Thursday marked the beginning of one of the largest robotics competitions in the world, the Michigan State Championship! Entering the championship as the 4th ranked team of the 160 teams in attendance, the AdamBots competed in the Ford Division.

Throughout Thursday morning, we played practice matches to test our robot and demonstrate its capabilities for the other teams. Our presentation team continued to practice while our programmers worked on the robot’s autonomous routine. The qualification matches began in the afternoon. We had a rough start, but proved our ability to perform.

Early Friday morning, our presentation team gave their talk show-style presentation for the Chairman’s Award judges. This presentation is aimed at winning the most prestigious award in FIRST, hoping for a repeat of last year’s triumph at the State Championship. At the same time, another group presented to the Entrepreneurship Award judges. Qualification matches concluded in the afternoon with five wins and nine losses. The AdamBots were selected by GRAYT Team 1322, who then selected Grizzlies Team 66. Our alliance began preparations for the elimination matches the following day. Our two Dean’s List semifinalists also attended the Dean’s List Reception to network with representatives from teams and companies.

Due to the poor weather, the vast majority of our team could not attend on Saturday. Nonetheless, we had several accomplishments across the whole AdamBots family. First, we managed to perfect our autonomous routine and gave the 1st seed alliance quite the challenge. The teams we collaborate with also saw great success on the field. The Cyber Cats of Stoney Creek made it as far as the third round of semifinals, and the Robo Vikes of Grayling made it to the division finals! Next, Governor Rick Snyder recognized the efforts of Rochester Community Schools and its teams towards implementing FIRST at all its levels. Finally, the AdamBots won the Entrepreneurship Award for the second state championship in a row! As this is our 12th Entrepreneurship Award, we rank amongst the top three teams in the world for this prestigious honor.

Ending the Michigan season ranked 32nd, we qualified for the world championship in Detroit next week! We’ll be competing on Thursday and Friday at the Cobo Center, and have the chance to compete on Saturday too. We hope to see you there!

Written by Cate Sullivan

FIRST, FRC, FTC, FLL, JR.FLL, COOPERTITION, GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM, RAPID REACT, INFINITE RECHARGE, DEEP SPACE, POWER UP, STEAMWORKS, STRONGHOLD, RECYCLE RUSH, AERIAL ASSIST, ULTIMATE ASCENT, REBOUND RUMBLE, LOGOMOTION, BREAKAWAY, LUNACY, FIRST OVERDRIVE, RACK N ROLL, AIM HIGH, TRIPLE PLAY, FIRST FRENZY: RAISING THE BAR, STACK ATTACK, ZONE ZEAL, DIABOLICAL DYNAMICS, CO-OPERTITION FIRST, and DOUBLE TROUBLE are registered trademarks of United States Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology AKA US FIRST CORPORATION NEW HAMPSHIRE 200 Bedford Street Manchester NEW HAMPSHIRE 03101. USFIRST trademarks and logos used with permission as a USFIRST team.