Robotics

Thursday Ellie got contacts!  She has been begging all year to get some and we were finally able to do it.  She wanted them so badly because when she dances, her glasses don't stay on well.  With her dancing 3 days a week it was starting to become a real  problem.  She struggles to get them on, but she really loves them.  

 Cute Ellie with no glasses.  I thought she was pretty with glasses, but without them I can see her gorgeous eyes better.

 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday was the FIRST robotics Utah regional competition.  Thursday was the day they went to the Maverick Center, got all set up, got their robots inspected and had some time to practice on the actual course.  Maya left our house at 7:00am and didn't get home until 9:00pm.  She was hungry and exhausted.  Friday was the start of competition.  They competed in 8 matches Friday.  The whole things is incredibly crazy and interesting.  Each match the team will get paired up with 2 other randomly chosen teams and compete against 3 other teams.  Each team is called an alliance and they work together to score points.  They earn points by putting hatches on a rocket, balls in a cargo hold, and getting up on a platform.  They area also able to play defense and stop the other team from earning points.  The team that scored the most points at the end of a match gets ranking points.  It's a little confusing, but super fun to watch.  If you want more details you can go to the FIRST robotics website.
Maya left the house again at about 7:00 (thank goodness for a neighbor on the team that can drive) and I showed up at about 9:30 just in time for their first match.  Alta has 2 teams, a veteran team and a rookie team.  Since this is Maya's first year she was on the rookie team.  Their robot was awesome, but they has some connection issues and their driver didn't have enough experience so they struggled a bit.  The also unfortunately never got paired up with any of the top teams.  The ended the competition ranked 44 out of 49.
For the first match I went down to the floor with Maya, but I couldn't see well so after that I  stayed in the stands.  Maya didn't have a whole lot to do on the days of competition because she mostly just helped build the robot, but she was there to support her team and cheer on her robot. 

 Their robot is #7634.  They were really good at getting the balls into the cargo hold.

 A look at the playing field with Maya's robot on the red side.

After school, Kyle brought the other kids down to watch.  Ellie loved it, Liam got bored but still liked it a little, Sophie was not interested in it at all.  Ellie wants to join her schools team next year.  While the kids were with me Maya came and took us down to the pit where each of the 49 teams have a booth set up so they can make repairs in between matches.  Each team also has buttons and you can go around and collect buttons from all the teams.  Ellie and Liam loved getting all the buttons.  Some of the booths are really decked out and some just have what they need.  What I loved was how friendly everyone was.  They were also all willing to help other teams and give each advice.  They also were all willing to share parts and tools if a team found out they didn't have something they didn't need.  Out on the playing field it is intense and serious, but  in the pit is is fun and friendly.

 A shot of Sophie.  I think her favorite part were the drinks and snacks I brought. 

 Saturday Sophie stayed with a friends, but the rest of us went back to watch.  Aunt Allie and  my dad also came to show their support.  We took them down to the pit and showed  them around.

 Saturday Each team only had 2 matches before the final rounds.  After the qualifications, the top 8 teams get to choose their own alliances.  Our veteran team was ranked 9th, but became a team captain of an alliance because the 2 top team formed an alliance leaving a spot open.  We stayed to watch them play in one match and then left.  Maya came home with us since her team was done competing.

 A shot of the pit from the stands.

Robotics has been such a great thing for Maya.  She has learned how to work with a team and how to cope with stressful situations.  The competition was very stressful for her being around so many people and talking with kids she didn't know, but she handled it really well.  She did cry on the way home Friday (she came home with me)  but this taught her how a good cry can relieve stress  and she felt so much better after.  She really liked being on the team and is looking forward to next year, but she is happy to have a bit of a break.