era of powerful new brushless motors, and in a game with no "speed bumps" that survivability needed to take precedence over sophistication.

Finishing 16th one might reasonably expect to be selected as an alliance partner - after all, who does not need a defensive goon? - but it was not to be.  And despite some of our team being disappointed this was a proper call.  When we return to the upper tiers of robots next year it is a principle worth remembering.

But, it was still a good event.  Interestingly we got three bits of recognition from other teams.  Maybe this is a new thing, but I don't recall this happening in prior events...

One is for just being good sports.  One is for the "Hardest Working Robot".  I don't know what RISE design means.  Perhaps Robot Is Still (in) Existence.  The sports cliché "Leaving it all out on the floor" was actually true by our final match, although the bits of debris involved were not vital parts.

I'll have some further robot event pictures and thoughts in a bit.  Perhaps best to close with an official award the team was also given.  Gracious Professionalism.  And yes, that's a mangled part on the table behind the award.

Very nice, and I think a suitable recognition for a team that never gave up, never got discouraged and never stopped having fun.

And so the process of building the 2025 team begins, and with a solid base to start from.

Anyway, here's probably our best match of the event.  Ignore the part where we launched a game piece "up into the stands for a lucky fan".