Year Recap & Summer Update
The Birch Bots have just recently concluded the 2017-18 school year and this will be dubbed in the team as a year to remember. We started off the year competing with our 2017 robot "Phantom" at two events: girlPOWER and Brunswick Eruption and ended the year with the 2018 robot "Gilly" competing at three events: NYC Regional, Battlecry@WPI, and WIWI. The 2018 PowerUp season started off slow as we had graduated our "core four" these four members started the team in 2015 and concluded in 2017. With this group gone the team stepped up and came up with a plan to create our most successful and competitive robot in team history. We are looking forward to what the future will bring and are excited for what is to come.
After the conclusion of WIWI the team entered the summer but before we could do this we had our end of the year award ceremony. This year we gave out 6 awards they were: Rookie(s) of the year, Excellence in Building, Drive Team Advisor, and Birch Bot of the year. The awards were given out based on qualities the captains and mentors both agreed upon. The winners were: ROY: Lucie, Alexa | Mechanical: Joe, Sam | DTA: Bennet | BBOY: Jasper. The summer of 2018 is bringing new and exciting things to the team. We are currently undergoing a shop upgrade where the new build space will feature a CNC, New Tools, Better Organization, and new work tables. This fall we will be starting a workshop series where we will be able to introduce team members to more aspects of the team and teach new members how everything works. In the fall we have plans to compete at Brunswick Eruption for the 4th year. Finally, we are getting excited about FIRST Launch and the 2019 FRC game:
After the conclusion of WIWI the team entered the summer but before we could do this we had our end of the year award ceremony. This year we gave out 6 awards they were: Rookie(s) of the year, Excellence in Building, Drive Team Advisor, and Birch Bot of the year. The awards were given out based on qualities the captains and mentors both agreed upon. The winners were: ROY: Lucie, Alexa | Mechanical: Joe, Sam | DTA: Bennet | BBOY: Jasper. The summer of 2018 is bringing new and exciting things to the team. We are currently undergoing a shop upgrade where the new build space will feature a CNC, New Tools, Better Organization, and new work tables. This fall we will be starting a workshop series where we will be able to introduce team members to more aspects of the team and teach new members how everything works. In the fall we have plans to compete at Brunswick Eruption for the 4th year. Finally, we are getting excited about FIRST Launch and the 2019 FRC game:
Have a great summer and we will see you in the fall!
ABout UsThe Birch Bots, team 5421, is the Birch Wathen Lenox School’s ascendant FIRST robotics team. Being from a boutique, preparatory school in Manhattan, we have stepped up to the challenge of growing and advancing our small team to its fullest potential.
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WHAT IS FIRST? FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is the most fantastic program out there that gives kids who want to join the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields real-world, hands-on learning experience in areas such as problem-solving, working with a team, dealing with deadlines, and leadership. Along the way, life long self-confidence is gained and best friends are made.
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Time to Brunswick Eruption
News Feed:
Where is Wolcott Invitational (WIWI)
The Birch Bots enjoyed their time up in Wolcott CT. While at the event team members had the opportunity to join the drive team for a match and play PowerUp! The day was also filled with some struggles while competing both of our intake arms broke. The first time we broke an arm we had a replacement but for the second arm, we did not. Once the second arm broke the pit crew jumped into action coming up with an idea that got us up and running in no time. The Birch Bots overall had a great time at the event and are looking forward to the future!
Battlecry@wpi
The Birch Bots had a great time at Battlecry 19! Day one started off slow as we ran into a few issues with the robot, but during this time the Birch Bots kept going and never gave up until our issue was solved. We determined that our issue was in our code and once we fixed it, Gilly went back to performing as it has always been. In the end we finished ranked 16/60 with a record of 5-3. In round robins we finished with a record of 1-1 bringing our season total to 13-9. The Birch Bots became the #12 alliance captain and selected 839 (Rosie Robotics) and 1735 (Green Reapers). We would like to congratulate the winning alliance: 195, 319 and offseason bot 9985! Looking forward we are getting ready to head back to the NE District to compete in a team favorite event: WIWI!
NYC REGIONAL Recap
The Birch Bots had a fantastic weekend at the NYC Regional. We finished the event ranked 17 with a qualification record of 7-3 and a finished record of 7-5. We were invited to join the #7 alliance with teams 6353 and 2344, where we played the #2 Alliance and got eliminated from the event. For the first time in official play the Birch Bot's were selected to play in eliminations and finished with a record above .500. Overall the Birch Bot's had an amazing time at the event and we would like to thank all the parents, friends, teachers, and administrators for coming out to show support for the team. We would also like to thank NYC First, the volunteers, the judges, all the robot inspector's, the CSA's and FTA's who helped us out on the field, and all the referees for putting on a event to remember. For a detailed breakdown of all the matches at the event head over to www.thebluealliance.com/event/2018nyny. For a breakdown on all the Birch Bot's matches, head over to www.thebluealliance.com/team/5421. We would like to congratulate the winning alliance 694, 1796, and 743.
