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03-11-2024 | Issue 5 | Volume 1

ONT Durham College Event

March 15 to March 17

Oshawa, ON, Canada

Watch us compete in Canada against 26 other teams!

Event Schedule

Tanner is a team founder and has been with Strike Zone for 7 years. His goal is to provide opportunities to students that allow them to excel in their future careers. Tanner has recently returned to Lapeer from Houghton, MI where he mentored team 857 and earned his BS is Mechanical Engineering.

A District Competition works by having around 40 teams compete in 10-12 qualification matches. These matches have three randomly assigned teams that play against each other in a 3 vs 3 robot match. Throughout the match, ranking points can be earned for climbing, scoring, and winning. The winners move up in the ranking and the losers move down, ranking points determine how much or little a team moves.

After all qualification matches, we move on to alliance selection. This is where the top eight ranked teams choose two other robots that will be an their alliance in playoff matches. Alliances compete against each other in a double bracket elimination system. For example if Alliance 1 plays Alliance 8 and Alliance 1 wins, they stay in the upper bracket to play against other winners. Alliance 8 moves down to the lower bracket where they compete against other match losers. If Alliance 8 loses a match one more time, they are eliminated from the competition. Final matches are played against the final lower bracket and upper bracket teams. To win a competition, the final alliances must win two out of three final matches.

During the competition, there are several awards that can be won through presenting to the judges about several aspects about the robot and team. These awards include, but are not limited to Excellence in Engineering, Autonomous Award, and Quality Award. There is also an award called the Impact Award where teams can submit a video and essay about the the teams contributions to the community. We were able to present for this award to a panel of judges.

This past weekend we competed at Kettering University Week #1. After 12 qualification matches, we ranked 14 with a record of 6 wins, 5 loses, and 1 tie.

During alliance selection, we were picked up first by the 3rd seed alliance captain team 9245 | Laker Dreadnoughts. We then choose team 7491 | Cyber Soldiers to round out our alliance. Our first match was against the 6th seed alliance were we lost 64 to 71, moving us down to the lower bracket. Our next semifinals match was played against alliance 7 were we won 68 to 58. Our last match we played was against alliance 1 where we lost by 2 points, 77 to 79.

Two of our students, Cameron and Nathaniel, were nominated as Dean’s List Semifinalists. Dean’s list is an award that allows teams to showcase students who demonstrate leadership skills, increase awareness in FIRST, show passion for long-term commitment, and how the student is a role model on their team and within the community.

For this competition we won the Innovation in Control Award which celebrates a control system application using electrical, mechanical, or software to provide a unique functions.

Even though we did not come out of this event with a Blue Banner, we are eagerly preparing on improving our robot and practicing for our next competition at Durham College in Ontario, Canada.

My name is Nathaniel, I am a junior in high school. I’ve been with FIRST for eight years, joining Strike Zone in October 2020. I was first in FLL which helped me progress through various FIRST programs before joining FRC . I have developed skills including critical thinking, machining, and CAD. I love researching past robots, games, and teams to understand why they succeeded or failed. I have also made friends from all over the world through FIRST. After high school, I plan to take a gap year before attending university. I would also like to mentor an FRC team.

I’m Cameron, I am in 11th grade and I have been apart of Strike Zone for 2 years. I am our lead mechanical student and the human player for this season. Since joining the team, I have become proficient in machining and CAD. In my free time, I volunteer for Toys for Tots and at local FTC competitions. Currently, I want to become a mechanical engineer or a sport analytic.

Leaving great opportunities open for all community students, regardless of financial standings, is at the core of Strike Zone’s foundation. With that being said, students and mentors are not expected to directly financially contribute to the team. One hundred percent of the funds come from the team’s partners and generous donations from the community.

Wish List

Whether it be monetary or otherwise, we are appreciative of any and all donations, as we operate year-round.