Middle School Robotics Team places well at state competition

From left to right, back row- Mentor Logan Kippnick, Jozef Sprunk, Hunter Anderson, Curtis Bean-Krause, Jaxon DuRussel, front row- Miranda Austin, Alex Benedict, this years robot S.O.L.O., Bodi Foulke, and Peter Cocco.

by Caiden Kippnick, freshman at Manchester High School and member of Manchester Robotics 

After the Flying Dutchbots advanced to the state competition, they went right back to work, finding new ways to improve their robot. On the first day of competition, their hard work began to pay off. The Dutchbots finished Friday in second place out of the 36 teams in their division.

On Saturday, some unusual problems occurred. First, the competition began earlier than expected. This didn’t allow much prep time before the first match. After the first match of the day, they came right back into the queueing area to prepare for their second match. Between those matches, a panel of judges came over and interviewed the team. The team realized when the judges left that a critical motor failed during their demonstration and it needed to be replaced immediately. This hectic time took away from planning with their alliance partner for the second match and left the Dutchbots running on the field while finishing the repair. These unusual circumstances contributed to the Dutchbots’ loss of their first two matches early in the day.

The team’s third and final match of the day was the very last qualifying match at the event. The team did not have a match during the main scouting period, when teams looked to find other teams to partner up with for the playoffs. Some unfortunate luck had the Dutchbots facing a long held top ranking team. However, the team held up well in their final match.

The Flying Dutchbots finished in 13th out of 36, which is a very respectable placement at the state level, especially competing against teams that are well-established and have many resources. Even though their season is over, the team will continue to meet and find ways to spread STEM in the community.

Emergency repair in the pits.

Fun in the stands while waiting for closing ceremony.

State competition playing field.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.