By Jolie Brooks, CHS Junior
The Clover High School Robotics team, Team 1539 Clover Eagle Robotics, competed in two competitions this month. The team showed growth, placing 21 out of 32 teams in Anderson and advancing to semifinals match 10 in Charleston. This year's FIRST Robotics competition was called Crescendo. Two teams of three fought to place or shoot rings, or notes, into three field pieces: the speaker, the amp, and the stage (which had a chain for the robots to climb on). Robots started the match with a 15-second autonomous period, where the robot was programmed to either shoot into the speaker or move out of the starting zone. Then, for the next 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the drive team controlled the robot, and during the last 20 seconds of the match, robots tried to hang on the chain or go under the stage. Human players were also able to score additional points by tossing a note onto the stage. This year's drive team consisted of officer members David, Kellen, Ashley, and Gavyn. The first competition the team attended was in Anderson, SC, from March 7 to March 9. The team competed and tried their very best. Unfortunately, they didn’t get selected to be in an alliance to compete in the playoff rounds, making it to rank 21 out of 32 by the end of the qualification rounds. Still, throughout the struggles of the competition, the team members in the stands kept their spirits high, engaging in chants and cheering for the team. The members held up signs and dressed in spirit wear, with the team president even wearing a full leprechaun outfit. And even if the team didn't get very far at the Anderson competition, they learned the importance of perseverance; Vice President Ashley said, “We learned perseverance, and how important it is, to even in bleak situations, keep planning and adapting. You have to keep the motivation and optimism up, or you're never going to get anywhere because you're going to fail a lot in robotics but getting back up is the important part.” The second competition Team 1539 competed in this season was in Charleston from March 21 to March 23. Despite the hardships in Anderson, the team worked hard in the two weeks between the two competitions and ended up being selected by Alliance #3, which consisted of Team 342 Burning Magnetos and Team 3490 Viper Drive. Once selected for the alliance, the team decided to move to sit near the alliance teams. “There’s a lot of energy and excitement in the stands; there are a lot of people cheering and chanting, and it’s just a fun, exciting atmosphere. And what sets FIRST Robotics competitions apart from other competitions is how nice everyone is to each other. People cheer on other teams, but there's still room for competitiveness,” the team’s Public Relations Lead, Leila, said. However, challenges and issues still occurred during the qualification matches. The biggest issue occurred when the chassis was bent, causing the team to miss multiple matches to fix it. The team's Shop Boss, Kellen, said, “When the chassis was bent, it caused a lot of issues such as the intake wheels hitting the chassis, as well as the intake chain coming loose because the motor was bent towards it. It proved to be our biggest challenge.” Overcoming this challenge showed the other teams that Team 1539 could get knocked down but always got back up and climbed their way back through the rankings. While all members of the team wished that Team 1539 could have won, they were all happy with the outcome of the season, saying that they did better than they did last year, which shows growth and improvement. The experience alone helps them keep their spirits high and prepare for next season.
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