Kickoff!

So the season begins! This morning several team members and I started out for the first North Carolina FRC Kickoff at 7am. It was cold, it was early, yet because of the excitement staying awake wasn't a factor. After an exciting 2009 season, we were wondering what FIRST would throw at us this time. (Water game?) Arriving at Penske Racing around 9, we were able to take a tour and have a behind-the-scenes look at how race cars are manufactured. Just being able to view the bare bones of a vehicle was really neat, especially since they weld the body of the car on location.

Finally we filed into a conference room to watch the broadcast. Waiting was hard. After each speaker, the excitement built. We all wanted to see the game! During Dean Kamen's speech, he dropped a big hint. "...kicking soccer balls..." A soccer game? Next we were shown a clip of a camera on a robot tracking a target. A soccer game with a target??! Last came Dave Lavery. After teasing teams on ChiefDelphi.com, I was looking forward to what he would have to say.

And the 2010 game is...Breakaway!

We were not expecting that at all. Driving back to our team, ideas were brought up and many questions were asked.

Once we got to our meeting we opened our Kit Of Parts (KOP) and checked to see if all the parts were present. After that came brainstorming and reading.

We have a long, fun, crazy six weeks ahead of us.

-Webmaster