Competing at CalGames
KK and Miyo share about their experiences while at CalGames and the excitement of winning the competition and some awards.
This past weekend, I was fortunate to attend CalGames on Saturday. Although most of the rookies attending were completely exhausted from our overnight on Friday, it was a great experience that woke me up from the start. The team spirit in and out of the stands was enormous, and everyone showed up to work and have a great time. Even though rookies had a light load of stuff to do, I was engaged and in team spirit throughout the entirety of the competition. While sitting in the stands, I was impressed with how efficient and composed the drive team and pit crew were during the semi-finals and finals. Winning the System Design Award as well as the Mentor Award for Marta, and being the Champions of CalGames was a great way to end a wonderful competition. I am so proud of the Janksters, or rather, the JankSTARS!!!!
KK KumarClass of 2020
On October 7th and 8th, we attended the off-season competition Calgames, hosted by the Western Regional Robotics Forum. After the success from Chezy Champs, everyone was super excited and ready to see the robot perform well. Although I spent most of the competition in the pits as I was on drive team, I could see the happiness and enthusiasm from our team in the stands. I was also glad to see that the rookies were beginning to feel more included and more a part of the team than they were when they first joined. The level of excitement only increased as the competition progressed, with the team continuing on to eliminations with Team 1868 the Space Cookies and Team 3045 The Gear Gremlins. Several matches later, our alliance were declared the champions of the 2016 Calgames! To top it off, we also won the Systems Design Award for our scaling mechanism, and our coach, Marta Carrillo, won the Mentor Award. This was by far the most exciting competition that I have attended, and through all the dancing, anticipation, and success we experienced, the team was brought closer together. It truly was the best way to end our busy and successful Stronghold season and begin our 2016 to 2017 robotics year.
Miyo ImaiClass of 2018
Competing at Chezy Champs
Maddie and Julia share their experiences from competing at Chezy Champs.
On September 24 and 25, I had the opportunity to attend my very first robotics competition, Chezy Champs, at Bellarmine. I had no idea what to expect, but from the moment I entered the room, I found the excitement electrifying. I spent my day doing so many different things, such as scouting, interacting with other teams, cheering in the stands, watching our robot compete, and pitching in and unloading the van at NDSJ after the competition was over. From rookies to veterans, we worked together as a team to accomplish our goals. It was rewarding to see that everyone’s contributions played a part in our placement in the quarter-finals.
Chezy Champs went really well for the Janksters. We didn’t lose robot communications once during the competition, and our robot scaled seven times. I spent the entirety of Chezy Champs in the pits, repairing the robot between matches and resetting the scaling mechanism. I really enjoyed getting to compete with “The Best of the West,” and I’m really proud that we held our own. I can’t wait to go again next year.
Julia Hunt
Class of 2018
Silicon Valley Regional (SVR)
Anisha Kabir and Paulina Robles talk about this year's SVR and how Cierra did at competition!
From the cheering in the stands, to all the incredible robots, to even the avid button collecting, the excitement at SVR was contagious. I spent my time at SVR rotating between scouting, data entry, and programming, however I also fun going to the “FIRST Day” Nvidia hosted at their tech conference. It was really rewarding to be able to see our robot compete, especially seeing it scale the tower. And at the end of the competition, winning the Spirit Award and getting to high five the long line of judges was definitely a great note to end the regional on!
Anisha KabirClass of 2019
I had a great time at SVR, seeing all of the other robots and competing with all of the other teams. Although we did have some communication problems in the beginning of the competition, thanks to the help of a countless number of teams and individuals, we were able to figure out our problems and perform well out on the field. The entire team was so excited to see Cierra breach, scale, and defend in our last matches, and our energy definitely skyrocketed. When we won the spirit award at the end of SVR, it was great to see all of the team members’ excitement as they rushed to high five the judges. SVR was a great experience and I was so happy to see all of the growth Cierra and the team members went through.
Paulina RoblesClass of 2017
CVR (Central Valley Regional)
Miyo Imai and Minh-Chau Doan reflect on the 2016 robot, Cierra's, performance during Central Valley Regional.
The Central Valley Regional began on Friday, even though official matches didn't take place until Saturday. On Friday, many changes were made to the robot. The entire robot was taken apart and put back together all in one day, and luckily the hard work paid off. The belly pan of the robot was much stronger, motors were running smoothly, and the entire robot weighed under the maximum one hundred and twenty pounds. Matches began on Saturday, and things were running smoothly until communication issues between the field and robot began to come up. Even though these problems arose, the team took them in stride and worked hard to fix the issue, learning and having fun along the way. At the end of the competition, even though the robot didn't perform as well as the team had wanted it to, the team was rewarded with two awards for their hard work: the Imagery Award and the Safety Award. Even with the setbacks, the team had a great learning experience full of fun and competitiveness unlike anything else, connecting with fellow FRC teams throughout the event.
Miyo ImaiClass of 2018
CVR was a great regional once again and this year the team came home with two awards and a Dean’s List Finalist. These were all results of years of hard work towards team branding, safety, structure, and sustainability. When the robot was functioning, it performed amazingly well as it sped through defenses which fit in perfectly with our strategic vision. We did run into some communication problems but after intensive testing, we were able to identify the problem and are working to fix it. I got to bond with my teammates and make new friends which made the experience even better, especially when I got to see my friends get recognized for their achievements too. Can’t wait for SVR!
Minh-Chau DoanClass of 2017
October Projects
The October project was a great way for me to get to know the rookies and to prepare my mind for build season. I was amazed to see the different projectors that each group came up with even when give the same goal. After interacting with the rookies and girls from other committees, I am definitely more excited to see how everyone's unique and creative thoughts will be applied to this years game. This project benefited me as it was a tiny refresher of the process of build season.
Kimberly ZhangClass of 2017
It’s not easy having a million ideas in your head and only one month to take one idea, build it, and make it work. When the team was told that we had three weeks to brainstorm and build something that could shoot a specific ball for a certain number of feet away, I was so excited. I was paired up with two other rookies and two veterans to shoot a ping-pong ball at least 4 feet away, and I immediately thought the idea of a catapult. Our prototype worked pretty well, so the veterans in the group suggested that we should rebuild it out of metal and maybe use a piston. Building the final was quite stressful since we almost ran out of time in learning about angle brackets to connect extrusions. Unfortunately our final presentation and run didn’t work as well as we hoped since the piston was a new concept; however, I’m still glad that I got to work on this project, because I made tons of great memories and friends with the other veterans and rookies. After October, I’m really pumped to learn and work more in the Mechanical Committee. I never would have guessed that robotics would be the thing for me, but now I’m sure.
Shreya BasireddyClass of 2019
I had an amazing time working on the October projects. I’m new to the team and this was my first time. It really helped me adjust to being on the team. At first I was embarrassed that I didn’t understand what the veterans were actually talking about, but after working with them I was able to ask for help understanding things when I needed to. I realized later how important brainstorming is, because the machine would not have worked out as well without all of the planning. When we started prototyping, there were also challenges, such as constant testing, retesting, reforming, and at one point, we changed the method of how we were going to shoot the ball altogether. I feel this really prepared me for build season, because I’ve heard its really stressful and that week is so crucial because thats when most of the work is done.In the end our project turned out so well, and we even finished early.
Naomi DasariClass of 2018
Silicon Valley Regional (SVR)
Friday was a really exciting day for everyone. The real matches were actually starting and we had a working robot. Grace moved in all of our matches and we even got to stack four totes. This was an improvement and got the team pumped up for more matches. Friday wasn’t just fun seeing our robot improve but it was also cool to see the other robots. We saw most of the robots before at the Central Valley Regional, but almost all of the robots had gotten better and it was nice to see different robots as well. It was great that the event was in the area as well because other people from outside of robotics came to see our work. Even our principal and vice-principal came to see Grace in the competition. It was a great experience and I know the whole team felt proud of what Grace did and what we did.
Gabby DavilaClass of 2018
Central Valley Regional
Friday was the first actual day of competition where the team made a lot of changes and improvements to Grace. We were able to finish building our sub-system mechanisms, which include the reorientation, singulation, forklift, and the boxlift. Drive team was even able to briefly test out all of Grace’s functions before the actual matches started. But Friday wasn’t all work and no play. A lot of our members had a lot of fun pit scouting the other teams and getting information about their robots. The safety glasses table was especially fun for the team because it gave everyone a chance to unwind and relax from the busy competition. We ended our chaotic day with a dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, where everyone especially enjoyed the unlimited ice cream sundaes available at our liking.
Paulina RoblesClass of 2017
The first few matches on Saturday went perfectly, and most of the pit crew’s work was tidying up the pit. However, at lunchtime, one of Grace’s ropes snapped during drive practice, and we had approximately 15 minutes to replace it before the next match. I was put in charge of that, and we replaced the rope in time. It was stressful to be working with a clock ticking, but at the same time, it was an exhilarating experience that helped me learn a lot about the weak points on the robot and how to counteract them. Unfortunately, all of the ropes decided that they had had enough, and they snapped one by one. Even though we played a match with our main mechanism inoperable because we had not had enough time to fix broken part, the drive team was still able to score points by pulling totes from the center field. At the end of the day, we were ranked 33rd. To me, our ranking didn’t matter much because we were able to get a robot onto the field that could play the game in some way for every match.
Julia HuntClass of 2018
Sunday was the last day of our competition and while we may not have won we had gained a lot. From the start we knew we were at a disadvantage because our team simply did not have the resources that other teams had. However, what we did have was spirit and determination. Even though we consisted of a team where most of its members had two or less years of experience, we still managed to build a robot that functioned. The robot made it out to every match and could participate in every match. To top that off we had enormous support for the drive team. Both of these showed that we are a team that is capable and still growing. I can’t wait for the next competition so that we can show off our Jankster spirit!
Natasha PalamuttamClass of 2015
CalGames
Cal GamesOct. 10, 2014
As a rookie attending Cal Games, I could not have imagined the level of energy present. Patches of colors, some big, some small, decorated the stands, as teams sat together anticipating the beginning of the competition. At first I was overwhelmed and thankful to have the rest of the team with me. The highlight of Cal Games was when some of the mascots ran across the front of the stands waving their team’s flag. The entire gym was alive with activity and there was never once a dull moment. I can’t wait for the next competition and a chance to be fully active and enthusiastic member of the jankster team!
Natasha PalamuttamClass of 2015
I had an exhilarating experience at Calgames 2014. It was my second time at this off-season event, but this was the best off-season event I have ever been too! This time, I was able to take a leadership position. I had a group of rookies with me and I guided them over the course of two days. My most favorite part of Calgames was the mini spirit-off the Janksters had against the Wildhats. It was all fun and games but it was definitely a fun experience.
Anya ThakurClass of 2017