2/27-2/29 COMPETITION: SUMMARY

     This past weekend, Team 4909 traveled to Salem, NH to attend the Granite State District Event. The team arrived at Salem High School on Thursday to get their robot inspected and set up the team's pit. The  pit is where the team keeps their robot between matches and is also where they hold all of their tools and spare parts. 

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     The competition officially began last Friday with 40 teams from New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont participating. Matches are played with a “Blue” alliance of 3 teams competing against a “Red” alliance of 3 teams. All alliances are randomly assigned and alliance configurations are different from match to match. Each team plays 12 qualification matches over the course of two days. After the team’s first 9 matches on Friday, they were in 2nd place. On Saturday, they played their last 3 qualification matches and ended up in 3rd place!

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     The elimination rounds began with the top 8 seeded teams picking 2 other teams for their playoff alliance. In regards to alliances, because of the team’s success in qualifying matches, they were given the opportunity to be an alliance captain for the 3rd seed! Using their Green Alliance scouting system, 4909 Bionics was able to distinguish which teams would be the best fit for their alliance. They selected Team 501, the PowerKnights, from Manchester, NH and Team 7822, Generals Robotics, from South Hamilton, MA. While the team believes they selected an excellent alliance, one of the robots from their alliance experienced trouble with their climber. 4909 Bionics helped them fix it and within an hour and a half, their alliance partner’s climber was in good shape. With a working climber, the team’s alliance was able to do a triple climb on the shield generator and they scored many points in each match, helping them advance to finals! The final match consisted of the fifth seed alliance competing against 4909’s alliance, the third seed. After a nerve-wrecking match, Team 4909 pulled through and won the District Event by just five points! As a member of the New England district, Team 4909 is ranked 1 having earned 74 points! This event was one of the most successful competitions that the Bionics attended to date!

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     Not to mention, Team 4909 took home quite a few awards this last competition. First, all team members received medals for being the overall district event champions! The team was extremely excited to win the Excellence in Engineering Award, sponsored by Delphi, and the Safety Award, sponsored by Underwriters Laboratories! According to FIRST Robotics, the Excellence in Engineering Award is given to the team that “has demonstrated consistent, reliable, high-performance robot operation during autonomously managed actions.” Evaluation is based on the robot’s ability to sense its surroundings, position itself or onboard mechanisms appropriately, and execute tasks. 4909 Bionics also won the Safety Award, which is given to the team that “progresses beyond safety fundamentals by using innovative ways to eliminate or protest against hazards for themselves and others.” According to the Safety Advisors and Judges, the team upheld the standards of safety by providing an annually updated safety manual, complete with a thorough safety inspection log. The team also held weekly safety presentations and challenged their members with periodic safety quizzes. The members of the team support the value of safety by becoming first aid and CPR-certified, proving that they are, in their own words, “more than just a robotics team.” 

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     Also, a junior on the team, Matthew Young, was named as a Dean’s List Finalist who will compete at the New England District Championships. After judging and being nominated by the team, according to FIRST, Dean’s List Finalist recognition is given to students who “demonstrated leadership and commitment to the FIRST Core Value and interest in and passion for a long term commitment to FIRST.” This is the second year in a row that 4909 has had a member selected for Dean's List, and the team is proud to have such amazing members such as Matthew!

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     The team’s next competition is the NE District Greater Boston Event, which will take place from March 27-29 at Revere High School in Revere, MA. The team is excited to compete again and hopes that you will join them!

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