#first frc

[a-cipher]

something that really stands out to me this frc season is just how often robots fall

[moonbeamdagger]

#WalkLikeWoody

Rest In Peace, Woody Flowers. Happy Kickoff!

[girlscanhaveroboticvillainarcs]

A short robot update

It's been a while, partly because I've had my FIRST FRC district competitions, and partly because I've been working through some mental health stuff which I'll talk about later.

Anyway I wanted to give an update because my queue ran out (don't know how long it's been since that happened) but also!!! At our first district, my team made it to the semi finals! And then we lost simply because we were up against a much better matched alliance. Then, this past weekend we went to our second district and we made it to the quarterfinals! This time, we lost cause our claw mechanism got stuck on the scale in auto (it went down and backed away at the same time when it should have backed away and then gone down). The first match we were stuck literally the entire time, and got like 105 or 205 points in penalties (Yay us for that high score of the day) and then the second time (cause our programmer is a bit of an egotistical butt but I love him) it was stuck for enough of the match that we lost again.

However, we still did really well, we made a great robot, it was a lot of fun to hang out with my subteam, all in all it was another great year. We will most likely be at Michigan's states again this year (!!!!) so hit me up if you're going! If y'all have any questions about FIRST or my experience and what I do feel free to drop by my ask!

👋

[liddolwitch]

Is it gay culture or just me culture to dye hair right before competition season?

[liddolwitch]

Pls help, I make all my robotics breakthroughs at 2 am when there’s no one around to be excited about it with me.

[liddolwitch]

Honestly, build season is when I look the nerdiest. Partly because I wear my flash drives as necklaces and bracelets.

[papayapetal]

FIRST ROBOTICS RANT

I have to admit: I love engineering. My high school did not have a robotics team, and since all of my friends (yes I mean all of them) went to a different school and were on a team, I was more than excited to join a robotics team! It’s what I had been looking for my entire life!

My first meeting, I was very nervous because I was a foreigner to the team and to the school. I would be screwing up friend groups and the team dynamic. There were a few people that were welcoming, but most people just glared at me.

I jumped into it right away. I joined the electrical subteam because they needed more people, and quickly fell in love with it. I was also beginning training to become the subteam captain in following years.

My first year on the team was good, but also brutal. I learned so much, and I made so many great friends that I am still friends with today. I fell in love with FIRST. But I was also looked down upon by the upperclassmen and treated like I was stupid (possibly being a girl, possibly being a sophomore). I started to feel like I wasn’t good enough for my team, and that I needed to work harder to prove myself.

Not very far into the season in 2015, I was sent to treatment, a wilderness therapy program. I was so terrified that people would forget about me and that I would lose the credit for all of my hard work. I was proven right. I transferred to a boarding school out of state, and although I made it my goal to come home every other week to go to meetings, I was forgotten about and have not received recognition for my hard work.

I was supposed to become team captain. I still regret that getting the emotional help that I needed screwed up my role on the team.

Recently I went to a meeting and a girl said I do not deserve to be on the team because I cannot make it to every meeting. I also offer to help with anything and everything at competitions, and even though I have so much experience and enthusiasm, I am forgotten about and pushed aside, now an upperclassmen.

Being on one of the biggest FIRST teams, I was easily forgotten about, even though I am very important to my team. My team is more focused on winning. We aren’t winning competitions because we aren’t a team anymore, we are a group of people attempting to build a robot. And it’s really sad because the team is where I made my friends and gained confidence about myself and being a woman in science, and now I get anxious going to meetings and I feel alone at meetings and it doesn’t feel like a team anymore.

[femaidens2265]

We ended the FRC in South Florida with 4 wins, 4 losses and a tie.

We are so thankful for the experience and we hope to learn from this. We look forward to the next build season and we are so excited to compete again next year!

You haven't seen the last of us yet 😉