Ferradermis took 17 members, including 6 freshmen, to the Roboteer Rumble FIRST Robotics offseason competition at Tremont High School in Tremont, Illinois from Friday, October 25 through Saturday, October 26. Thirty-five robots from 4 states took to the field for one last 2024 competition, the 10th of the year for Ferradermis. With so many experienced members unavailable to travel over the weekend due to athletics and family commitments, the event was a great opportunity for new students to step into new roles. This opportunity doubled, when at the last minute, Ferradermis was invited to bring its second robot to compete as well.
Chief Lee the Tangerine, the team’s regular season bot which competed in Houston earlier this year wore the team’s official 6574 bumpers. Creamsicle, the team’s summer project bot wore 9998.
Tangerine #6574 Drive Team:
- Driver: Preston Miller
- Operator: Margaret Brown
- Human Player: Zoe Olson/Emilie Bruns
- Technician: Nina Heim
- Drive Coach: Chacha Binagi/Mark Zimmermann
- Alliance Selection Reps: Rae Breisath, Cyrus Hudec, Cooper Housel
Creamsicle #9998 Drive Team
- Driver: Ace Hudec
- Operator: Carson Miller
- Human Player: Emilie Bruns
- Technician: Sam Raupp
- Drive Coach: Chacha Binagi/Mark Zimmermann
- Alliance Selection Reps: Andrew Zimmermann, Chacha Binagi, Letty Trautman
Videographer: Belle Cohen
Head Scouts: Rae Breisath, Andrew Zimmermann, Cyrus Hudec
Scouts: Jayden Keher, Eli Gonsior, Letty Trautman, Emilie Bruns, Sam Raupp, Cooper Houselz
Creamsicle finished the day ranked 28th and did not make it into the playoff round. However, it did achieve the goal that the team had set for it at this competition. It proved it was able to feed game pieces to other robots from across the field. The feeding strategy is something that developed over the course of the regular season as alliances learned they could be more proficient scorers if one bot was strictly providing a supply of game pieces near the two main field elements instead of having all three alliance robots run back and forth across the field.
As the #10 ranked team after qualifications, Tangerine’s alliance representatives gratefully accepted an invitation from Team 3397, the Robolions from St. Louis, MO to join their #3 seeded alliance. Our alliance’s second pick was Team 112, Plus One from Arlington Heights, IL. Team 4096 CTRL-Z from Champaign, IL rounded out the 4-team alliance.
The alliance did not make it very deep into the playoffs as all of our alliance partners experienced problems with their robots during matches. Overall, the trip was a great learning experience for all of our members, and with over 100 competition matches on its record, Chief Lee the Tangerine will now retire to be used only for demonstrations.
The team submitted nominations in advance for Chacha Binagi as Outstanding Robotics Student and Head Coach Mark Zimmermann as Outstanding Robotics Mentor. Zimmermann and former Ferradermis mentor Allison Conrad, who now mentors the team from Muskego High School, were named the two Outstanding mentors for the event.
Ferradermis will now focus on training and outreach events until the kickoff of the new season on January 4. Watch for news from the FIRST Lego League teams at Washington, Lincoln, Lakeview, and the Middle School, as well as the new FIRST Tech Challenge Team at the Middle School, as they will both be competing this fall and winter.
Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
