Going Down the Bayou!

This being my first year on Breakaway 3937, I had no idea what to expect from this year’s Bayou Regional in Kenner, Louisiana. Well, I guess that’s only half true. Robotics competitions tend to follow a certain formula. We drive up on Wednesday, Thursday is mostly practice matches and set up, Friday is qualifications, and Saturday is a conglomerate of qualification matches, alliance selections, a nail-biting elimination tournament, and, of course, the awards ceremony.

FIRST really is the hardest fun you’ll ever have! But what I didn’t know about Bayou was the atmosphere it would hold. Would it be serious or fun? However, once I stepped through the doors of the Pontchartrain Center, I could tell this was going to be a good time. The people are kind, the view of the lake is amazing, and the food is delicious. Don't even get me started on the good Louisiana cooking we had in the short time we competed in Bayou (think beignets, seafood, and gourmet grilled cheese)!

The competition kicked off on Friday with six qualification matches. Breakaway 3937 single-handedly filled a rocket in two separate matches, which made eight completed rockets since our competition season has begun. Unfortunately, in spite of our individual performance, we ended the qualification matches ranked lower than we expected. In the world of FIRST robotics, anything can happen. That Saturday, we were picked by the fourth seed Team 281, Green Villains, and together we rounded out the alliance with 5997, Knightling Boltz. After a valiant effort, we lost to the third seed alliance in the semifinals. Although we didn't bring home a blue banner this time, it was amazing to cooperate with skilled teams for a common goal.

In the awards ceremony, Breakaway 3937 was honored to receive the Excellence in Engineering award, which is the highest robot honor given. The Excellence in Engineering award celebrates an elegant and advantageous machine feature. We have a legit robot this year, and it was a blessing for our members and coaches alike to receive the well-earned plaque that commemorated many hard weeks of work.

So what’s next for Breakaway? The World competition in Houston, Texas! This is a world wide robotics competition that will take place April 16-20, 2019. We are incredibly excited to present our Chairman’s presentation and compete with our robot among many world class teams. We wish the best of luck to all the teams!

Thank you sponsors!