2025 Pre-Season Wrap-Up

Hello, families and sponsors! Here is a recap of our pre-season activities as we prepare for the 2026 season.

On August 26th, Team 930 students visited Park View Middle School in Mukwonago for the open house event in search of students interested in STEM.  We displayed matches from our past season and explained about FLL and FRC. By the end of the event, 15 middle school students were interested in FLL and four students in FRC. 

On August 27th, six of our team members represented Team 930 at the MHS open house. These members introduced students and families to Team 930, and how the team prepares high school students for the future. Recent match videos were shown, a test board was displayed, and examples of CAD designs were available. This resulted in 16 students interested in Team 930 and STEM as a whole.

Beginning in August, five of our team members dedicated two hours of their time every Tuesday and Thursday to mentor FLL teams. This was a great opportunity for our students to encourage younger students to pursue STEM. Overall, we mentored six FLL teams this year: 67522, 53705, 31979, 73276, 73278, 73279. Our teams participated in the Pewaukee Regional on December 7th, though unfortunately, none of our teams moved on to the Sectional.

As a part of Mukwonago High School’s Freshman-Only day on September 2nd, seven of our students encouraged freshmen to join Team 930. At this event, 20 interested students were able to get a glimpse of what our team is about.

October 8th was our annual goal setting day. Our student leads, met to advance their skills and ability to develop the knowledge of their fellow teammates. The leads spent five and a half hours working to refine the responsibilities of their specific lead positions, prepare new goals for the next season, and establish lead connections. This activity assists our leads in their communication, which is vital to our team's growth and success. In addition, the leads assessed our past goals and determined the best ways to improve for the new season. 

Team 930 had the opportunity to participate on October 11th in TWIST—an exceptional off-season competition—that advocates for women in engineering. TWIST was hosted by 6412 (WarriorBots) at Muskego High School. To this competition, we brought an all-girls drive team, promoting female students in FRC to elevate their skills and potential to the next level. At the end of this competition, our rank was 16th, and we were invited as the first pick of alliance 7. Although our team was eliminated in the semifinals, the team learned many lessons and the girls on our team had a great experience. Team 930 looks forward to returning to this off-season competition in upcoming years!

On October 16th and 17th, we assisted one of our sponsors, The Mukwonago Rotary Club, during their Jack-o’-Lantern Jaunt community outreach event at field park. On that Thursday, two of our students helped set up for the event for an hour and a half each. On Friday, the 17th, 10 other students put in two hours of work to support the running of the event.

WCTC hosted FRC and FTC Training Day on October 18th, where 12 of our mentors and students attended. At this 4-hour event, our members learned about aspects of FIRST, such as district modeling to guide new and returning students in STEM knowledge. Team 930 helped record the presentation sessions.

On October 27th, Team 930 had the opportunity to extend our outreach to the community. We served the families of Mukwonago at Culver’s, while explaining Team 930’s mission and purpose. Members of our team worked shifts throughout the night, and 10% of purchases during that time contributed to our team’s funds. In addition, over the course of 10 weeks, our students sold Kringles to friends and family, fundraising more funds for our team.

Team 930 hosted the FLL Sectional at Mukwonago High School on Saturday, December 13th. We had 23 Team 930 volunteers make this 9.5 hour event possible. There were 34 FLL teams participating this year in the Sectional. We are excited to keep this 20+ year event going!

Houston Champs and Summer Recap

Hello families and sponsors! This is a recap of our summer outreach, and our experience at the World Championship in Houston. We apologize for this being delayed due to our irregular summer schedule. As always, thank you for your support!

Houston Championship

After qualifying for the World Championship through the FIRST Impact Award, which we received at the Wisconsin Regional, we traveled to Houston, Texas to compete on April 16th-19th. At the Championship, we reached out to other teams, inviting them to MROC, and connecting with fellow Wisconsin teams. We participated in the Newton Division and were excited to compete against teams on a worldwide scale. In between matches, our team members visited a FIRST Innovation Fair, where we met various companies dedicated to the future of STEAM, and many colleges and universities to provide education options. This was very helpful for our high school students as they consider future careers. Our students were able to learn from various presentations and from talking with FIRST sponsors. We had numerous challenges through qualifications, and ended up ranking 43rd in our division. However, this was a great experience for our team and taught us many skills through our trials. Although we didn’t advance in the competition past qualifications, we supported our division as they progressed in the competition. Overall, the Newton Division won Einstein and became world champions, as our team cheered them on!

Wisconsin State Championship

On June 13th and 14th we participated in the Wisconsin State Championship in Sheboygan, WI. With next year’s season switching to district events in Wisconsin, this event was a way for our team to practice the new format, and it was great to continue utilizing our competition robot during the off-season. Overall, we ranked 13th and were asked to join the 8th seed alliance. We were glad to graciously accept the invitation from captain 2506, Saber Robotics and first pick 1259, Paradigm Shift. We finished in 13th place, and though we didn’t win, we were glad to see that our team member Amanda E. won the Spirit of Wisconsin Award. Additionally, our Mentor and Alum Kenneth Mathew won the Most Valuable Volunteer award. 

Dockhounds Outreach Event

On June 4th, Team 930 visited the Dockhounds stadium to participate in the baseball game. This was a great outreach event as we were able to interact with the community. We had a table setup where we were able to talk to people who were at the game. In addition, we were honored to throw the first pitch with a catapult robot that we had constructed in just three weeks! 

Clarendon High Interest Day

On May 2nd, we were thrilled to visit Clarendon Elementary School, where we were able to advocate for the FIRST program by introducing young students to STEAM. We showcased FLL and FRC robots, allowing these elementary school students to see robotics in action. In addition, these students were taught about the scientific side of STEAM through engaging science experiments.

Open House

On May 21st, the team was able to engage with anyone interested in robotics in our community. We were excited to share the experience of joining Team 930 heading into our summer season. We talked to interested students and their family members, showcased our 2025 robot, and allowed students to drive our kit bot. We also held a LEGO League demonstration for our younger students. The Open House was for students heading into grades 4-12th. It took place in our shop, putting all of these interested students right into the action of robotics. Our Open House is always a great opportunity to impact the aspiring engineers in our community.

Interviews

On May 22-29th, our team required all returning members to interview with some of our mentors. This is one of the ways we prepare students for future careers, whether that be in a STEAM field or otherwise. The interviews are run exactly like a job interview, giving students the opportunity to learn how to talk to future employers and market themselves well in their industry. Students could apply for a leadership position and explain why their experiences and personality make them a good fit for the team. In this way, students gain experience in writing resumes and cover letters, and interview prep. Overall, these interviews build our student’s soft skills and supply them with the confidence they need, knowing that they are prepared for their future careers.

Orientation Day

On June 17th, we had new students learn about each subteam, helping them find where they may like to be on the team. We did this by creating a “passport and stamp” activity for these students. After completing a project at each section of the team, they shared what they learned and earned a stamp for that area. This is the first step for these students to become members of Team 930. It is a great opportunity to develop the interest these students have in robotics, and overall, improve their understanding of engineering. 

Banker Wire 

On June 18th, Team 930 was grateful for the chance to visit one of our top sponsors and see what they do. At their facility we were able to learn how they produce various types of wire mesh. In return, we were able to demo our robot. In addition, we answered any questions they had about our team, giving us the opportunity to share FIRST knowledge with our sponsors.

Mathison Manufacturing 

On July 10th, we visited Mathison Manufacturing’s facility. We had the amazing opportunity to tour the facility and see their production work. We demoed our robot for them, and answered questions about Team 930 and FIRST. It was great to establish a connection and engage with everyone at Mathison Manufacturing!

Touchpad

On July 18th, we visited Touchpad’s facility with many rookies joining us for the sponsor visit. We explored Touchpad with mentor Kenneth Mathew, and learned about the industry of electronics. This was a great experience for us as a team to engage with Touchpad and learn and grow as young engineers. As always, it was a pleasure to visit our sponsors as a team. 

Badge Bash Weekend

Through the July 26-27th weekend, we provided a great experience for the BSA and GSA troops in our community. We demoed our kit bot and introduced them to the overall concept of engineering. We provided them with the hands-on experience of building a robot with our LEGO Spike Prime Kits. In total, 25 scouts earned STEAM related badges. At the BSA event the Scouts earned robotics and programming merit badges. At the GSA event, the Girl Scouts earned designing, programming, and showcasing badges. At the end of both of these events, these students had the opportunity to demo the robots they created to Team 930 representatives and the Scouts’ parents.

MROC 

On July 26-27th, we hosted the Mukwonago Robotics Offseason Competition (MROC), to help robotics teams in Wisconsin practice in a regional competition setup, while also promoting FIRST to the overall community. On July 25th our team, along with other volunteers worked to set up the event and generate an environment to showcase the importance of STEAM. We had 27 teams at MROC compete, learn from workshops that we organized, decorate rocks, make personalized buttons, and watch fun mentor and human player matches. We also fundraised backpacks and school supplies for Milwaukee Cross Trainers Academy. In total, we donated 38 backpacks, with Team 930 donating 17 backpacks alone. Overall, the first alliance, with 1732, Hilltopper Robotics, 8744, The Leviathans, and 5096, The Teutonic Force, won the event through a tiebreaker match. As a result, alliance 2, with 1714, MORE Robotics, 3197, HexHounds, and 1220, Rockhoppers were our event finalists. Our judged awards at MROC included the Breakthrough Award, which was given to Team 1091 Oriole Assault, the Judges Award, presented to 10909, Cutting Edge, the Business Excellence Award, went to 1792, Round Table Robotics, the Programming Award for 3197, HexHounds, and the Engineering in Design Award, which was awarded to Team 4531, Steampunk. 

National Night Out

On August 5th, our team brought our Kit Bot to National Night Out in Mukwonago. We engaged with our community while promoting FRC and FLL. We had 120 kids feed game pieces into our robot, and even had two kids drive our robot! In addition, we made a significant impact on 1,454 people by introducing them to our team. We were glad to see so much interest from all these aspiring engineers. It was also great to see our sponsor, the Mukwonago Rotary Club, and our FIRST advocate, Representative Wichgers.  

LEGO Camp

Through August 4th-8th, we interacted with students from around our community. We had the chance to get them more involved in the concept of robotics and engineering as a whole. Over the course of the week, we taught 34 kids foundational STEAM skills, including programming and assembly through LEGO Spike Prime Kits. We had both morning and afternoon camps provided for these students. On the final day of this camp, after teaching these students basic engineering skills, we had them participate in a mock competition. This was a great way to educate young minds on the significance of engineering!

LRR

Through August 15th-16th, our team members participated in Levathians Robotics Rampage (LRR), as a practice offseason event. This was an opportunity for our rookies to experience how FIRST events run. It was a unique event—with a smaller number of teams—which allowed for a more collaborative feel. We assisted other teams, loaning supplies and even having one of our students support Team 10264, STORM, as their human player. This event was an opportunity to have our rookies participate in all aspects of the drive team. We loved watching the event and seeing 8744, the Levathians (the host team), win the competition along with 1792, Round Table Robotics and 9999, an offseason demo bot.

Thank you for supporting Team 930, and following along with us throughout the summer!

Wisconsin Regional Newsletter

At the 2025 Wisconsin Regional, Team 930 was honored to receive the prestigious FIRST Impact Award, the highest honor in the FIRST Robotics Competition. This award recognizes the team that best represents a model for others to emulate and most embodies the mission of FIRST. Winning this award secures us a spot at the FIRST World Championship in Houston, Texas, where we’ll compete alongside 600 of the best teams from around the globe! We were also proud to compete in the playoffs as part of the 8th alliance, joined by our amazing partners: Team 2040 (DERT) and Team 1306 (BadgerBOTS). It was an exciting series of elimination matches, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to play alongside them.

After the Wisconsin Regional, we've been kicking it into high gear to get ready for Houston!

The CAD team has been hard at work getting all of our robot files ready for public release. In preparation for the demands of the World Championship, they’ve been 3D printing a variety of spare parts and making small design tweaks to strengthen and reinforce components. These updates are intended to boost our robot’s durability and performance in the heat of competition.

The FIRST Impact team has been deeply involved in community outreach and fundraising. This week, they organized a partnership event with our local Qdoba, where we enjoyed great food and raised awareness about FIRST within the Mukwonago community. At competitions, the team continued to document our impact—highlighting supplies we provided to other teams and even receiving a pit visit from state representative Chuck Wichgers. They also recorded our Impact presentation, giving future Team 930 members a resource to learn and improve upon.

The fabrication team focused on strengthening critical systems on the robot. They replaced key plates on our coral end effector, resolving issues with spacing and pulley skipping that were affecting performance. In addition, they completed the assembly of a full spare climber, ensuring we are well prepared with backups for any unexpected challenges for the Championship Competition in Houston.

Our business team has been handling the creative and sponsorship side of our championship preparation. They designed and ordered our championship shirts, completed a new batch of team buttons, and secured additional sponsorships to help fund the trip. Their efforts have been crucial in bringing our branding to life and supporting the team’s financial goals.

The electromechanical team has been focused on reliability and readiness. They replaced both our coral and algae end effectors, which were previously identified as high-risk components, and built spare versions to bring to Houston. Since our robot uses a significant number of 3D printed parts, they also created a comprehensive list of key components and began producing duplicates, including pulleys, climber parts, and drivetrain shielding plates. On top of that, they’ve kept the shop and road cases thoroughly organized to make sure we don’t leave any tools or parts behind.

The programming team has made excellent progress on our autonomous systems. They’ve been refining our automatic alignment feature, which is key for scoring in the autonomous period of matches. This week, they finished the core functionality and fine-tuned its performance. They’ve also collaborated with other subteams to assist in robot testing and ensure all systems are functioning smoothly.

We are thrilled to represent Mukwonago and Team 930 on the global stage. Thank you for standing behind us and supporting this incredible journey. As we gear up for Houston, our team is preparing for a journey that’s both inspiring and demanding. With 30 students, 15 mentors, and a whole lot of robot parts, we estimate our trip will cost over $20,000—covering travel, hotel, food, and registration expenses. We request your support! Your generosity makes it possible for us to represent Mukwonago at the highest level of competition. Support us here: Classmunity Fundraiser Page

Watch Team 930 at the FIRST Championship! The FIRST World Championship takes place April 16–19, 2025 in Houston, Texas. If you can’t join us in person, you can still cheer us on from home! All matches will be live streamed on Twitch. Once the event begins, just look for the Newton Division to follow Team 930 in action. Keep an eye on our social media for updates on match times and results!

Phantom Lakes Newsletter

Before the Phantom Lakes Regional, our team worked hard to ensure we were fully prepared!

The FIRST Impact team finalized their documentation boards and practiced their presentations in front of mentors to receive valuable feedback. They also created tests to help team members prepare for judging. We had the honor of being able to host Team 3354, PrepaTec - TecDroid and Team 4635, PrepaTec - Botbusters, before the Phantom Lakes Regional. We were able to share some stories and paratice together, and it was an overall fun time.

The Electromechanical team ensured the robot was competition-ready by finalizing the ground intake, conducting thorough inspections, and reattaching key components like the elbow and shoulder. They prepared spare parts for critical components, including the intake, end effectors, and shoulder gearbox. Additionally, they organized the new pit road cases, created detailed documentation, and gathered everything needed for competition. The team also ordered and organized spare parts for the harmonic gearboxes, carbon fiber materials, and 3D-printed components. Given the high torque and weight on the climber, extra support plates were fabricated. To enhance efficiency, they improved the intake design, making it less intrusive, and collaborated with the programming team to develop a refined sequence for intaking coral.

The Electrical team resolved CAN errors, rewired the climber, and prepared the pit for competition. Meanwhile, the Fabrication team completed the base bumpers and implemented a redesign of the climber.

The Programming team introduced auto-alignment for scoring in two of our game elements, the processor and barge scoring. They also spent some time, fine-tuned various mechanisms, and finalized control systems to optimize performance.

The Business team created awards for the Phantom Lakes Regional to recognize other teams. They also worked on making sure the team got a jump start on summer event planning. Next month our team plans on having a Qdoba fundraiser. They are also planning Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps and a LEGO robotics camp.

At the Phantom Lakes Regional this past weekend, we finished 22nd with a record of 6-8-0. We were grateful for the opportunity to compete alongside Team 1792, Round Table Robotics, and Team 4786, Nicolet Fear. As part of the event, we also distributed custom-made awards to other teams, including the “BEARy Good Autonomous” and “BEARy Good Robot” awards.

We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding achievements of Team 930 members at the 2025 Phantom Lakes Regional! A huge congratulations to Greg and Sam Billetdeaux, who were honored with the Volunteer of the Year Award for their dedication and countless hours of service that have greatly impacted the FIRST community.

Additionally, we are incredibly proud of Amanda Esmeier, who was recognized as a FIRST Dean’s List Finalist. Amanda’s exemplary leadership and passion for STEM outreach embody the spirit of FIRST through her work on the FIRST Impact team and her role on the FIRST Wisconsin State Student Board.

We wish all teams the best of luck in their upcoming regionals! Be sure to stop by and see us at the Wisconsin Regional this week—we can’t wait to compete!

Week 9-10 Newsletter

It’s crunch time into competition season and Phantom Lakes Regional is coming up! Our team has been working to fix and improve our robot in the last two weeks before our first competition.

The CAD team designed the bumper backings and completed the model on the belly pan. They cleaned up and finalized the CAD assemblies. They redesigned the camera mounts and camera cases.

FIRST Impact got a new documentation binder which included organized photos, spreadsheet, and a labelled plan. We use the binder to show what our impact is on the local and STEAM community to the judges. They finalized and ordered the presentation board designs. Finally, they spent the weekend volunteering their time at the FIRST Tech Challenge’s State Competition. FTC is similar to FRC but with a different game and smaller robots. They practiced their presentation in front of mentors for some feedback. Strategy started SQL training with other team members and re-made match strategy boards.

Fabrication replaced the turn motors in the swerve drive to save weight. New coral end effectors and the drive rails were replaced to save weight. They helped to replace the belly pan and the top elevator plates for more convenient tensioning.

After attending a scrimmage with FRC Team 4786, Nicolet FEAR, our Electromechanical team refined the shoulder and arm mechanisms. They modified the shoulder design to improve speed and stability. Friction reduction in other subsystems, coral end effector and elevator, were also completed. They also focused on weight-saving changes with the fabrication team, including swapping out motors for lighter ones and adding lightened versions of end effectors, etc. They replaced the belly pan with a lightened one, contributing significantly to our goal of being legal for competition. They also repaired the arm, as 3D prints were splitting, and the epoxy resin that held in the carbon fiber arms were failing. Emech assembled the ground intake, climber, and many new electrical components onto the robot to aid in the highly functional robot. Electrical added the CAN range sensors and cleaned up the wiring.

With competitions looming, the programming team is spending a lot more time working on autonomous. Since a large amount of points can be earned there, it is time well spent! Programming finished and tuned the alignment of their autonomous options and after a week they finally got it working! They also fixed some commands corresponding that were not working correctly. Programming worked on and optimized advanced autonomous modes. They now have one that can score three game pieces within 20 seconds. They are working towards the goal of shortening it to within the fifteen second autonomous period.

Business finished and ordered the team t-shirts, which arrived later this week. Team 930’s pit presentation was updated to show teams at competitions all of the cool things we do. They evaluated the materials that we keep in the pit and they started to plan for later outreach events.

Make sure to come see us at our first competition this year, the Phantom Lakes Regional on March 28th and 29th at Mukwonago High School. This is going to be exciting because we have international teams from Taiwan, India, Mexico, and Turkey coming to our high school! We hope to see you there!

Week 7-8 Newsletter

After learning from our experience at the Sussex Scrimmage, we have been hard at work improving our robot.

Our FIRST Impact team has been working on their judged presentation before the Phantom Lakes Regional. They finalized the script for their presentation and they are now practicing it. They are now working to create boards to present to judges and organized documentation consisting of photos, spreadsheets, and emails. In addition, community members have been invited to the regional to get an inside look at what FIRST is and competitions are all about.

Fabrication assembled and tested climber V2 and assigned new bins into an organizer spreadsheet for new road cases. They also created emergency parts in case our robot breaks at competition.

Our Electromechanical sub-team has been extremely busy as we progress into the end of the build season. Through several iterations, weight saving changes have been made in order to be competition legal. This consisted of saving and modifying the robot's original design, compared to a much riskier new design. Emech then created a plan for that, approaching this new plan, making sure that we have a legal robot while retaining much of its intended functions. This would ensure our role as a strong and capable team when competition arrives.

Business worked on creating information hand-outs for our pit and ordered our team shirts. Marketing added our video workshops to the website and redesigned some old logos that needed updating. Finance bought materials for the team, updated our quickbooks, and published the February monthly video on our YouTube.

Programming planned and started auto alignment commands. The end goal of these commands is to automatically line up with a specific scoring position when the driver goes to score. They are now working on re-tuning all mechanisms, adding control logic to wait until our mechanisms are safe, and testing all parts of the robot (scoring, intake, nets).

CAD worked on modeling the sponsor panels and the bumper backing. They also redesigned a second version of the shoulder and the elbow of the arm on the robot. They lightened a variety of parts so the robot is not as heavy. Lastly, 3D-printed spare/new parts were mass produced so that we have plenty available.

Thank you for your continued support. See you in two weeks for our next newsletter, and make sure to check out our YouTube channel for the February monthly video.

Week 5-6 Newsletter

Team 930 has been putting the finishing touches on the competition robot and preparing for the Sussex Scrimmage. The Sussex Scrimmage is a series of practice matches, early on in the season that gives teams practice before actual competitions. This year, the Sussex Scrimmage is February 16th 2025, at Hamilton High School. Matches will run from around 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We hope you stop by to see us compete!

Over the last two weeks, the CAD team 3D printed several spare parts and the cable track mount. They are also working on a way to make the belly pan lighter. Finally, CAD is iterating on the design of the robot’s climber to gain additional points during the endgame.

The Business team finalized the sponsor banner and emailed shirt companies for quotes. A business plan was created for judging and the panel on robots that shows our sponsors was started.

FIRST Impact gathered a group to go to Advocacy Day! A few team members went to our Capital Building in Madison for FIRST Advocacy Day. We had the opportunity to meet with state legislatures and talk about how important STEM and Robotics programs are to our community and schools. We asked to raise the amount available in the Department of Public Instruction Grant and expand the eligible grades from 6-12 to K-12. This should help to make robotics available to all students in Wisconsin. It was a pleasure to talk to Representative Cindi Duchow and to combine forces with Team 6421, Warriorbots talking with Representative Chuck Wichgers. First Impact also submitted the final Woodie Flowers essays, after another round of editing. In week six, they submitted both the FIRST Impact Essays and Executive Summaries!

Programming was busy tuning the robot mechanisms and adding new commands that score in the reef (A big rack where game pieces can be scored). Additionally, previous driving commands were modified to accommodate the new weight of the robot. Now they are all packed and ready to go for the Sussex Scrimmage.

Our Fabrication sub team finished the bumper structure and are now starting to fabricate the second version of the climber. They also ensured our team had additional robot parts using the CNC machine.

Electromechanical iterated on their previous designs and implemented changes to the robot by swapping gears, reinforcing the carriage, and figuring out the disassembly processes. In addition they finished the assembly of the elevator that will enable our robot to score in the highest scoring location. Electromechanical continued the assembly of updated subparts, like the climbers. The finishing touches were put on the bumpers, handles, and they ensured all components of the robot are competition legal. They planned out replacement parts for competitions should parts to the elevator, shoulder or intake break.

We’re looking forward to debuting our robot at Sussex, and a successful start to the competition season!

Week 3-4 Newsletter

After weeks one and two, we are continuing to move forward in the season, making great progress! Today is our annual Pancake Saturday, where one of our lead mentors, Brian Scharles Jr, and his dad, Brian Scharles Sr, came in early and made pancakes to give us a boost for a productive day. We always look forward to this day!

The CAD team collaborated with the Fabrication team to create sketches of wrist and end-effector parts(the device at the end of the robot arm designed to pick up game pieces) for the Fabrication team. They also assembled parts of the competition robot, then finalized all the intricate details of the CAD files for it. This team is also finishing the intake and climber.

Electromechanical assembled the superstructure (drivebase, elevator uprights, arm bases) of the robot, and attached it to the drivebase. The wrist mechanism was attached, and the algae and coral end-effectors. Significant progress in other subsystem assemblies, such as the elevator carriage was made. Our team decided to upgrade our pit so it's easier for traveling to competitions. We would like to thank Mukwonago Home Depot for helping us get our toolbox, and to all of our student, mentor, and parent volunteers who helped make this possible!

Fabrication finished the robot superstructure consisting of the drivebase, elevator uprights, and arm bases of the robot. The new fabrication students also were taught how to use Clecos (which are temporary rivets) and how to change a bandsaw blade. They worked to get the competition robot ready to pass on to the electrical team. Students helped to rearrange the shop so it is easier to walk to different areas safely and then prototyped the algae manipulator.

Electrical fabricated the assembly of the robot drive base, elevator uprights, arm bases. They assembled key subsystems such as the coral end-effector (the mechanism responsible for carrying the coral game piece), and tested these mechanisms.

Members of the Electrical team wired the drive base. The planning stages for wiring the upper portion of the robot are underway and will be tested over the next week.

The FIRST Impact team continued to tell our story. They chose their presentation team and began planning for their judged presentation. Our annual Woodie Flowers candidate essay was completed and then another draft of the Impact Essay was started. We finished up the Executive Summaries and sent them to editors for feedback.

Also, one of the initiatives our FIRST Impact team is participating in is FIRST Advocacy Day. FIRST Wisconsin Advocacy Day is an annual event where participants learn about the state legislature and share information about FIRST programs with legislators at the Capitol. Members of our team also met with Banker Wire, one of our long-time sponsors, where we got a quick tour of their facility and showed them last year’s robot. We visited MHS and PVMS for their course information nights to advertise our team to the community and get students interested in joining our robotic program.

The Strategy team started prepping for robot scouting, which is needed to gather data during the competitions. We installed FRC Krawler onto our new scouting tablets. FRC Krawler is a scouting app created by FRC team 2052, Knight Krawler and we use it to gain metrics from matches to determine who we want to pick when it comes to alliance selection. Scouting Metrics were finalized and imported into Krawler. They deployed the FRC Krawler app onto our scouting tablets. Scouting metrics were imported, then scouting tablets were labelled and named.

The Business subteam created and shipped two social media posts, about course info night and meeting Banker Wire. The image quality of our sponsor logos were fixed. Safety glasses retainers were ordered so the team has some branded ones. Also we completed our monthly video that includes a sponsor credit scroll. Make sure to check out our YouTube channel to see that video.

Programming completed the 2025 robot characteristics, which include drivetrain and autonomous modes. They worked on the localization of the robot on the field utilizing limelight. Now, the robot can localize and place itself in relation to the field. The Programming team also ensured standard organization for programming tools. Finally, camera placement on the robot was confirmed, then the cameras were calibrated.

Additionally, Programming got the robot simulation functioning in both 2D and partially in 3D. The robot can now localize itself on the field using limelight vision. They used the electrical mechanism board to test the code of the individual systems. They fixed the cameras and worked on Limelight inconsistencies for the autonomous mode. Finally, programming updated their documentation to illustrate the process and ensure consistency.

We definitely had a busy two weeks and will keep up the momentum as we head into the end of build season.

Week 1-2 Newsletter

New Year, New Season, Welcome to Reefscape! It’s good to get back into the flow of a new season.

Team 930 started the year by hosting our annual kickoff event. We facilitated 10 workshops followed by all teams watching the game animation together. After the livestream ended, we ate lunch and then broke out into groups to strategize movement possibilities and robot archetypes. We are grateful that Team 8701 - GRAFFITI, Team 6574 - Ferradermis, Team 6643 - Walnuts & Bolts, and Team 5148 - New Berlin Blitz were able to join us at our kickoff event. We are excited to see what teams will do with the coral and algae!

During week one, Electromechanical ordered more material, prototyped a manipulator and intake. Then, they constructed parts of our practice field. They also developed a schedule for the CAD, Fabrication & Assembly, and Electrical teams. Focus shifted to assembly during week two: building prototypes of end-effectors (claw grabber), the coral intake and drivetrain.

CAD designed possible robot concepts in KrayonCAD during the first week. After a group meeting, the team decided on which concept to move forward with. We decided on a double joint arm on a single stage elevator and a ground intake with a climber. Then, in week two, the CAD team completed the first version of the elevator, shoulder, drivetrain, wrist, and the elbow subsystems. CAD models of the other subsystems (the end-effector (claw grabber), the intake, and the climber) are more than 75 percent complete. All models had a full design review to discuss next steps.

The Fabrication team focused on the Kitbot for the first week of practices. The Kitbot is a basic robot that FIRST provides to every team to get a jumpstart on this year’s game. Our rookies build and complete Kitbot each year so they have some practice when it comes to an actual competition bot. The Fabrication team assembled and modified KitBot parts and handmade polycarbonate plates and tubing. Additionally, they worked on assembling parts, mounting legs on outside to fit the drivebase, and bolting everything else together. In week two, Fabrication prototyped the end effector (claw grabber) and intake plates. They cut driverails, multiple elevator parts, carbon fiber tubes, and dead axles to length. Finally, they fixed the band saw blade to the true correct blade.

The Electrical team collected components and labeled them during week one. They also made an identification for the swerve drive, then ordered batteries for the competition bot. During week two, they labeled batteries, wired the robot, and ordered bonded wire, CAN wire, battery wire, and other assorted battery pieces. For our Pit, Electrical put on a battery charger and cut the butcher block.

Programming divided to create subteams under subleads in week one. They developed a schedule detailing member availability to ensure everyone is supported and goals are met. Branch standards were developed and they completed pull requests. The coral roller subsystem was completed and controls added. The programming team developed a new radio setup and Kitbot drivebase configuration. Simple autonomous routines were prepared for KitBot as well. In week two, Programming’s arm subsystem is nearing full completion! Subsystem outlines for the elevator, the intake, and the wrist were created. The LED subsystem is also done.

A major goal for the Programming team is for a more accurate simulation than last year. Students tested robot distance paths which are improving. Gains were adjusted both off SYS ID and manually; repeated testing of SYS ID and distance paths were tested for consistency. The Limelights were updated with the new Limelight and field map. The focus for next week is working on updating vision code and starting on Limelight testing.

Business started work on the sponsor banner by collecting all of our sponsors logos and arranging them on the banner image in week one. Theworkshop videos from our kickoff event were uploaded to the Team 930 YouTube channel. Finance updated the reimbursement tracker and Quickbooks. Business received some new sponsors in week two! We organized meeting time with our long time sponsor, Banker Wire. The business plan was updated and we invited our sponsors to regionals.

FIRST Impact planned tasks through the end of March! Outreach statistics were finalized for our presentation. The team finished the first draft of our FIRST Impact Essay. Executive Summaries and the FIRST Impact essay were sent to editors for feedback and changes were made. Some students also took our misprinted shirts from previous years and found new ways to turn them into dog and cat toys! Our plan is to donate them to The Humane Animal Welfare Society. Updating the FIRST Impact updated statistics and reviewing edits to FIRST Impact essay were their priority on week two.

Finally, The Strategy team researched other teams’ scouting systems and decided to use 2024 Match Scouting Metrics for data collection. They also planned out and had our Needs/Wants/Nice To Haves Discussion. There, we decided what functions and goals we wanted our robot to have. During week two, Strategy updated Google Sheets with match metrics and a list of potential partner teams was created.

Stay tuned to the Team 930 Youtube channel to watch our monthly recap video. Also watch out for our next newsletter coming in two weeks!

November Recap Newsletter 2024

From FIRST LEGO League to FRC Training Day, Team 930 has continued with an eventful November preseason.

Kicking off November, we went and assisted in FRC Training Day! FRC Training Day is a great opportunity for newer students and returning teams to review the basics and to learn knowledge from a variety of team experiences. Throughout the event Team 930 students helped run multiple things such as operating the AV equipment and hosted several workshop presentations for the day. We were so grateful to assist this event and we are looking forward to competing with teams next year!

Throughout the month of November, we have been preparing for the upcoming season. We are working on a new pit that we have been designing over the past couple months. We are currently cutting sheet metal and assembling the pit for next year. From CADing to assembling, our students are learning valuable design skills with this large project that they will utilize during the next season. Plus, who doesn’t like to be more organized!

Later in November, we also hosted the Mukwonago FLL Regional at Parkview Middle School! There were 32 teams competing. FLL (FIRST Lego League) is a program where 3rd through 8th grade students can learn research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering skills. Each FLL team had 3 rounds to try to qualify for the FLL Sectionals. We also had 4 Mukwonago teams compete in the competition.

Thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting and helping us to succeed as a team. Stay tuned for our next preseason newsletter at the end of December.

October Recap Newsletter 2024

Team 930 is back! We've kicked off the preseason with incredible momentum!

To kickoff the preseason, we went to TWIST! Twist is an off-season competition that is run by Team 6421, the Warriorbots. This competition supports women in STEM that encourages all women drive teams. We would like to thank Team 6574, Ferradermis, and Team 6381, Red Raider Robotics, for being amazing alliance partners. We finished 3rd in the playoffs, but we still had a lot of fun competing with our alliance partners in this off-season event!

We were honored to be asked to assist the Mukwonago Rotary Club in helping to create an annual Halloween tradition, the Jack O’Lantern Jaunt. This is a family event run by our sponsor, the Mukwonago Rotary Club, where families can participate in Halloween festivities such as a haunted house and a spooky movie. We helped light several hundred pumpkins in Field Park. Overall we made about 1,000 people’s days!

Roboteer Rumble 2024 was so much fun! Roboteer Rumble is an off-season competition, in Tremont Illinois, run by Team 2481, the Roboteers. Thanks again to Team 1756’s secondary team, Team 9401’s secondary team, and Team 7117 Robotic Dragons for being such amazing alliance partners during the playoffs. It was a great opportunity to play against some great teams in our last off-season competition.

In one of our more fun fundraising activities, we partnered with Culver’s of Mukwonago for Scoopie Night. We supported Culver’s by running food out to customers visiting the drive through. We had a group of team members available to tell the community about our team and what we do. We loved the experience and would be happy to do it again in the future!

Thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting and helping us to succeed as a team. Stay tuned for our next preseason newsletter at the end of November.

Since the 2024 Championship, in April, we have been very busy this summer.

We started the offseason by participating in team interviews to help pick new team leads.This gives students the opportunity for students to learn leadership skills in the offseason. The interviews give students the chance to create a resume and cover letter and also give team members the opportunity to go through the formal interview process.

To kickoff the last week of school and Team 930's offseason we shared demos with the community. Starting at Park View Middle School, we demoed our robot to 8th graders during their automation and robotics classes. They got to learn about different parts of our team and the FIRST mission. Students also fed notes to, and got to drive our robot. We also demoed at the Mukwonago Community Library's Summer Kickoff, where we conversed with the community about what our team does and how our season went. Finally demoed at Clarendon elementary school where students got to participate in STEM related activities.

June 22nd and 23rd was our Badge Bash Weekend. On the 22nd was the BSA event and the 23rd was the Girl Scout Event. In total 49 scouts attended both events! Badges were earned through hard work and dedication to build and program LEGO robots, with many various activities. All scouts truly had an amazing time and they showed what it means to be a scout.

Moving forward, our first offseason competition we competed at was Laser Lights, hosted by FRC Team 2077. We ended up taking 2nd place and were chosen by #2 seeded Team, Team 2194, Fondy Fire along with Team 1792, Roundtable Robotics. We made it all the way to finals, unfortunately falling just short of the win.

We then hosted our own competition, the Mukwonago Robotics Offseason Competition (MROC), for the third year in a row. At MROC, we host tournament-level play comparable to a FIRST Regional. Along with the competition we have educational workshops, a team social, and mentor matches. We also ran a school supplies donation drive that collected 27 backpacks filled with school supplies that will help support the Milwaukee Rescue Mission’s Cross Trainer Academy Students.

We also had a booth at Mukwonago’s National Night Out which was a huge success! We showed our community what Team 930 does during a season, by demoing our Kitbot and Competition bot on display. We had 333 kids come and interact with Kitbot by catching the shot notes, while having our Season and MROC videos playing on the side.

Our last offseason event, Leviathans Robotic Rampage, or LRR, was an amazing experience! We came to the field with three different robots, and came home with a banner and a 3D printed award. 9993 was knocked out of the game during the elimination bracket, ironically by 930. And soon after 930 was also knocked out of the game, leaving 9990 to compete in the Finals. Successfully, 9990 was able to bring our team home a banner, as well as their alliance partners 8744, Leviathans, and 2531, RoboHawks. We are very grateful for Leviathans for holding this event, and helping us to bring home the win!

As we wrap up our events of the offseason, we encourage high school students to come to our shop when meetings start back up in October and look out for any further updates on our social media.

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Newsletter 11-13

From March 27-29th we went to The Midwest Regional in Chicago, IL!

We took advantage of our last regional before the championship to play with some incredible teams from around the world. Our record for the tournament was 5-7-0, and we played into the semi-finals as the first pick of team 5847 Ironclad along with fellow Wisconsin team, 6574 Ferradermis. Not only were we able to play with some of the best teams from all over the US and world, but we helped teams in the pits through our initiative BEAR Bytes, made friends, and were even able to give outreach advice as a newly-nominated “FIRST Impact team.”

With Houston just one week away, we have begun preparation for the finale of the 2024 competition season:

The Electro-Mechanical team has been tuning up the robot to improve the shooter for worlds, the CAD team made some intake adjustments, and the Fabrication team worked to replace the battery plate with aluminum and CNC-ed the radio mount.

The Programming team worked with the Strategy team to create new, complex autonomous paths in order to be compatible with other high-level teams. We also updated the Limelight cameras with data from testing to make image processing and shooting more accurate.

The Business team helped out the rookie team 9676, Hub City Steam by making 100 buttons for them. We've also edited videos for our social media and been fundraising for Houston.

The Strategy team has been making a plan for champs! After a successful season of participating in a scouting alliance with other Wisconsin teams, we've been collaborating with our partners to plan for scouting at the FIRST Championship which hosts 600 teams! FIRST will soon announce which of the 8 divisions we will be a part of, so make sure to watch our social media for more information.

One of the most notable parts of this year is that we get to compete for the FIRST Impact Award for the first time in the history of Team 930! This is the most prestigious award of FIRST, and our Impact team has been preparing for judging by creating new presentation boards, documenting more of our outreach, and practicing!

We would love to invite everyone to watch us compete among 600 of the best teams in the world! The Twitch Stream will be posted on the link below and running April 17-20th, and we will be posting updates through our Instagram and Facebook.

Link to Blue Alliance and Twitch Streams

Newsletter 9-10

At the 2024 Wisconsin Regional held at the UW-Panther Arena in Milwaukee, WI, our team achieved the trifecta, or "true blue," meaning the team won all three awards in the same regional that are presented! This is only the 23rd time in FIRST history that this has been achieved.

Our first blue banner was won when our amazing mentor, Brian Scharles Jr., through hard work and dedication to the FIRST and our team, received the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award. This award honors a mentor who leads, inspires, and empowers students, and Brian has been nominated for the WFA at the Houston Championship!

Following this award, the team finished qualification matches with a 9-1 record, ranking 7th. We then joined Alliance #4 with teams 1732 Hilltoppers and 4786 Nicolet FEAR, going undefeated in the playoffs to bring home our second blue banner as Regional Winners. This is the first time 930 has ever won the Wisconsin Regional!

To top off those amazing two wins, Team 930’s outreach and programs in the FIRST community were rewarded with our third blue banner by winning the FIRST Impact Award, the highest honor in FIRST. This was our first time winning this award, and we are so proud of the amazing work our team has put in, inspiring our community and beyond!

After double qualifying, the team is four weeks away from competing at the FIRST World Championship in Houston, TX. Our budget for this trip is estimated to be around $25,000, which includes registration, food, transportation and hotel costs. It will take a substantial amount of funding to get our 45 members, robot, and tools down to Texas to compete on the world stage. Any support is extremely appreciated, and if you would like to help sponsor our trip to champs, please check out our Classmunity funding page. 

You can also join us at the Mukwonago Qdoba on April 10 from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM. 25% of the sales will be donated to the team. It will be a great community night. We hope to see you there.

We are looking forward to our next competition, the Midwest Regional in Chicago, IL March 29-30, and the team has been working hard to prepare! 

Electro-Mechanical:

The CAD team completed design reviews and worked to perfect the intake, pivot, and drivetrain.

The Fabrication team did maintenance on the robot after its run in Milwaukee, touching up the drivetrain and turret, as well as making extra parts that we or another team may need at the competition. The Electrical team fine-tuned the wiring, reworked the CAN map, and remounted the radio in preparation for the Midwest Regional. 

Programming:

The Programming team has been refining code for our amp shooter to help amplify points at competition and testing new autonomous paths on the field. We've also been doing routine updates and code cleaning in order to get ready for competition. 

Strategy:

The Strategy team has been reviewing data from previous competitions, retraining scouters, communicating with our scouting alliance, and pre-scouting teams that will be at the Midwest Regional. 

FIRST Impact:

Winning the FIRST Impact Award at the Wisconsin Regional qualified the team for the ability to compete for the award at the Championship in Houston! We've been polishing our outreach presentation and documentation, as well as inviting our friends from 4786 Nicolet FEAR to our shop to collaborate on FIRST Impact ideas for next season. Our winning essay has also been published on FIRST's official website which you can read here!

Business:

Lastly, the Business team has been fundraising for our trip to Houston, making social media posts for our Instagram, as well as publishing our winning FIRST Impact Award video which you can watch here or on our YouTube channel. We’re also preparing for the Midwest Regional by making lots of buttons and updating the competition pit displays. We would love to see you there at the Midwest Regional at the Credit Union 1 Center in Chicago, IL from March 28th-30th. You can also watch virtually on Twitch. Matches run from 8:00am and end around 6:00 pm.

THANK YOU!!  To all sponsors, mentors, and parents who have helped contribute to our success this season! 

Week 7-8 Recap - Lake Superior Regional

These past two weeks Team 930 has been working hard to prepare for the Lake Superior Regional located in Duluth, MN. The competition included 54 other teams from across The Midwest. After 2 days of qualifying matches, we made it to the quarter-finals. We ended the regional ranked 10th and had a record of 7-3-2. We were awarded the “Biggest Help!” award from team 3418 RoboRiot for providing assistance to their team. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our Duluth recap video for more information, regarding the experience, our ranking, and more, coming soon this week. (https://www.youtube.com/@FRCTeam930). 

The Electrical subteam prepared spare motors for Duluth and tested batteries to ensure they were not faulty. Our CAD subteam designed a new intake and retrofitted the drivetrain to fit the new intake design. The fabrication subteam fabricated last minute parts and replacement parts for the robot in the event that something breaks at competitions. Overall, our Electromechanical team has been very hard at work ensuring a successful time at competitions.

Programming worked to tune the pivot, elevator and shooter of our robot before we headed to Duluth. They also documented autonomous paths for the pit documentation and they fixed issues with rotation during the path by tuning PIDs.

The Business team had a very eventful week. They worked on our Sussex recap video and a Drive Team Reveal video and then posted to YouTube. Subscribe to us on YouTube using this link to never miss out on our future posts (https://www.youtube.com/@FRCTeam930). Business students also made an Instagram post regarding STEM night at the Admirals game on March 9th at 6:00pm. If you follow our instagram (instagram.com/team930) we keep our followers updated with the outcome of the matches that we participate in at our regional events. Our Regionals that we will be attending include: the Lake Superior Regional in Duluth (2/28/24 - 3/2/24), the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee (3/14/24 - 3/17/24), and the Midwest Regional in Chicago (3/27/24 - 3/30/24).

This year, our Strategy team is combining forces with team 6421, WarriorBots, and team 6574, Ferradermis, to create a scouting alliance that will help all of our teams acquire more accurate data at the competitions. This week they had a meeting to finalize our scouting alliance plans for Duluth. They reviewed the Sussex data and worked with that data in SQL. Our Strategy students created a schedule for Duluth that allows some students to scout from the stands and some students to be working on the robot that allows team members to get some experience in all parts of the competition. Scouting is collecting data about other robots that will help us determine who we want to partner with in the finals to be in our alliance.

This week our FIRST Impact team ordered and made the FIRST Impact boards that we used to present to judges. Along with that, they also printed out informational pamphlets for judges to show how much community outreach our team provides. Beyond team judging, during our Duluth regional, our FIRST Impact team presented the presentation that they have worked on for many weeks. This presentation focuses on our outreach in the community and spreading the word of FIRST.

We are so thankful to all of our sponsors who allow us to attend competitions and help make our program successful and our team thrive. Make sure to check out our YouTube and social media for our next upcoming regional and any future updates!

Week 4-6 Recap

Throughout the past few weeks, Team 930 has been working hard to put the finishing touches on the competition robot and preparing for the Sussex Scrimmage. The Sussex Scrimmage is a series of practice matches, early on in the season that gives teams practice before actual competitions. Look out for our video regarding the Sussex Scrimmage with this link (Team 930 - YouTube) that will be uploaded to YouTube soon.

The electromechanical team has been hard at work designing and building the robot. The CAD sub-team has been iterating on the robot using OnShape, creating version 2 and version 3 of our shooter and version 4 of our intake. They also finalized the camera mounts for the robot. The fabrication sub-team sanded and painted different steel plates for the turret and elevator. They also started on getting extra parts made for the upcoming regionals. The electrical subteam assisted in assembly and modification of competition robots and added the Limelights. They also added wires to our Kraken motors and fixed CAN errors as well as ethernet issues for the shooter prototype.

After 3 weeks of hard work, the FIRST Impact team has worked to make sure the FIRST Impact video, essay, and the executive summaries have been finished and submitted. The FIRST Impact Award which is awarded to the team that creates the most impact on their community while also spreading the message of FIRST. We are so proud of all the hard work our FIRST impact team has put in this year, and we wish the best of luck with presenting at competitions! 

The programming team started to configure the cameras for the competition robot. They created commands for the subsystems and tested and tuned PIDs. To prepare for our upcoming competition, students reviewed the code then simplified and standardized it. Along with that, programmers also created and ran bug tests to fix any code issues. Programmers have worked on various new robot functions including getting the turret working in simulation and programming a button to automatically intake notes. They also implemented autonomous code to increase our accuracy on the field.

Our strategy team has been working to make sure we are able to collect the data we need from future competitions and ensure our match strategy is at its best. In doing so we’ve been working closely with our neighboring teams 6421, The WarriorBOTS, from Muskego High School and 6574, Ferradermis, from Whitewater High School to make a scouting alliance to share competition data. They also worked on making and finishing the SSIS package within the programming language SQL. This package allows our scouting data to be easily transferred between databases and allows us to analyze it. Strategy also trained all of our students to become allstar scouters by preparing them for competition and training them using practice matches.

The business team has been working on our weekly update videos, which can also be found on our YouTube channel. The 4 and 5 week recap videos have been finished and uploaded, while the week 6 recap video segments have been placed into the Sussex Scrimmage recap video which will be released sometime later this week. The business team have also worked to create around 11 button designs that have been printed and produced. These buttons provide a cool and comedic collectible to students and mentors alike. These buttons can be collected at competitions. The business team also finalized the sponsor banner and ordered it. The sponsor banner gets displayed in the pit during competitions and helps other teams identify us and our sponsors.

Thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting and helping us to succeed as a team. Everything written in this newsletter would not be possible without your contributions.

Week 2-3 Recap

Throughout the last 2 weeks, Team 930 has been working hard to complete the competition robot. Something we have been doing differently this season is releasing recap videos for the last few weeks, with some of our videos getting over 2,000 views. We encourage everyone to check out our youtube channel with this link to view some clips of our students in action (Team 930 - YouTube). Our drive team has been practicing various game scoring strategies, to give an example they’ve been shooting into the amp with our Kitbot. Overall, our sub-teams have been hard at work to complete the robot these last 2 weeks. 

The electromechanical team has been fabricating most of the parts at our facility and at the high school. They used the lathe to make different hex shafts. They also used the CNC machine to make different plates for the turret carriage. They painted steel plates for the turret and elevator. We fixed errors and ethernet issues for the shooter prototype.

The programming team has been focusing on various functions in the past couple of weeks. We are getting ourselves ready to test our completed robot in a few weeks. We have been working to update our codebase with new tools for the 2024 season. We have also been working on implementing April Tag tracking as well as game piece detection.

These past few weeks, the business team has been kept busy. Since new businesses have agreed to partner with us, we have updated our sponsor banner. The sponsor banner gets displayed in the pit during competitions and helps other teams identify us and our sponsors. The business team has also been working on the weekly update videos for the youtube channel, which can be viewed with the link above. We have updated the website with our new sponsors and made thank you and update posts to our social media accounts.  

Our FIRST impact team has been working hard partnering with the business team to work on our FIRST Impact video showing how we have impacted our community with our various outreach events. Along with that, we’ve revised our writing materials for our FIRST impact script and various elements needed for our video. 

The strategy sub-team has been working on our scouting app and where it stores the data. They put our scouting app BEAR scouts on all of the tablets. We got our test data into databases and got google sheets set up for all the competitions. We organized the strategy bin and worked on making the SSIS package.

2023 Offseason Recap and 2024 Kickoff!

Since the 2023 Championship, Team 930 has worked hard throughout the offseason to expand our outreach in the FRC community and begin to train new generations of Team 930 for the upcoming 2024 season.

Our offseason kicked off with the Indiana Robotics Invitational, also known as IRI. This competition has been known for years as one of the most prestigious off-season events in the Midwest. Competing in this event allowed our team to expand our connections with tons of high-class teams from around the world and we were honored to be invited. While our weekend ended with a deep playoff run, we were so proud of every member of the team and we look forward to coming back for years to come.

After IRI Team 930 came back home to host its own off-season event, the Mukwonago Robotics Offseason Competition, also known as MROC, our annual off-season competition held here at the Mukwonago High School. This event would bring together 21 teams from across the Midwest. Following our impact in FRC and an offseason victory, we went over to Muskego, WI for TWIST was hosted by #6421 Warriors, which promoted women in STEM with an all-girls drive team. In the end, we would win the event, providing learning opportunities for all members of the team.

While this marked the end of our FRC off season competitions for the year, tons of members apart of Team 930 shifted gears to inspiring younger generations of FIRST with our various FLL initiatives. We started by hosting various FLL Summer Camps, one basic and one advanced, that teaches the younger students skills and prepares them to continue with FIRST and join one of our FLL teams that we support/mentor. From September to December various Team 930 students were working as FLL mentors on FLL teams preparing them for competitions come December. Also, in December Team 930 would continue to host our longest tradition, The Mukwonago FLL Regional! Along with the regional we hosted a Mukwonago Sectional as well for various FLL teams around Wisconsin that made it to the 2nd level of play. In the end we were thrilled to have so many students in attendance and are so happy we were able to provide such an impactful event. 

With the end of FLL in the books for another year, Team 930 settled down and focused on preparing for the FRC kickoff which would come in a few weeks. On January 6th, Team 930 hosted our annual kickoff event with #1714 More Robotics, #5148 New Berlin Blitz, #6421 WarriorBots, #6574 Ferradermis, #8701 Graffiti, #9535 Knack, #9760 Cristo Rey Jesuit Trailblazers. Together we all watched the 2024 game animation reveal here and conversed on strategy ideas and possible robot designs. The theme of this year's game follows more of the arts side of STEAM, specifically music. The game follows 3 on 3 robot action with robots each alliance starting in their designated area. The first 15 seconds of the match where the robots will run by themselves without the human drivers is known as the autonomous period. After Autonomous the robots are able to be controlled by the human drivers to score as much as possible. Robots grab foam rings (notes) from an area across the field called the source and bring them back to their side (wing) to score in a tall chute called the speaker. Robots are also able to score 2 notes into a slot near the side of the speaker called the amp makes scoring worth more points for 10 seconds after hitting the desired requirements. Scoring more points gets teams closer to a ranking point that allows the alliance (group of three teams) to move up in ranking in the competition. In the last 20 seconds of the match teams climb on a chain called the stage near the center of the field and are able score another note into a trap for more points. Human players can score more points by throwing a note onto a pole called the microphone on top of the stage for more points if a robot has climbed on the designated chain. For more information click on this link to the 2024 game video.            

With the season officially kicked off Team 930 is ecstatic for the next few months. Following our kickoff event our team along with a bunch of parents and students worked to assemble the practice field to assure we could reach our best and be fully prepared for the competition season in March. From CAD to business, all of the students have been starting the new season working hard. Despite a few snow days here and there, our team was able to assemble and program the Kitbot robot to get our rookie students some hands-on experience. The kitbot robot is a starter robot available for all teams, said to be capable of playing the full 2024 game, and is used as a fantastic learning experience for FRC teams around the world. Be sure to stay up to date with our social media and website for any major updates, we look forward to the 2024 season! 

Greater Pittsburgh Regional Recap!

Week 6 marked Team 930’s final regional before the FIRST Championship down in Houston, TX. Team 930 traveled to Pittsburgh, PA for the Greater Pittsburgh Regional. Starting off Friday, the team went through some intense qualification matches going 9-0-1 at the end and securing the overall #1 seed! 

Friday night, 930 spent our time creating our picklist of teams of potential partners, going through every possible factor from our scouting data. Walking into Saturday, we had a confident picklist and were ready for the upcoming elimination rounds. At the end of alliance selection, Team 930 selected 1591 (Greece Gladiators) and 2656 (Quasics).

Our first match was against the 8th seed alliance which included 1559 (Devil Tech), 3139 (Falco Tech), and 1708 (AMP’D). While the other alliance put up a thrilling fight, Team 930 and the rest of the #1 alliance took the win setting a new regional record of 171 - 73. The next few matches followed the same intense competition, but our match strategy and alliance robot abilities overcame the obstacles. After setting another regional high score of 182, the team found themselves in the final rounds. After an upset in the lower bracket, it would be alliance 1 against alliance 7 featuring 8393 (BrainSTEM), 1781 (Lindblom Electric Eagles) and 2638 (Rebel Robotics). After getting 3 pieces away from a full grid and a complete triple balance in the endgame, the team would win the first finals match 180 - 148. The second match, we would go 3 pieces away from filling up the full grid, though this time we had a bit more of a time crunch and weren’t able to get our full alliance balanced but only engaged. Thankfully, having scored more grid pieces throughout the match we were able to bring home a Finals 2 win 157 - 150 which meant the team had earned their second blue banner of the season! 

After the celebration concluded, the team gathered to hear the judged awards that would be handed out to the amazing participating teams. For the first time in the team’s history, 930 won the Engineering Inspiration Award! This award marks one of the most prestigious awards that can be earned within FRC, as it marks the sustained impact of spreading STEM your team has placed on your community both locally and beyond. This award marked such a substantial milestone for the team and truly rewarded everyone on the team and the hard work they put in everyday with more than just the robot. 

With the conclusion of the final regional, Team 930 finished with 2 regional wins, a Quality Award, the Gracious Professionalism Award and winner of the Engineering Inspiration Award. This marked one of Team 930’s most successful seasons ever and we are ready for the competitiveness that is coming with the FIRST World Championship. The team will be departing to Houston on the April 17th, but beforehand, we have our classmunity page accepting donations till the April 14th.

On April 13th we will be hosting a fundraising night at Mukwonago’s Qdoba to gain additional fundraising for our Championship adventure. We appreciate everyone who has graciously donated towards our trip, the experience gained will benefit all our students in a combination of ways and will truly play an impact throughout their lives. 

Wisconsin Regional Recap

As Week 4 wrapped up, the team reached the halfway point of our competition season. For Team 930, we competed in our local regional in Milwaukee, WI The Wisconsin Regional. Walking into a competitive event with multiple FIRST Championship qualifiers, we were ready for some tough competition. Going through the qualification matches, the team kept up their intense and continuous hard work and was able to secure the overall #1 seed position for the upcoming playoff elimination bracket. Friday night was spent discussing valuable strategy and how to efficiently approach the selection process, discussing various features of teams to ensure the most points scored.

Completing alliance selection, Team 930 with the overall first pick selected 8096 (Cache Money) and 8029 (Steel Bronco Robotics) as their second pick. Walking into the first round of the elimination bracket the team was up for an intense match against the 8th seed alliance. Despite some unfortunate luck of one of our elevator belts coming loose, we still put up a close match but lost 127-133, knocking us down to the lower bracket. With some amazing quick fixes from our pit crew team, we walked into our next match ready for anything. With a hard fought match from the 5th seed alliance, Team 930 along with their amazing partners came out on top setting a playoff high score, winning 152-99. Against the second seed alliance, our alliance was ready for an intense match. However, our alliance partner was hit with an unfortunate break causing them to spend the majority of the match on 3 wheels. The match would result in a loss and the end of our elims run, but the team was so proud of all the amazing progress we made and are very grateful for our alliance partners' continued perseverance!

Team 930 was also able to earn the Gracious Professionalism award, the first team attribute award in the 930 history. This award marks the team's approach at spreading core values of FIRST both on and off the field. The team is so grateful to have won this award, and we are always happy to help any teams in need no matter the task at hand.

With the Wisconsin Regional concluded, 930 looks ahead to Week 6 where our third and final regional takes place over in Pittsburgh, PA. The team is excited for this regional and to meet teams from many different states. Along with that, the team is preparing for the FIRST World Championship down in Houston, TX. While the competition is going to be our toughest yet, the team is diligently preparing assuring the most success possible out of our team. 

With such an intense event a lot of fundraising is required. Our team is accepting donations to help fund our trip to Houston and give our students the greatest experience and further their skills to help become leaders of tomorrow. This fundraiser can be found on our donation page of our website or on our social media (@team930). Whether it’s helping donate funds or just sharing the donation page to friends and family, anything helps and we appreciate all the help!