Indiana Robotics Invitational 2019, and What I Learned

This year, 68 teams attended the event from all over the US and Canada with a few teams from Israel, Mexico, and New Zealand. Not only was IRI a robotics competition, it was also a fundraising charity event, as the money raised went to support Team 4418 Impulse in honor of Kendrick Castillo. Stryke Force faced some fierce competition; going into quarter finals, we were the first pick of Alliance 2, and made it to the finals with a playoff record of 4-3-0. Stryke Force will continue its offseason tour by attending the Mid Mitten Robo Rodeo, FSU Robotics Competition, and the West Michigan Robotics Invitational where we will continue to hone our skills and give our newest team members competition experience.

My experience during IRI was one of learning. I spent the majority of the competition weekend in the pit learning from the mentors and older members of the team on how the pit runs and how we fix the robot on the fly. I answered questions people had about the robot and the team, and I was able to help fix the robot on a few occasions, such as having to use a screwdriver to pull carpet pieces out of the wheels. I feel that this experience has helped me to progress to where I want to be in the future on the team.