OUR TEAM HISTORY
FRC 4131 was founded at Liberty High School as the Botty Builders in the fall of 2011 and had about ten students in total and three mentors. In 2013 the club re-branded as The Iron Patriots to more closely associate ourselves with our school. As the years went on the club grew to include an average of 30 students and 15 mentors (which include many team alumni). In the eight years, we have attended multiple PNW championships and in 2016 (Stronghold) were able to compete in the World Championships which were held in St. Louis.
We are proud of all our past accomplishments and can’t wait to see what is yet to come!
TYPICAL YEAR IN ROBOTICS
Start of School – Early January (Pre Build Season):
Meetings generally include advertising related discussions as well as skill-building workshops. The team will usually meet once a week, with the possibility of more when build season draws nearer.
Early January – Mid-February (Build Season):
On the first Saturday of January after the second of the month, all the FIRST teams in our region meet at Auburn High School for the kickoff event, which occurs simultaneously across the globe. At the event, the new competition is announced; every year there is a new and unique competition challenge.
During build season, all the teams across the world work toward building a robot that aims to complete the different objectives announced in the challenge. This six week period is a brief and grueling time, and meetings are often held daily for as many hours possible (without distracting too much from other school and family responsibilities).
The only mandatory limit during this period is 50 hours to attend competitions, but it is highly encouraged that students partake as much as possible during this time. Build season has been described as “the toughest fun you’ll ever have”. (The current hour record is 421 hours.)
At midnight on the final day of build season, all teams must bag up and seal their robot in preparation for competition. No changes to the robot can be made until the competition.
Bag and Tag Day – Competition (Post Build Season I):
During this time, additional construction can be done to parts outside of the bagged robot, and code can still be developed and edited. FRC rules state that teams can bring 30 additional pounds of pre-fabricated parts to the competition, and during the period of Post Build Season I, the club will focus on constructing these materials.
Meetings are generally less intensive than during Build Season, but students meet once or more a week depending on how build season went.
Competition(s):
Washington State uses a competition model that allows teams to participate in more than one competition, and thus have better chances of getting to Worlds. Competitions usually last for three days: load-in/build on Friday, random matches on Saturday and before lunch on Sunday, and alliance matches Sunday afternoon. Competitions are hosted by high schools across the state.
Post competition – End of the school year (Post Build Season II):
Immediately following competition season, the robotics club will begin meeting weekly again. Until the end of the school year, the meetings can include skill-building workshops, but will more than likely focus on planning the start of the next robotics season. During this time, the officers (leadership team) rotate out and a new officer team is elected by the club.
Summer:
During the summer we hold many club meetings, workshops, and outreach events. Club meetings during the summer focus on building additional skills for the next season. Students will complete engineering projects, such as 2013′s T-shirt cannon or 2015’s quad/octocopter. During the summer we also hold many outreach events, which can be found on the outreach page of the website
AWARDS WE'VE WON
2014 (Aerial Assist)
Auburn Mountainview District Event:
Team Spirit Award
Shorewood District Event:
Judges Award
Dean's List Finalist: Christine Chappelle
Pacific Northwest Championship:
Gracious Professionalism Award
Dean's List Finalist: Christine Chappelle
2016 (Stronghold)
Auburn Mountainview District Event:
Excellence in Engineering Award
Auburn District Event:
Industrial Design Award
District Event Finalist
PNW Championships:
Qualified for World Championships
2017 (Steamworks)
Auburn District Event:
District Event Finalist
Dean's List Finalist: Mai-Linh Tran
Dean's List Finalist: Joe Bergin
Woodie Flowers Finalist: Robert Wenzel
2018 (Power Up)
Auburn District Event:
Imagery Award
Woodie Flowers Finalist: Robert Wenzel
Auburn Mountainview District Event:
Engineering Inspiration Award
2019 (Destination: Deep Space)
Auburn District Event:
Entrepreneurship
Yakima Sundome District Event:
Entrepreneurship
Auburn Mountainview District Event:
Entrepreneurship
Dean's List Finalist: Matthew Oberg
PNW Championships:
Dean's List Finalist: Matthew Oberg