After more than six weeks of blood, sweat, and tears, FRC Team 4410 has finally entered the post-season. Our team was able to compete at the Regional Robotics Competition held annually at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. Aside from the fantastic pictures, and how immensely proud I am of the team and all of their accomplishments, the true reason for this post is to document the arduous, almost "action movie" story behind our journey to Worcester from our small town during a series of terrible snowstorms. That, along with the tenacity of both team members and their parents, is truly inspiring. Their story must be known.
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| Your 2013 Cyber Senators |
Day 1
March 7th, 2013 - 5:00 a.m.
With impending fears of a snowstorm on all news stations, I left my house early bound for the school. Much to my elation, I found that not only were the roads clear of snow; it was actually not snowing at all! Driving on the highway was making me both anxious and nervous at the same time. I remember being on exit away from my destination when I received the phone call...
"Due to the projected weather forecast, school will be cancelled Thursday March 7th."
I had previously been in contact with a representative from our arranged transport to Worcester who stated clearly that if school was cancelled, due to their company's regulations, they would not be able to commit to the scheduled transportation. With the cancellation confirmed, I was unsure of how to proceed. I finally reached the school to find that the majority of the team there waiting for me. With much regret, I had to tell both students and parents that no transportation would be available and we would have to try for tomorrow. The sadness clearly present on their faces depressed me as I watched them drive away. It was at that point that one of the team members approached me...
"So what are we going to do?"
I thought about it for a spell. The robot was bagged, tagged, and in the trunk of my car. I, also, had all of our tools, spare parts, and important paperwork in my back seat. While liability issues prohibited me from transporting students in my vehicle, I, finally, explained that I would make the journey myself and attempt to get the robot to our pit and get as much work done as I could and we would regroup Friday morning. After all, we could not be the only team that was having this problem. I would later discover that I was correct in this assumption. This student, however, had other plans. This would plan would soon go down in Mahar history as "Plan B."
"Let's go. I'll meet you there!"
With permission from his parents, it was entirely plausible for this student to follow behind me and drive himself to the competition. The plan was hatched, and we were off. I, however, needed time to regroup as well as call in some favors. I spent an hour in the school contacting teachers, other teams, and the reps at WPI of our status. I contacted Team 3623, in Leominster, Massachusetts, to check on their status. They were having similar difficulties and hatched a plan uncannily similar to our own. We agreed the best course of action was to get our robots to the competition and move on from there.
Day 1
March 7th, 2013 - 9:00 a.m.
Getting to WPI proved much easier than I had originally anticipated. The drive was pleasant and while the snow had picked up, it wasn't really affecting our commute. Arrival was at around 10:00 a.m. We were successful in dropping off our robot at the designated drop off point. Since we were ridiculously late, there were no other teams there to slow us down. Once this was complete, we made our way to the pit area. I remember our walk through the pit area quite vividly, this student and I, the only representatives of Team 4410 were catching glances from teams who had 20 or 30 times as many members in attendance.
The task ahead of us was daunting. I had forgotten to mention that in addition to only having the two of us in attendance, the robot was also not finished. In fact, she was far from finished.
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| The state of S.O.P.H.I.E at arrival at WPI |
"What's up Beeeeshaw?"
I turned my head to see another member of our team. She had arrived only minutes after we had with her parents and brother. Needless to say, it was difficult to maintain my composure as we had now more than doubled our team in a matter of a few seconds. It was also at this point, that other teams had started to notice our situation and reached out to us to offer assistance. Two teams in particular. Team 4557, The "Fullmetal Falcons" and Team 1251, The "TechTigers" offered several team members as well as spare parts and technical know-how.
It was time to get to work on S.O.P.H.I.E... with a little help from friends.
Day 1
March 7th, 2013 - 5:00 p.m.
With the aid of more than ten teams, as well as members and parents of our own team, we were able to complete more work in that stretch of six hours, then we had in the last six weeks combined. I, honestly, have never seen anything like it before in my entire life. The night ended with us finally obtaining a passing inspection. In the matter of one day, Soph went from parts in a bag, to a robot ready for tomorrow's matches.
It was a miracle day in every sense. The hard work, dedication, and tenacity of this team is nothing short of inspirational. We left Worcester at around 7:00 p.m. proud of what we had accomplished. We knew, of course, that the real fun/excitement/stress was only 12 hours away as tomorrow would be the start of the actual competition.
Stay tuned for part two of this story.
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