Throughout the qualification rounds, we competed in 12 matches, posting a record of 4 wins and 8 losses to earn a 24th-place ranking heading into alliance selections. With part of our team already deep in the early stages of designing and planning our new machine, our performance on the field reflected that intentional reallocation of focus. Our drive team worked hard in every match, showing resilience and adaptability throughout a demanding qualification schedule.
During alliance selections, we were honored to be chosen as the first pick by Team 839, Rosie Robotics, to form Alliance 5. Rounding out our alliance as our third partner was Team 1512, The Big Red — a familiar and respected partner from the New England district.  Once eliminations began, we opened strong, defeating Alliance 4 by a score of 395–327. We then faced the top alliance in the bracket, dropping that match 290–644 and falling to the lower bracket side. But our alliance wasn't ready to go home — we battled back with a hard-fought 318–284 win over Alliance 6 to stay alive. Our playoff run ultimately came to an end in Round 4 of the double elimination bracket, where we met Alliance 4 once more in a tight match, falling 260–288. We finished the playoffs 2–2, giving us an overall event record of 6–10–0.
While we didn't take home a banner from Burlington, what happened behind the scenes this week may prove to be even more meaningful. This week, the Billerica Bionics officially began construction on a completely new robot — built from the ground up with the District Championship in mind. The decision to redirect our energy at UVM was a calculated one, and the whole team is fired up about what we're building. DCMP is right around the corner, and we’re just getting started.
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This past weekend, Team 4909 competed at the week 4 Greater Boston District Event in Revere, Massachusetts, continuing to build on the strong momentum from earlier in the season. With another strong showing on the field, the team finished the event with an overall record of 11-6-0 across qualification and playoff matches. At the end of qualification matches, Team 4909 ranked 6th overall and went on to serve as the captain of Alliance 4.  Throughout the qualification matches, we focused on consistency, adapting match by match, and continuing to improve our performance in a competitive field. That approach helped us put together a qualification record of 8-4-0 and secure the sixth seed heading into alliance selection.
During alliance selection, Team 4909 formed Alliance 4 alongside Team 8013, Boston Lions, and Team 3323, Potential Energy. Together, our alliance made a strong playoff run and finished with a playoff record of 3-2-0. After opening the playoffs with a win, battling through the bracket, and advancing to round five, our run came to an end against Alliance 2.
Greater Boston was another important step forward for our team. Between a strong qualification performance, captaining an alliance, and making a deep playoff push, the event gave us valuable experience and more momentum as the season continues. We are proud of the effort our team put in all weekend and thankful for the support from our mentors, families, sponsors, and everyone cheering us on.
This past weekend, Team 4909 competed in the Week 3 Waterbury District Event in Connecticut, continuing the momentum from an already strong season. Coming off a successful Week 2 performance, the team entered ready to compete, improve, and build on that progress. With strong match play and great teamwork, Waterbury became another exciting event for the team. At the end of qualification matches, Team 4909 was third overall and went on to serve as the second alliance captain.
Throughout the qualification matches, we focused on improvement, fixing emerging issues, and adapting match by match. This approach allowed us to perform consistently throughout the event, earning us a record of 10-2-0.
During alliance selection, we started as the third alliance captain before moving up to the second alliance captain position. Once in this position, our first pick was Team 7127, LongMetal Robotics, followed by Team 4572, Barlow Robotics. Together, our alliance advanced through the brackets almost undefeated, suffering only one loss in playoff match 11, which sent us to the lower bracket. Despite that setback, we battled our way back to the finals, where our run came to an end.
We were also honored to receive the Autonomous Award sponsored by Google.org. This award recognizes the work a team puts into developing an effective, consistent, and high-performing autonomous routine. Overall, we finished Waterbury as finalists with a 13-5-0 record. It showed how much progress we have already made this season while also giving us more experience to carry into the weeks ahead.
We are incredibly proud of the effort our members, mentors, and drive team put in throughout the weekend. Thank you to everyone who supported us at Waterbury and followed along as the event unfolded. We are excited to keep building on this momentum as we prepare for the Greater Boston Competition in Revere, Massachusetts.
This past weekend, we completed the Week 2 Granite State District Event at Bedford High School in New Hampshire. After a strong start to the season at our first district event, we were excited for another opportunity to compete, continue improving, and build on the momentum we established. 
During alliance selection, we were selected as the first pick by the seed one Team 3467, Windham Windup, and then went on to pick Team 1277, The Robotomies, as the second pick. Team 11157, Winnacunnet, later served as the backup robot. In the playoffs, our alliance advanced through the bracket with strong performances and ultimately won the event, going undefeated and earning the District Event Winner title.
We were also honored to receive the Innovation in Control Award sponsored by nVent. This award recognizes an innovative control system or application of control components used to provide unique machine functions. Our team earned this for our ability to shoot while on the move and for automating the aiming system. This minimized the workload on the driver, and no matter where we were on the field, our robot automatically targets the scoring zone. During judging, we explained how the system worked and how it improved the robot’s performance on the field, and we were proud to have that work recognized with this award.
Overall, we finished the event with a 16-1-0 record and earned 71 district points. Week 2 was an exciting and rewarding step forward for our team. It showed how much progress we have already made this season while also giving us more experience to carry into the weeks ahead.
We are incredibly proud of the effort our members, mentors, and drive team put in throughout the weekend. Thank you to everyone who supported us at Granite State and followed along as the event unfolded. We are excited to keep building on this momentum as we prepare for the Waterbury District Competition.  This weekend, we competed at the Week 1 MinuteMan event, held at Billerica Memorial High School. Competing on our home field made this event especially exciting. We were proud to have the opportunity to open the season with our community and invite other schools to share this moment.
Throughout the qualification matches, we focused on maxing our score, working closely with our alliance partners, and executing a strong match strategy, with the overall goal of improving match after match. We were able to maintain the seed 1 position for most of the event, but towards the end. We ended the qualification matches as 2nd overall. This gave us the opportunity to be an alliance captain. Our alliance selected Team 1768 and Team 1735, with Team 3182 joining as a backup robot.
 We were also honored to receive the Autonomous Award sponsored by Google.org. This award recognizes the work a team puts into developing an effective, consistent, and high-performing autonomous routine. Overall, we finished the event with a 14-4-0 record and earned 61 district points. A strong start to the official season. More importantly, Week 1 gave us valuable experience, showed us where we are already succeeding, and highlighted the areas we can continue to improve as we prepare for the rest of the season.  We are incredibly proud of the efforts our members, mentors, and drive team put in throughout the weekend. Thank you to everyone who came to support us at BMHS and followed along with our season opener. We are excited to keep bundling on this momentum going as we head into the next event.
 Minutman District Event:The Minuteman District Event is a regional competition hosted by the Billerica Bionics at the BMHS. FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams come together from across the New England area to begin our competition season here. But as we race, as we compete, we push our minds too. The goal of the FIRST program is to cultivate the innovators, engineers, and brilliant minds of the future. So come join us March 7th through 8th to celebrate the spirit of STEAM, as the young minds push beyond
Week 5 is wrapping up, and we could not be more excited. Our robots are prepped and competition-ready, and we are eager to see them perform their best as the season begins.
Week 5 focused on getting the robot ready, with the hopper and climber nearly complete and software working on a reliable full hopper cycle. With the Week 0 competition coming up, we will take these final days to test the robot, address any issues efficiently, and ensure the robot works smoothly on event day.
Week 4 has been a rousing success on multiple fronts. The team made significant progress across hardware, software, and design, bringing us closer to our competition goals.
Finally, the 4909 Robotics Team has been doing great this week, solving problems such as debugging the camera and installing the motor, and is on the right track for a good future.
Week by week, success draws closer. This week, Team 4909 has pushed our boundaries and delved deeper into a continuous cycle of improvement across all channels. Our dedication and collaborative efforts continue to drive meaningful progress toward our goal.
As we close out another productive month, our crew continues to push boundaries and redefine what's possible in our field. From innovative design solutions and collaborative problem-solving sessions to strengthening community partnerships and refining our competitive strategy, our collective is proving that dedication and creativity go hand in hand. We're excited to share more milestones as we charge forward into the next phase of our journey!
This week, Team 4909 has continued to make strong progress on our build season goals, pushing forward across mechanical design, software development, and team operations. As we refine our robot and prepare for upcoming events, each subteam has stepped up to contribute toward our shared success
With each passing week, our team grows stronger and more aligned with our goals for the season. from mechanical improvements and software breakthroughs to showcasing our work through media and event preparations, Team 4909 is building momentum and demonstrating what we can accomplish together. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue toward competition!
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