We received the first place Inspire Award at the MN FTC State Championship yesterday, which means we will be moving on to the next level of competition. Words can’t explain what this tournament meant to us. It was our last time competing at a robotics competition in Minnesota after nine incredible seasons. For those of us moving away after graduation, this was our last time ever participating in Minnesota FIRST; for others, this is the end of participation and the beginning of a long career volunteering with High Tech Kids.
The tournament yesterday took place at Washington Technology Magnet School in St. Paul. The first time we competed at a MN State Championship at Washington Tech, we were nervous, wide-eyed 4th-grade LEGO Leaguers dashing between the ground floor performance area and upstairs judging sessions without a clue about what was going on. Exactly nine years later, we enjoyed the day competing alongside our FTC friends before being announced for first place Inspire. We’ve laughed, cried, dropped robots and danced away our worries at that venue. Washington Tech is our robotics home and we feel fortunate that we were able to end our MN robotics careers in the same place where they started.
We know this isn’t the end of our season or our time with FIRST in Minnesota, but it still feels like the end of something. So we want to say thank you to the High Tech Kids staff and their amazing volunteers for giving us the opportunity to grow these past nine years. Without you, the people on our team and many others would be leading completely different lives. You are an inspiration to us and it will be an honor to represent this community one last time when we travel to the North Super Regional Championship this March.
Now it’s time to get busy. Congratulations to all the other teams who competed yesterday on a successful season, and to those who advanced: we’ll see you very soon!
– The Posse
