By: Janelle Pantilon, Staff Writer
Mills’ robotics team, the Boba Bots underwent adversity at CalGames earlier this month, placing 39th out of 42 schools on October 8, 2023.
In the first week of October, the Boba Bots participated in their first competition of the season known as CalGames. CalGames is an off-season FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) run tournament: an annual event operated with other local high school teams. This year, it was hosted at Woodside High School in Woodside, CA.
Due to being an off-season competition, the results don’t account to any of the teams current standings. The sequence of games are solely a chance for each school to utilize their previously built robot one last time before moving forward with another design. In this case, “Tea-Rex” was the contender.
The Friday prior to competition is called “load-in”, giving small groups of students per school the opportunity to set up. The Boba Bots packed their essentials, loaded them into the van, and headed to Woodside. There they began laying out the pit, an area where team technicians fix the robot between matches.
Daniel Rea (10), works in the operations department as a first year robotics member and recalls stepping foot into the competition space not knowing what to expect. When he entered the event, it seemed “almost like a Mills football or basketball game,” elaborating there were so many people and how he hadn’t truly understood how big the robotics community is.
The load-in Friday is also a moment where groups can familiarize the host school’s layout, get a scope of other robots, and hold a practice match. Freshman, Karthik Joshi (9), the robot control driver explained, “We had one practice match, it was my first ever match and it was really interesting.” He commended the uplifting atmosphere: “All the people there were nice, you could ask other teams for spare parts or tools and they’d help.”
Day two consisted of qualification matches. Matches after matches were performed and emotions ran high throughout the day. Returning sophomore Ayushi Swami (10), an electronics lead, described that as many members were new to the competition experience, leads and returning members “took on a lot of pressure because of the growing team and everyone learning [the ins and outs].” Later on, she learned that she would have to step up and join the drive team for the weekend, despite having minimal experience. Scoring got better as time progressed however that didn’t entail additional roadblocks.
“Our robot broke down… a lot,” voiced Joshi.
The ambitious environment demanded frequent quick and on the spot changes, but the Boba Bots pushed through. “We’re very good at taking in pressure, there were a lot of changes but we handled them well,” expressed Swami.
Construction lead, Eduardo Galindo (11) praises the drive team, “The driving team did the best that they could, it’s mostly a brand new team so they’re a bit inexperienced but they handled it well.”
The final day took a better turn. Multiple points were accumulated and Tea-Rex maintained balance on the charge station, a field obstacle that was quite a challenge to overcome. And although Mills did not qualify in the top eight schools to hand select another team to align with in the playoffs, the overall experience mattered.
“We don’t go into a competition expecting to win, we just hope to do our best and show members how much fun robotics really is,” stated Sabrina Gao (12), Operations (business & publicity) Captain.
Similar to sport leagues, bands, or clubs, robotics is a community. Everyone present strives to collaborate, have fun, and pursue their passions whilst challenging themselves. “Our main goal is retaining members and showing the magic of stem,” Gao illuminated.
The Boba Bots have a busy schedule on their hands, and we cannot wait to see what they have in store, as well as to meet Tea-Rex’s new best friend next spring!
