This past weekend, GaCo 1629 competed in their first qualification event of the season in Blacksburg, VA. The team was one of 34 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams competing from across Virginia, DC, and Maryland, but mostly Virginia. The team ended up as the 2nd ranked team in regards to the robot after playing 12 qualification matches. As a result, they were able to compete in playoff matches as the captain of the 2nd seed alliance (out of eight) and made it to the final matches but lost in the finals to the 1st seed alliance. “We were ecstatic to get to the finals and gained lots of District points in the process,” said Chuck Trautwein. “Overall. we were 13-4-0 in match play and are currently ranked 3rd overall among the 139 teams in the Chesapeake District.”
As a result of winning the Chairman’s Award in Houston last year, the team is not eligible to compete for the same award for 5 years. However, they are able to compete for the Engineering Inspiration (EI) Award, (the second most coveted award in the FIRST community), and they were the recipient of that award for the tournament. The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization and community. Winning the EI Award at the qualification level allows them to compete for the same award at the District Championship, which falls on Easter Weekend, April 6-8 (Thu-Sat), 2023, at George Mason University.
Additionally, Sophia Rankin, a junior at Northern Garrett High School, was named a “Dean’s List” Semi-Finalist. The Dean’s List is FIRST’s only individual student award. According to FIRST, students who earn FIRST Dean’s List status as either a Semi-finalist, Finalist, or Winner, are great examples of current student-leaders who have led their teams and communities to an increased awareness for FIRST and its mission while achieving personal technical expertise and accomplishment. As a result, Ms. Rankin will be competing for the FIRST Dean’s List Finalist award at the District Championship.
Overall, it was an amazing weekend for GaCo. “Even with all the robot competition and judging, students were able to teach GaCo’s STEM waypoint lessons and do STEM activities with dozens of younger students from the Blacksburg area who came with their parents to check out the competition,” said Trautwein. “Making THAT difference is the best ‘WIN’ GaCo could have!”
You may view a match video from the competition by clicking on the linked URL. In this match, GaCo 1629 is part of the blue alliance (wearing blue bumpers). This is the match in which the alliance achieved the top score in the tournament.
