Team 1720 was founded in 2005, and has since gathered resources and members.
Team 1720's first game (in 2006) was a game very much like basketball. There were two alliances, each alliance, in turn, consisted of three robots. Thus, at all times there were six robots on the playing field. We called our robot Tubby, because it was 53 pounds overweight. But not to fear! We were able to take off some of the weight, leaving us with a completely operational robot, and even won Rookie Team Award in the Boilermaker Regional.
The next year (2007) we had a new team. For competition, we built another robot, called Frodo. Of course, we all know who Frodo is, and this comes into play with the robot. That year's game was based around picking inflatable rings off the playing field, and placing them on racks in the center of the field. This game, like the year before it, was based on two alliances of three robots each. We were quite pleased with our robot, as it did very well. In fact, some might go as far as to say that it was the second best robot our team has made.
In 2008, our team built yet another robot for competition. That game centered around picking balls up, and then driving around with them in a small court, or throwing the balls over overhangs. Interestingly enough, 2008's game included two alliances, but with only two robots each, this being the only year in Team 1720's existance that has not included two alliances of three robots. Our robot did okay, but not as well as Frodo. The robot for 2008 was called Sparky, because of an unfortunate accident resulting in a small fire (nobody was hurt, though!) Our team also built a New Year's Eve ball in our off season time, and that ball now drops annually downtown, at the roundabout.
You are probably wondering which robot of ours has done best, now. After all, I said earlier that Frodo was probably our second best robot. So... Who's number one? The answer to that would be C4, a champion to behold! We started with ideas, then built two prototypes. After we determined on one prototype, we worked on the prototype, and finished it. If time had permitted, we might have started over, and built a new robot following the same plan and layout, but because of time constraints we decided not to. Then... We were done. With over one week of practice time, it was looking very good for our team.
The game was called Lunacy, and it was pretty much just dodgeball (again with six robots at a time, with two alliances.) We designed our robot to scoop up balls and deploy them, scoring massive amounts of points every time. And when we went to competition, we were amazed. At the end of the qualifications, we were seed #1! We then chose two partners, and together our team of three robots won the first quarterfinals match we were in. However, each match was a two out of three match, so we had to win one more match against that alliance. On the second match we lost. Then, there was one more. Balls were scored, it was impossible to tell who would win. The buzzer sounded, and everyone turned to the board. The score was... 60-60. A tie. Then the judges counted one more ball that was scored, leaving the score at 60-62... With our score being 60. It was very dissapointing. But, we still had much to be thankful for. Our robot had done well, and and it was something we could be proud of.
After another succesful drop of the New Year's Eve ball, our team faced another game, and one that would push us to the limits. At first, the game appeared to be rather simple.
But there is a saying that looks can be deceiving...
And sometimes, that saying is precious truth.
The game was called Breakaway, and was pretty much just soccer, except for one little thing... It was on an obstacle course. Again, each alliance had three robots, and there were two alliances. Our team worked, and worked, and worked. But by the time we actually had a robot to test, we discovered more problems. By the time we were ready for extensive testing, it was ship day. It was a sad moment, but perhaps for the best. The night before, a few members of our team stayed at our building until nearly 5:00 A.M.
When competition came around, our robot still needed more work! By the end of the practice day, our robot had still not entered the field. The next day would herald the qualification matches, and we could not afford to miss those (not to mention, it's not really allowed...) Our robot entered the field, but because of the fact that we were not really confident in our kicking ability, our drive team decided to play defensively... And we all had to agree that they did a good job doing it, too. Unfortunately, we were not one of the top seeded teams, so we had to hope that we were chosen by one of the top seeds if we wanted to continue.
At the end of the qualifications, we were chosen by one of the top seeded teams, giving us a chance in the quaterfinals. We lost the first match, but won the second. But on the third, as before, we met defeat. Although we might not have won, we tried, and we didn't really lose. In this game, you don't lose by being beaten by another team. The only way to lose is to give up, and we didn't give up.
So, at story's end, we never 'won' a competition. But we were top seeded once, and we have built a lot of robots. We have taught many students, and who knows how many of them will have a different future than they would have had otherwise. Our animation team has won three different times in the Boilermaker regional, and out of five competitions, that's an incredible accomplishment.
So here's a big thanks to all of our great sponsors, who have made this possible.
And there is no overlooking the mentors, who have encouraged us and taught us in so many ways. Without them, this program wouldn't exist. So to our mentors... Thank you.
Thanks also to the city of Muncie for its support, and for helping us when we needed it. So, city, sponsors, FIRST, mentors, and everyone else that has made this program possible
Thanks,
-Team 1720
