#omg robots

amazing post, and congratulations on getting your sticker on the Cheesy Poofs cart omg!!! We sadly didn't make it to Champs, when it was still two, they were in Houston, weren't they?

I'm glad you had a great time. FRC is life changing. I've been involved with the team and had my family involved since 2009, when I was about 8. When I turned 9 i started my own FLL team.

Even with all that, it's still not enough. there is NOTHING in the entire world that compares to being a student in FRC. running around the pits meeting all sorts of people, handing out prizes and buttons and stickers. the jaw-dropping robot designs, the amazing and fun mascots. Meeting dozens of people while being surrounded with hundreds, if not thousands of kids with interests like yours.

i'm looking forward to volunteering, hosting events and trying to start new teams. It won't be the same but it's something that will carry on.

and I agree! In 2019 I only saw pronoun pins and ribbons at Worlds, this year I saw SEVERAL custom pronoun buttons being given out by teams, pride pins, etc. The worst part for me was not having the guts to put on a pronoun pin but I was running around with the rainbow pins I could find.

Head Coach: No. They're not going to hold your weight.

Me: *mockingly upset* What? What're you saying? What's that mean?

I am a mentor for Team 6332: Bull City Botics, a high school robotics team, part of FIRST Robotics Competition. Over the past six months, I have had the privilege of assisting a highly talented group of students at Riverside High School begin their journey through FIRST Robotics. Our team needs your support to help us attend the state championship, which we have qualified for.

We truly could not do this without the help of the community. Because of your generous donations, we now have awesome tools (thank you Resnick family, American Underground, Adam Dickinson, and Kontek); we have quality robot parts because of a generous local manufacturer (Mertek, who you should hit up if you need high-quality custom machines); we have reliable materials with which to build (thanks to the Holtz, Lamar, Treeger, Fullenkamp, Zauscher, Aguilar, Quizley, and Blankenship families); and we have had more than enough food for every single meeting and competition.

You all make this possible. Our students have learned so much – bystander intervention, industrial design, optical recognition and control systems programming, networking, professional communication, web design, teamwork, and leadership – and they've received countless compliments on their positive attitude, sense of humor, generosity toward other teams (even as a first-year team), safety ethic, and professionalism. The growth of students goes far beyond their technical skills, they’ve also developed as leaders and thinkers. Your support has helped us create something very special.

In addition to just being a rad team, we're pretty darn competitive. We have a beefy drivetrain that pulls ~1440W of power in a pushing match, a strategy that is well thought-out and effective, and level-headed students to make it all happen. Which shows in that we have been invited to the State Championship at Campbell University.

I am so excited for our team, but we have work. By Tuesday (yes, 3/28), we need to raise $4,000 to pay for our registration fees. Please help us through this issue – networking contacts, fundraising tips, and donations are all extremely appreciated. These students have far exceeded their expectations, and I want them to be able to see this through to its fullest extent.