BURNING BRIGHT - HOT TEAM 67 BLAZES THROUGH TROY DISTRICT EVENT

Article by student HOT Team reporter:  Aiden Z

Photo by Stephen Liggett

FIRST Robotics Team 67, the Heroes Of Tomorrow or HOT Team for short, began their spring break by competing in the Troy district event on March 25 and 26. The team achieved a victory, continuing their pattern of success following the Milford event earlier this month. For the Troy competition, the HOT bot featured a new gripper and intake design, allowing it to pick up and place game objects with ease and efficiency. The HOT Team robot was able to dominate the competition, earning the highest number of ranking points at the end of qualifications and first place for alliance selection. The HOT Team, allied with Fighting Pi - 1718 and Platinum Peacocks - 8115; and fought their way through the elimination rounds without losing a single match. The HOT Team robot did not let anything stop it, even using its own arm to upright itself after tipping over in the final seconds of the first match of eliminations. The HOT Team concluded the tournament by outscoring their competition in two finals matches, 153 to 135 and 160 to 134.  The team achieved two awards, one for being the winners of the competition and the other was the Autonomous Award. This award is given for exceptional code, allowing it to score dozens of points within 15 seconds as a solid lead before the players begin operating the robots.  After their big win at the Troy event, HOT Team 67 is ranked #1 in the state and will be competing in the State Championship, April 6-8 in the Ryder Center at Saginaw Valley State University.