March 2026

Week 4 of competition season is here, and our team has traveled to Nampa, Idaho, for the Idaho Regional! We shipped our robot directly from the Hawaii Regional the previous week, and our teammates flew in a day after the competition ended. We were determined to perform our best and come back even stronger!

QUALIFICATION MATCHES

The second day of the competition rolled around, and the day started with practice matches. Instead of using the time in the field to change our code, we were finally able to practice driving! This practice was a great warm-up for our diver, and we moved right into qualification matches. Throughout this period, we focused on scoring efficiently, executing our strategy, and forming a strong game plan with our alliances. Our robot performed consistently, and we improved as each round passed. Our best round was match 20, where we partnered with teams 5461 and 3006 to score an impressive 548 points! Qualifications came to an end, and we finished in first place with a solid score of 12-0-0 (win-lose-tie)!

FINALS

While the competition was underway, we had teamed up with other alliance partners to create match strategies. We analyzed data from previous matches against the other alliances and developed strategies to counter our opponents. We had the honor of choosing 2122, Tators, as our first alliance partner! Together, we reviewed our data and decided to choose team 3729, The Raiders, for our alliance! We helped swap their swerve and have their robot ready before match 1, with only three minutes to spare. In match 15, we played alongside the raiders, and with our strategy, communication, and data grabs, won 275-131. Given how effectively they strategized with our team, we chose them for the play-offs! We faced all the challenges our team encountered during the play-offs; however, we remained undefeated in our play-off matches, thanks to our alliance team. We want to thank our mentors and our alliances team members, whom we couldn't have done without. We move on to the finals!

PRACTICE DAY

Before arriving at the venue and setting up, we used a room in the hotel we were staying at to build and test components of our robot. When we got to the venue, our team members all got together to help with setting up the pit and carts for the next 2.5 days of competition. We took any extra time as an opportunity to refine our code. During the previous week, our shooter was not the most consistent. It would break, clog, or miss the goal completely. During the few practice matches we had, we shot from key areas around the field, recorded it, and used it to tune the shooter based on how much it did or did not miss. With some code readjustments, we were able to keep our shooter steady and make loads of balls!

ALLIANCE SELECTION

After 3 playoff match wins, we advanced to the finals, where our alliance faced the third-seeded alliance in a thrilling, action-packed series of matches! We started strong in the first round by winning the autonomous period, scoring effectively, and hanging in the last second, getting a solid head start with a score of 134-61. Since the Blue Alliance had the first hub shift, our alliance focused on collecting fuel to score, quickly shooting them to our side. When the hub shifted, we shot a continuous stream of balls, furthering the score gap and keeping the lead! We ended the match with a score of 476-291, securing our first finals match win! We quickly returned to the field for a second round, where we kept up our pace and strategy. Although our robot died during the match, thanks to our amazing alliance, we were able to maintain the score and cinch the point, winning the tournament!

IMUA WAIALUA!

Although many challenges came up along the way, we were able to pull through and win our third tournament of the season! This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our amazing mentors and parents who have supported us throughout this journey. We have met so many new teams and people across the world and learned so much from the opportunities that they have provided us. Alongside the regional win, we were also awarded the Innovation in Control Award, which celebrates teams that create unique, highly effective, and reliable control systems to solve machine challenges. Catch us at our next tournament at the Utah Regional from April 16 to 18! Imua Waialua!

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