World Championship Series: Part 4 "Glory Road"

I will never forget my first time stepping onto Newton Field. I was our driver and was purely humbled by being able to be here and get to drive at St. Louis. Stepping onto the field was especially significant for me. This year, because we assumed each competition we attended would be our last, I never knew when it would be my last time on a real FRC field. I guess it was only fitting then that our first match was one of the worst we had ever played. It was time to come back to reality. We were here, but it was time to buckle down and do what we came to do: compete.

Over the next several days we rose through the rankings one match at a time, each one with seemingly a whole new set of challenges, rewards, and struggles. The low point of the qualifications came before they even started when we realized we were missing a key robot component and had to improvise a spare that we would then use throughout the competition. The high point was when we randomly got paired with the team that would go on to be the world champion and nearly broke the world record in number of points scored in a match. In the end, we made it to the top eight and held onto 6th. 

The Team Driving "Not Yet"

At alliance selection, we were hoping to be picked by a higher team but were also prepared to be Alliance Captains ourselves. The latter ended up being the case and we went into the quarterfinals of the Newton Division as the fifth Alliance Captain. We moved a condensed version of our pit into the Dome and prepared to see if we could go all the way. After a few matches in the quarterfinals, it was clear we would not move to the semis.

"Not Yet" in Action

Our best few matches were those last few, but we were simply not as good as the competition. And I don’t think a single person on our team, or on our Alliance Partner teams, was unhappy with how those last few matches turned out. We played our best and that was all that mattered. If you missed out on Part 3 "The Fields of Science" Check it Out!

World Championship Series: Part 3 "The Fields of Science"

The competition was held in the Edward Jones Dome, home of the Rams, with the pits in the America's Center. Our first challenge was offloading all of our tools and getting inside to set up our pit. Just like at every smaller competition, each team would get a 10 by 10 by 10 foot cube of space to set up a mini workshop called our “pit” where we would keep our robot in between matches and do any necessary repairs. Normally, the pits would fill a high school gym. Here, with 600 teams in attendance, we filled the America's Center. The only way to describe the size of this building would be to say that it took a good fifteen minutes to walk from one end to the other.

Edward Jones Football Stadium filled with eager competitors

 But nothing would compare to the size of the “Dome.” Eight different fields, eight different divisions, inside the Edward Jones Football Stadium. Each one named after a different famous scientist from history: Newton, Hopper, Tesla, Archimedes, Galileo, Curie, Carver, and Carson. Each field had its own massive LCD screen hanging above it where the match data would be displayed. Each field also had its own section of the stands where all the members of all the teams in each division would sit and cheer. Each field would be played on by the best teams from all around the world. We were no longer in a high school gym. We were at the World Championship. This was what it meant to go pro in FIRST.

Part 2 "Journey to St. Louis"
Part 4 " Glory Road"

World Championship Series: Part 2 "Journey to St. Louis"

We didn’t really start to realize this year was different until we got to our second competition in Kokomo. For the first time in my memory we were not only easily hold a spot in the top 8 during qualifications but we were fighting neck and neck for first place. We didn’t win at Kokomo, but we more than qualified to go to State Championships. We qualified in the top ten teams in Indiana.

The PhyXTGears at State

At State, our good fortunes continued. New robot upgrades and two competitions worth of practice paid off as we found ourselves easily holding the top 8 again and contemplating the possibility of being picked by the number one alliance captain. Still though, it didn’t seem real that we were going to St. Louis until they called our name and I went down to the field to get my picture taken with the other team representatives. We were going to Worlds. And I wasn’t day dreaming this time.

The team after learning that they would be going to Worlds!

The competition was in just a couple of weeks. We needed money, organization, and did I mention money? We had pulled together as a team to raise more than enough to go to State but World’s was another matter. Still, I don’t think anyone was very worried. The common opinion among everyone was that if money was the only thing standing in our way we would do anything necessary to raise it and that was that. The entire couple of weeks leading up to World’s was a blur. We did everything from buying a trailer and decorating it with custom vinyl graphics to writing a team “Bible” which every mentor would have a copy of for rules and general team information. We also owe a big thank you Tony Soverns and Scott Ray, mentors on team 447 out of Anderson who came to speak to our team about what we needed to know once we got to Worlds.

All team members are eager to arrive in St. Louis

The morning of Wednesday April 22nd, we loaded everything up on a truly massive double decker bus and set off down the highway. On the bus we played cards, video games, and even got to hear stories from our head mentor, Mike Koch, who spoke about his life experiences that brought him to be where he is today. Then, in just short five hours, we entered St. Louis.

 Part 1 "The Senior in St. Louis
Part 3 "The Fields of Science"

World Championship Series: Part 1 "The Senior in St. Louis"

Three weeks ago today our team was getting ready to go to the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championships in St. Louis Missouri. We would be gone for four days, three nights, and experience what would be a once in a lifetime event for me. My name is Ryan Spangler, I am a senior this year and so this is my last year in FIRST. I also happen to be the driver of our robot this year. When my team asked me to write this blog post summing up what it was like to be at the World Championship, it took some time. This year was significant for me in several different ways and I wanted to do it justice. In fact, I spent a good deal of my down time at competition just trying to figure out exactly how I was going to describe something as big and as amazing as this event to everyone back home. I guess we’ll see how I do.

Ryan is all smiles after a successful round at the FIRST World Championships

Up to this point, the World Championship was something that students might hear about in passing during their first years on the team but wouldn’t really give much more thought other than just that it existed. It always seemed like a dream that was so far removed from the level at which our team competed as to be unachievable. Maybe in ten, twenty years our team would get good enough to go to St. Louis. We weren’t being pessimistic.Going to the World Championships for us seemed about as likely as a high school football team winning a shot to play in the Super Bowl. But, something changed this year. I’d like to say that it was obvious from the start and our team had this amazing build season where everything went right and our robot was perfect from the get go, but that isn’t how it works. FRC is “the hardest fun you’ll ever have.”

Leaving on the LightRider bus and heading to World's!

 Check out --> Part 2 Journey to St. Louis

Team Highlights and Press Mentions

Wow! What a season! We are beyond thrilled with the results our team has had this year. We've won several awards: the Excellence in Engineering Award, the Creativity Award, and our animation team won a Creativity Award for their recent project! Way to go!

Our video team made a recap video of our district events. You can see what our robot looks like, how it works, and hear a testimony from one of our students, Robbie Cartwright.

The video team also took a creative approach to our 2015 Chairman's Award video. The Chairman's Award competition involves three parts:

1. an essay on our achievements, outreaches, and involvement in FIRST
2. a video showcasing our essay points
3. a team of 3 students who give a 5 minute presentation about our team to a panel of judges

In the Press

We also made it in the press this year! 

Indiana Public Radio came to our shop and interviewed several students. They put together a great radio segment. You can listen to it here: http://indianapublicradio.org/indianaweekend/2015/04/03/robot-battles-4315/

The Star Press ran an article on our team: http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2015/04/15/robotics-team-raises-money-world-competition/25846445/

Thank you for your support! We could not do this without the help from our mentors, sponsors, friends and family!