I’m Francisco, one of the senior leads on Team 8349 Newbotics. I, along with my team captain and another senior lead, attended the STEMley cup event in Hamilton, ON. We wanted to gain some first-hand experience of what a FIRST robotics competition would be like before the build season started. With the STEMley cup, we thought it was a great opportunity to acquire some of that experience.
All three of us signed up as volunteers for the game reset, where we were able to see the game Deep Space up close. As a rookie team, we did not know what to expect. By the time the first game started, we were all impressed by the passion and energy that filled the room. We quickly learned that it was not a competitive environment. Although it was a competition, every team was willing to help each other. Each team we met gave us very helpful advice and tips on their past experiences and problems. I learned what it really meant to be part of FIRST robotics. This competition is not only about mechanical skills like programming and designing, we realized we needed graphic designers, marketers, community outreaches. We found out the game had numerous elements of strategy and politics. It was fascinating to see all the hard work that was put in all the robots. Everyone had a special unique role vital to the team.
We were able to meet many very helpful people from different teams and I was very grateful for the opportunity to be apart of it.