And, We’re Back…A Return to a Normal FRC Season in 2022

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As 2022 approached, Code Red, along with all the other FRC teams, was thrilled to be back to in-person competitions after COVID.  The return to a normal season was not without its challenges, but Code Red fought to make it fun and successful regardless.  

With seven students on the team, students were busy taking on multiple roles and learning a lot of new skills.  Having a small team this year meant that team members were taking on multiple roles, which provided the bonus of learning and applying even more skills during the season.  Our design and build season focused on building robot that could reliably score in the high goal of the new game for 2022, Rapid React.  Our other objective was to climb and traverse all the way to the top.  In the autonomous portion, our programmers set out to pick up a second game piece, then score both game pieces in the high goal.  The final result was our robot, Apollo, capable of doing all of the tasks of the game.

Our first competition of the season was at Gull Lake.  While we didn’t place as high as we had hoped and were eliminated in quarter final matches, we learned A LOT about our robot and how we could improve.  Our debrief session after the competition prioritized making the shooter more accurate and making a functional climber.  To work we went making those goals happen in preparation for our second event at Kentwood.

Arriving for our second event at Kentwood, the team felt optimistic and excited about what our improved robot could do.  The shooting was reliable and as the competition progressed, we mastered a full climb and traverse to the top!  Qualification matches ended with the team ranked 7th and a selection to be part of the 2nd Alliance.

Partnered with Twisted Devils (4381) and Red Storm (3875), we advanced our way through the playoffs to WIN the event!!  It was a great turnaround from our first event and resulted in qualifying for the State Championship.

At the Michigan State Championship, Code Red enjoyed three days of competition and fun as a team.  We played on the Consumers Energy field and ended playoff matches ranked 17.  For Alliance selection, we were the first pick of the 7th alliance, but ended up getting eliminated in the quarter finals.  It appeared that our season was over, as we were just under the qualifying mark for Worlds.  However, there were a few teams above us who ended up declining to go to Worlds, which allowed Code Red to advance to the Championship in Houston, Texas.  While we had mixed results at Worlds and were not selected for the playoffs, for a comeback year with only seven team members and three seniors on the team who had endured the COVID seasons, it was a satisfying and successful season.

Competing at the State Championship
A three robot climb!
Team hanging out at Worlds

NRG Returns for a New Season in 2021

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Middle School FTC 2019: Rising to the Challenge

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From the moment the 2019 game for the FTC season, FIRST Rise, was revealed in September, our middle school FTC students were excited to take on the challenge of moving “stones” and building skyscrapers with those stones.  As the build season progressed, students on Code Red’s two FTC teams designed and built a robot that could efficiently grab stones, raise them high to build a strong tower, and move the building pad for additional points in the game. Additionally, students working with mentors created and assembled their Engineering Notebook and practiced for presentations.  

Both FTC teams had their first competition at East Kentwood High School.  After qualification matches, team #5384, Emergency Situation, was ranked #5 and team #5383, Neutrinos Breaking the Laws of Physics, was ranked #10.  Both teams were selected for alliances in the playoffs where team #5384 made it to the semi-finals and team #5383 made it to the finals. The Neutrinos (5383), were not able to pull off the win, but ended up as finalists in the event, coming in second place.  With the successes and lessons learned at this first event, the teams were ready for their second event.

The Richland Event at Gull Lake High School was the second event for Code Red’s two FTC teams.  While the teams had a tougher time during qualification matches with #5383 ranked #33 and #5384 ranked #22, they were both selected for alliances in the playoffs.  Once again, Emergency Situation (#5384) made it to the semi-finals and Neutrinos (#5383) made it to the finals. After two final matches played, Neutrinos came out the winners of the event!  This win qualified them for the State Championship. The day was topped off with Emergency Situation winning the Connect Award and Neutrinos winning a Connect Award Finalist.

  • Brainstorming after the game is revealed
  • Qualification matches at Gull Lake
  • Robot ready to go!
  • Finals at Gull Lake
  • Proud students with their Connect Award

The season was not yet finished for FTC #5383, Neutrinos.  They competed at the State Championship in the Edison Division.  After qualification matches, the team was ranked #11, and they were selected to be part of the #1 alliance during alliance selection.  The team’s robot performed well through the playoffs as they made it to the finals. There the season ended with a second place finish in the finals.  Considering the level of competition and number of teams competing, the team felt proud of their performance and results.

Looking back at the season, students and mentors both agreed that we had a solid robot design and that reflected in the success of the season. Much was learned, and much fun was had in the process.