It was the last event for the 2010 FIRST Breakaway season when Team 359 got invited to the Indiana Robotics Invitational.  Departing from Hawaii on July 13, 2010 we traveled to Indianapolis which, including a stopover at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, the Hawaiian Kids traveled nearly eight hours.   With only four days, four students, and four mentors, we made each day in Indiana worthwhile.  For the first team dinner, we went to Cheesecake Factory, where head mentor, Mr. Lee, joked, “If you guys win IRI, we’ll come back here and celebrate, my treat.”  With that dream of winning, the Hawaiian Kids hoped they could pull it off.  For the first activity in Indiana, the racing capital of the world, we visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, devoted to automobiles and auto racing.  The museum featured vintage cars, over 75 vehicles on display and trophies.  Later in the day, the team went to America’s Incredible Pizza Company, where it offered a buffet, bumper cars, go-karts, miniature golf, laser fun, bowling, and numerous games.  After spending two hours there, it was time to leave to go to Lawrence North High School to unpack the crate and set up the pit area for the first day of competition. 

Unlike any other robotics competition that we attended, there are only two days of competition at IRI- the qualifying matches and elimination rounds.  With 79 teams attending from across the United States and Canada, this would be a tough event for the Hawaiian Kids because only the best-of-the-best attended IRI.  Realizing how difficult and stiff the competition is, we learned the hard way and lost the first two matches of the day by a couple of points.  Later in the day, the first time this season, we were paired with the four-time IRI winner, Team 469 (Las Guerrillas) and together scored a high score of 32 to 11.  The last match of the day was an intense battle against the red alliance, teams 3138 (Innovators), 292 (PantherTech), 1732 (Hilltoppers).  It was so intense, with all the ramming and smashing, that our robot lost an air tank and broke the top cover that shielded balls from entering the electronics board.  Although we only lost by two points, it was an unforgettable qualifying match.  At the end of the day we were ranked 47th place with a record of two wins and three losses.  However, the day was not over yet.  The IRI had its annual talent show, in which team member Kortney Pao would be participating.  The talent show had various acts, such as singing and dancing, instrument playing, and even Tesla coils that played sounds and created lighting.  Kortney performed a hula to a song called Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai and although she did not win, she represented Team 359 proudly.  The winner of the 2010 IRI talent show was Dane Christianson, from Team 2949 (pwnage), who did an amazing performance with balls that light up.  After a long day of competition, the Hawaiian Kids prepared for the next and final day of the 2010

July 17, 2010 was the final day of IRI, as well as our 2010 season. It started off well, as we won our last two matches of the qualifying rounds.  The first match for us that day, we started in the mid-zone, and for the first time this season we scored in autonomous from the mid-zone.  After 104 qualifying matches we were ranked 27th with a record of five wins and three losses.  Following the qualifying matches was the alliance selection process, where Team 359 was selected by the number one seeded alliance, Team 330 (BeachBots) in the second round of selection.  Joining the alliance was their first round pick, Team 469 (Las Guerrillas) and their third round pick, Team 399 (Eagle Robotics).  As the number one seeded alliance, we would challenge the eighth seeded alliance, Teams 1058 (PVC Pirates), 910 (Foley Freeze), 343 (Metal-in-Motion), and 111 (Wildstang) in the quarterfinals.  Winning the first two matches, we proceeded to the semifinals against the fifth seeded alliance, teams 67 (HOT), 148 (RoboWranglers), 1625 (Winnovation), and 494 (Martians).  In the first match of the semifinals, we had lost by one point.  In order to move on to the finals, we needed to win the next two matches.  In the second match of the semifinals, we won by two points, 20-18.  We needed another win to move on.  During the third match, the scores were very close; each alliance kept scoring, keeping the scores neck to neck.  At the end of the match, tension rose because the blue alliance had two robots hanging on the tower, and our red alliance had a yellow card and two penalties.  However, we had scored enough points to win, and when the announcer proclaimed that the red alliance moved onto the finals, we were ecstatic, jumping for joy.

After numerous ties in the other semifinals matches, the final match would be our number one seeded alliance against the number two seeded alliance, Teams 1086 (Blue Cheese), 1114 (Simbotics), 2056 (OP Robotics), and 3138 (Innovators).  In the first match of the finals we won 19-13.  In the next match, things got intense: we had a tie of 15-15.  After that match, our alliance called a timeout because a robot had landed on the BeachBots’ robot and broke their analog input module to the cRIO and our own robot’s kicker would not latch back.  Because 330 could not finish in the time allotted for the timeout, our fourth alliance partner, 399, played in the third match of the finals.  It was another tough match; we lost with a score of 14-17.  We needed one more win; it would be the last win, the last match of the season, and the last match of Breakaway in IRI.  That match was nerve wracking with the scores at a dead heat and the robot on its last legs, we were holding our breath as the final result came to 22-18.  It felt surreal; no words could describe how we felt, for our alliance had won the Indiana Robotics Invitational.  So thank you to all the teams, volunteers, and mentors who helped us throughout the 2010 season, for it truly was a memorable year for the Hawaiian Kids.