Umatilla’s FIRST FRC team, 4125 Confidential, has qualified for the Pacific Northwest District Championships in Portland, Oregon, from April 3rd through April 6th, where they will compete for a shot at the World Finals.
In their first robotics competition of the season on March 9th in Salem, team Confidential was awarded the Impact Award - FIRST’s highest honor. This award is given to a team that serves as an inspiration, advocates for diversity and inclusion, and makes a difference in their community. According to the FIRST robotics website, the Impact Award recognizes the team that best embodies the mission of FIRST and serves as a role model for others to emulate. The team won the Impact Award last year as well. Kyle Sipe, the team's robotics mentor shared, “I’m really proud of the kids. They were super excited, and it was fun to see their hard work pay off.”
For the submission of the Impact Award, members of the team had to write essays and prepare a presentation to give to a panel of judges about their robotics program and how they spread the FIRST message. Winning this award automatically qualified the team for the PNW District Championships.
Brier, a member of the build team on Confidential, shared that it's rewarding to see how he and his team are making a positive impact on their community by spreading the FIRST values and STEAM education. At the Salem competition, both team Confidential's robot and Umatilla's freshman team, 8532 Classified, performed well. Team Confidential earned a fourth-place ranking following the qualification matches and went on to become the number three alliance captain, reaching the semifinals. Meanwhile, Team Classified, initially ranked seventeenth, was selected by the number six alliance and reached the semifinals.
During their second competition of the season at the SunDome Event in Yakima on March 16th, Confidential earned the Engineering Inspiration award. This award recognizes teams who excel in promoting engineering through outreach in their school and community. This award also qualified the team for the PNW District Championships. Avery, the team’s Senior Project Manager, said, “Winning the Engineering Inspiration Award and the Impact Award is an awesome experience and achievement for the team. Getting recognition for all the things we have done together is an amazing feeling.”
In addition to winning this award at the SunDome Event, Confidential was on the number six alliance in the finals. They were selected by Vikotics from Pullman, WA, and chose their freshman team, Classified, to round out the alliance. The partners competed well and ended up in seventh place overall.
At the PNW District Championship, Confidential will be competing with high schools of all sizes from Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. They will compete with robot performance as well as vying for the Impact Award and Engineering Inspiration Award. They hope to qualify for the World Finals in Houston, TX.