The biggest and most anticipated FTC robotics event in the state of Alaska was Friday and Saturday, the 1st and 2nd of February. Teams came from all over our huge state to compete in this event.
On Friday, teams went through their judging sessions, where judges rated the teams based on their robot and engineering notebook, and how the team worked together in presentation. Several of us volunteered that night, working as timers, qeuers, and judge’s assistants, keeping everything running smoothly and on time.
On Saturday, the matches began. Teams worked hard to make their robot the best they could be in between matches, which were intense. Robots broke, programs failed, but through it all, teams persevered, and the volunteers worked hard as well to make everything possible. Many of our team members were on the participating FTC teams, and other served as volunteers on Saturday, continuing to help the event run smoothly.
We also hosted a booth in the team pits, allowing teams to drive last year’s robot and consider joining the team. We hosted a build session in our lab simultaneously, so it was a pretty busy day! Competing in FTC, volunteering at the event, hosting outreach, and building our new robot.
Interim Dean, Kenrick Mock, of the UAA College of Engineering, and a representative of BP both came and talked during closing ceremonies, encouraging us to pursue STEM careers. Our team also showed our robot off at the closing ceremonies to highlight the progression of programs. All in all, the entire competition was a success!
