First In Michigan - West Michigan
Allendale, Michigan
March 21 - March 23

Over the past 25 years, we have been fortunate to have Grand Valley University as our home competition. With being a 35 min drive from home we are able to compete against all of our neighboring teams and have a chance to see the campus. Another bonus is that many more family members and friends can join us to cheer on our team.

Our team did really well. With the students who went to North Dakota taking the lead in bring the other students up to speed, the team found their rhythm. Work in the pits, in the stands, and on the field started to work as a well oiled machine. The new students where able to get a real life experience as how all of their hard work over the year has come together. They also learned the importance of the work that is needed to be done at the competitions. If you want to succeed you must put the effort in and work as a team. But it is also important to have fun and make those important friendships.

The team ended up in 14th place out of 39 teams with a record of 8 wins and 4 loses. The team was the first pick to join the 7th alliance team with #5227 Eagle Elite as the captains and #5980 East Grand Rapids Robotics as our team mates. We played pretty well as an alliance but lost in the quarter rounds.

We had an awesome quarter final match, our alliance partner (#5227) had flipped over on the field and our other partner (#5980) rushed off the 1st platform.... got behind it and pushed them up on the ramp to the 1st platform. Their effort in trying to score 2 level 1's was stupendous! Everyone cheered and gave a standing ovation for good sportsmanship. In the end we lost but it was a fantastic show of what coopertition truly means.

Even though we did not place in the top finals, we did not leave empty handed. We won the "Imagery Award" this year. The students were proud to have this accomplishment.

The team is looking forward to next years competition.

First in Michigan - Lake Superior State University
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
April 4 - April 6

Unlike last year the drive up to the UP was quite a pleasant ride. The sun was shining with clear blue skies and a calm Lake Michigan to drive over the bridge.

With this being the teams 2nd year competing at LSSU, the team was at ease with how the layout and flow of the day would go. It was great to see the other teams from UP again.

With two competitions under our belt the team knew how to strategies and play the game pretty well. Just like every competition the students where able to see the different types of design techniques and talk with the other team students about them. This helps broaden their social skills and ways of thinking in how to execute a problem. This helps everyone either there on a rookie team or a team that's been around for years.

Just like many other competitions, the advantage of having the competition being held on a college campus is for the students to see and explore the college campus. They can get info and take a tour of the grounds and which peaks an interest in the possibility of attending.

Just like last year, our teams Safety Captain was honored with being named "Star of the Day" Award. Which the Captain was given a star pin, a sign, and having her picture taken.

Our students support and enthusiasm was very evident with signs and cheering in the stands at every match. The team ended up being in 3rd place out of 41 teams, with 7 wins - 4 loses - 1 tie. We ended up becoming the 2nd Alliance Captain and choose teams #5234 MarauderBots from Elsie, Mi and #6098 blrobot from Beaver Island, Mi to join us. The teams worked well but unfortunately we lost in the quarter finals with a score of 1win - 2 loses.

During the awards ceremony the team was pleasantly surprised with winning the Runner Up for Safety Award which the team is given little white hard hat pins as an award.

But the biggest surprise was when the team was announced Chairman's Award Winner! The Chairman's award is the highest - most prestigious award given. Our students worked very hard and where very proud/ appreciate about winning the award.

Michigan State Competition
Saginaw, Michigan
April 10 - April 13

During states, 160 teams out of 542 teams in Michigan, qualify to participate in the battle to gain the chance to move forward to Nationals which is held in Detroit, Mi.

Being at the State competition is a exciting and over whelming experience. Unlike a district competition with having 1 field..... the states competition has 4 fields going at the same time.

Each field is named after a major sponsor to First in Michigan. The 4 sponsors are DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, Dow, and Ford.

This year they placed us on the DTE Energy field and were up against some pretty tough teams. We played a great game and had our head in the game. We ended up ranking in 9th place out of 40 teams with a record of 8 wins - 4 loses - 0 ties. At the alliance pick we became the 7th alliance captain and requested the assistance of team #5927 Globetrotters from Zeeland, Michigan and team #7211 Hollywood from Holly, Michigan. We fought hard against a tough group of teams but lost in the quarter finals.

We were honored to win the Excellence in Engineering Award which is a new award this year.

With the points we earned from the competition we earned the chance to go to Nationals in Detroit.

Championships
Detroit, Michigan
April 24- April 27

For the second year, 408 FRC teams from around the world have been able to enjoy the Cobo Center in Detroit as 1 of the 2 locations for Nationals. Nationals has always been and will always be an incredible experience. It is not only fun but also educational for everyone involved. With 6 fields competing at one time (with 68 teams on each), there is plenty to do during the day: with scouting your field matches and exploring the pits. While exploring the pits the students are given the opportunity to make friendships with other teams and see many different techniques the other teams use in building their robots.

Another unique opportunity about worlds is the fact that all four levels of FIRST are in one location under one roof. Students were able to watch and mingle with the younger teams from the other levels. This not only creates future friendships but also inspires the younger generations to continue this amazing path with STEM.

Along with competing.... team members are given the opportunity to explore the Innovation Fair (which has several of the major sponsors of FIRST), Scholarship Row (which has several colleges there for students to talk to), and there are many conferences for everyone to attend. The conferences range from the latest science opportunities, involving your team with your community, and the various tools that are used on teams. Every year we have a great time and learn a lot. We explore/ experience as much as possible while keeping our focus on the playing field and playing a great game.

Just like states the fields at Nationals are named after someone important to Stem. But unlike States, Nationals are named after famous Scientists; such as Archimedes, Carson, Curie, Daly, Darwin, and Tesla. This year we were placed on the Archimedes field. Unfortunately this year was a disappointment in the area of competition. The students played hard but we had a technical malfunction somewhere down the line. And with trying to figure out one problem it lead into another problem. The team worked hard putting there heads together trying to figure out what was wrong but couldn't figure it out. We asked for some assistances from the Robot Inspectors and they couldn't figure out anything either.

The students felt defeated and let it affect the rest of the competition. At the end we ended up in 64th place out of 68 teams with a record of 2-8-0. Even though we had a disappointing time we had a great time. With exploring the innovation fair, scholarship row, educational conferences, robo-prom, opening ceremony, and the different levels of FIRST we had fun and learned a lot.

We can take this competition as a learning experience and look forward to next year.