Robotics struggles to accommodate growing team

During their first meeting on Sept. 11, all 108 members of the robotics team crammed into about half of the 1,000-square foot room to fit in the shot of the video camera and smiled, shouting, “Mr. Robinson, bigger room, please!”

This video was to be used to advocate for a larger room during a meeting with principal Paul Robinson and other administrators. With the unusually large wave of 40 freshmen as opposed to the typical 20, the robotics team has experienced a huge influx of students this year, adding to the urgency of finding more space.

The growth of interested students is so large  that the robotics team has decided to add a new team called “Lionfish” in order to create more opportunities in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team. Now FTC has four teams: Lionfish, Jellyfish, Betafish and — the oldest team, founded in 2012 — Cuttlefish. In addition to FTC, robotics is also composed of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team, which is for more experienced upperclassmen.

“It is difficult to ensure everyone has a good experience with so many new people because it is a student-run club; it is hard to be heard,” said sophomore Bassil Shama, a member of FRC.

Longtime team coordinators Bob and Dianne France, the parents of the robotics team captain, senior Kyle France, said that teams have been working outside in the Music Quad due to the cramped space, but she believes this solution won’t work well with winter coming.

“We’ve been shoving teams in an office and [in the Math Quad], and even with the tables we took out, the room seems to have less space than ever before,” said sophomore Valen Yamamoto, an FRC member.

Next year, the music department will move to its new building, leaving space for other classes and programs on campus to fill; however, the decision about which programs go where has still not been decided.

“I think the administration is doing the best they can for us and in the meantime, we are making some plans to clean up our room and maximize the usefulness of the space,” Dianne France said.

She is optimistic that the teams will do well at their first scrimmage against each other on Oct. 23, scheduled to take place in the school’s engineering room. The FTC teams have been working on their first robots since early September.