As posted before, we set the Rebound Rumble high score in the elimination rounds with our awesome 341-254-78 alliance! The video of this match (Curie SF1-2) is below.

Furthermore, several team members worked on a new plan to use the Microsoft Kinect station during the Hybrid mode (AWFAC). Video of this is below.

Last Wednesday 24 Bellarmine students traveled to St. Louis to defend their World Championship FRC title from last year.  Team 254 left St. Louis one step away from the Einstein playoffs, which showcases the top 12 teams in the world from the 400 teams which competed in this tournament. We lost in the finals of the Curie Division (one match away from Einstein) with our partners Miss Daisy from Ambler, Pennsylvania and AIR Strike from Newport County, Rhode Island.  Eric Bakan was also a finalist for the prestigious Dean’s List Award in St. Louis.

The team powered through the qualification rounds and ended up proving ourselves as one of the most capable ball shooting robots in the division even though we seeded very low.  We were the first pick by the #1 seeded team and showed the world what our powerful alliance could do, triple balancing in numerous matches (see picture below) and going forward to set the all-time Rebound Rumble high score of 128.

Many students, mentors, and staff contributed but special thanks goes to our Driver Abhi Kumar (2014) and Operator Chris Sides (2015) and Human Player  Adam Wilson (2012).  Furthermore, congratulations to all of our seniors for whom this was their last tournament: Bhargava Manja, Eric Caldwell, Eric Bakan, Reiley Weekes, Michael Searing, Ankur Das, Arun Pingali, Andrew Guastaferro & Adam Wilson.  Although we didn’t win, we showed the world what we can do and are proud to have finished off our fourteenth season strong.

Triple balancing to set the rebound rumble high score!

This week, Team 254 is competing in the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis, MO.  We are in the Curie Division and are looking forward to playing with and against some of the top performing teams in the world.  NASA will be webcasting the event, so check back here tomorrow for the feed!  We’ve made a lot of improvements and changes, and we look forward to the opportunity to prove ourselves on the world stage.

Good luck to everybody competing and Go Poofs!

This weekend, Team 254 is competing at the VEX World Championship in Anaheim, CA.  Five of our teams qualified and are competing:

• 254A in the Math Division
• 254B in the Engineering Division
• 254D in the Technology Division
• 254E in the Science Division
• 254H in the Math Division

• Tournament Finalists
• Industrial Design Award Winners
• Website Award Winners

This weekend 36 members of The Cheesy Poofs competed in the FIRST Central Valley Regional (CVR) in a field of 46 teams from as far away as Mexico.   It was a very competitive tournament.  We went to the Elimination Matches with 1323 – Madtown Robotics of Madera High School and 3309 – The Friarbots of Anaheim which is made up of three Catholic High Schools.  We won our quarterfinal match against the #7 alliance and went on to compete against 973 – The Greybots of Atascadero, our alliance partners at Worlds last year.  After three tough matches, we beat their alliance to go to the tournament finals.  Team 254 fought a noble battle but lost in the finals to the alliance of 1717 – The D’Penguineers of Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy in Goleta, who had recently won the Los Angeles Regional, 330 – The former world champion Beach Bots and 2102 – Team Paradox of Encinitas, CA.   Team 254 also received the Website Award for the first time since 2004 and the Industrial Design Award for the second time this season.

It was a great tournament overall.  While it would have been great to go all the way, we’re proud of our improvements along the way and are happy that long-time powerhouse team 330 qualified for the world championship. We’ll be hard at work over the next few weeks preparing and practicing for the St. Louis Championship. Congratulations to everyone especially 1717, 330 & 2102 and we’ll see you soon at the Championship Event!

The Central Valley Regional begins today and goes through April 7. Team 254 will competing with and against some of the best teams from all over California and beyond.  The team is excited to compete at this inaugural event and (fun fact) is actually the lowest numbered team in attendance.

Our matches start tomorrow morning at 9:37. The complete match schedule is available here.

Good luck to all teams at the competition!

• Regional Champion
• Industrial Design Award
• Dean’s List Finalist Award

Last weekend, Bellarmine College Preparatory robotics Team 254 “The Cheesy Poofs” attended the Silicon Valley Regional at San Jose State University.  Team 254 was the regional winner, along with alliance members Team 971 (Mountain View High School) and Team 766 (Menlo-Atherton High School).  In the face of stiff competition, Team 254 won 9 of 10 qualification matches and 6 of 6 elimination matches. We also applaud the hard work of our sister team, 1868, for making it to the finals on the opposing alliance.

In addition the competition results, Team 254 was awarded the General Motors Industrial Design Award for clean and efficient robot design.  Eric Bakan was recognized as a FIRST Dean’s List Finalist for his achievements and impact on the FIRST community. He will move on to compete internationally for Dean’s List Winner at the FIRST World Championships. With the Central Valley Regional and World Championships around the corner, Team 254 gears up for more exciting competition.

The Chairman’s team has been hard at work the last few weeks on the Chairman’s Video. Check it out below. Great job to everybody who helped!