Team Voltage 386 goes to the FRC Robotics World Championships by Piper Faherty
After an undefeated regional competition in Tallahassee, Melbourne High School's Robotics Team, Team Voltage 386, qualified for the World Championship in Houston Texas. This came with an extension of their season and a rush to improve their robot as much as possible in the weeks leading up to Worlds. Team and Pit Crew member, sophomore, Piper Faherty stated, “It was a stressful couple of weeks trying to fit in as many improvements as possible, but it was really rewarding when our robot performed well at worlds.”
It was an amazing accomplishment for the team to make it to worlds, but it was not a first for the team lead, Senior Tracey Chen who spoke about the differences between her two experiences at Worlds, “ This year was by far the best, our freshman year we took a 16 hour bus ride which was super exhausting. It was also just fun to take a plane with friends and hangout at the airport with everyone. this year we also went to roboprom which was really memorable. It was nice to mingle with other teams.” Chen went on to talk about the differences between the world and regional competitions, “I think the sheer size of it shocks a lot of the members who have only gone to the regionals. The organizers reserve an entire floor to just robotics competition fields and there are hundreds of teams from around the world competing. There is so much going on like the innovation fair and other competitions like FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge. This game was also very entertaining to watch during finals on Einsteins."
Though some had gone to Worlds before this was a brand new experience for some members, such as drive team member Serenity Halliday who spoke about the differences between regional and world competitions, “My favorite part was definitely seeing the team from all over the world. Not only seeing their robots but also talking with them about how they structure their team and promote outreach is always a learning opportunity for us. It’s different from the regional competitions in several ways, the main one of course is the type of competition you get. These are teams selected from all over the world who are competing with winning robots. The competition is fierce but the atmosphere is just as lively as the regionals.” For some the world competition for others it brought back memories, Chen stated “I remember coming back to the same venue felt very nostalgic for me. Discovery green, which is outside of the venue where most teams hang out and have lunch, is always very pretty and the bustle of being in Houston is definitely felt.” Overall every member felt like Chen, who summarized, “ I’m also very proud of the team this year and everything we’ve accomplished.”
Photo by Piper Faherty