Championship Wrap-up!

As a freshman on the team, I was overjoyed to be going to Championships. It was something I had never done before, participating on a team that went so far. It was thrilling and exciting, and I had no idea what to expect. Though, the first thing I experienced wasn’t the most fun thing on the planet. The sixteen hour bus trip down to St Louis, Missouri was a handful, and it was hard to keep entertained. Yet, we managed.

We reached the city at around eleven their time. As soon as we reached the city’s limits, the great silver arch greeted us in all its glory. It was certainly something to behold. It was absolutely huge, and definitely intimidating. We drove on until we reached the hotel, where we then unloaded all our gear and met in the lobby. We all agreed to go to the arch. This was after all, our only day off.

The walk through the city was nice, and consisted of many fountains and sculptures. Once we reached the arch, we all sat around and relaxed, some of us playing Frisbee, some talking with other teams, and some of us watched as Alex juggled. There were a few seats open on the capsules going up the arch, and of course, I got dragged into going. Let me put this out here right now, I was terrified. Heights are not something I do well with. Though, once we got to the top, everything was worth it. We could see the whole city.

We went back to the hotel and relaxed, most of us heading to the pool. We went to a place called Schnucks for dinner. It was a relaxed day over all, and then we all went to bed. The next day, Thursday, would prove the longest for all of us. We woke up early at 5, some waking up at 4, and we all trudged downstairs to eat breakfast. At 5.45 sharp, we left for the arena. The day consisted of practice matches, a few qualification matches, and many technical difficulties. Yet, just like always, we pulled through. The day was long and didn’t end until nearly 8 pm, and by then, all anyone wanted to do was sleep. Of course, some people went to the Robo Prom. I heard it was fun, but I opted out.

Friday dawned even earlier and the same ritual was repeated for breakfast and the walk over. This time though, we continued into the qualification matches. More hinged on these matches than the previous days had. We cheered so loudly for our team and our robot; I swear the people in the pits could hear us screaming. Part of me hopes that they did. Our robot had started off with a sketchy working, but by the end of the day it was working perfectly.

Friday was also the day with the opening ceremony. Though we could not find any seats for ourselves, team 191, the X-cats, had seats that we could use. I was really grateful, as it relieved a lot of my nerves! Dean Kamen came up to talk, as well as Woodie Flowers. He introduced a few new awards, one being the Make it Loud Award. It was inspired by Will.I.Am, who came up and spoke to us. I remember thinking right then and there, “I have a new role model.” He was so inspired and inspiring, it was wonderful. He was just so nice.

After that the matches continued, and then lunch arrived with the Dean’s List Award Winners. We went, hoping and praying with all our hearts that Ciana would win. Unfortunately she didn’t quite make it, but congratulations to all that did!

The next day was Saturday, and the alliance selections occurred. As fortune would tell, we were not picked. Though we were all disappointed, it was still a thrill to cheer on all the other teams. They competed, three on three, until only four teams remained. One from Archimedes, one from Newton, one from Galileo, and one from Curie. They all competed on the Einstein Field. All the extra teams went to sit in front of the field, and those of us that were sitting in the high seats, got our hands on paper. Many, many paper airplanes flew into the air time after time, some with little messages on them, and some even with phone numbers!

The ceremonies began and many important leaders came up to speak to us. Dean Kamen, Woodie Flowers, the Coca-Cola CEO, the leader of the Air Force, and many more. Awards were given out, the matches were played, and the winners were determined. Teams 610, 1241, and 1477 won, and congratulations from all of us go out to them!

It was a well thought out competition, the game obviously the hardest it’s ever been. But we all pulled through and we didn’t give up. We stayed with our belief in FIRST and to me; just the fact that we even built the robot means we won. We won a regional, we made it to championships, and next year, we’re gonna go even farther!