The Oliver Ames Robotics team, the Iron Tigers, gained a plethora of experience at the regional event at Boston University during Thursday the 12th, 13th, and 14th of April, however did not succeed in moving to the World championships. Out of 64 teams at the regional event, the Iron Tigers Ranked 41st at the end of the competition.
The competition began with both ups and downs as the team would win one event and then would get beaten heavily in another. Peter Buterbaugh, a senior at Oliver Ames and captain of the Design Team, commented on the defeat.
“Our robot performed at it’s best throughout this weekend, but, despite that, we were unable to enter eliminations.”
Although the Iron Tigers experienced defeat, they were not dismayed for long. Peter Buterbaugh also explained how valuable this competition was for the team as a whole and how much they learned from the experience.
“I feel that this is a chance for the team to learn exactly what went wrong and right both during this event, and within the competition season, such that the team is able to better understand it’s position By doing this, we will be able to climb to new heights next season, and expand ourselves farther than where we are now”.
The official season for the Iron Tigers is closed with this defeat. There will be off-schedule competitions they will participate in, but the relationship between the FIRST organization (which runs and operates the competitions that the team participates in), and the Iron Tigers will not be kindled again until next school year.
With the leaving of five of team members who are Seniors, all of which are captains, the team will experience a time of reorganization and thoughtful planning between now and the next competition season. The Iron Tigers may have experienced swift defeat, but the knowledge they have gained after this competition season will affect all those who are leaving and for those who remain.