Rocky Mountain Robotics is a student run team, with students in different departments working towards a common goal. The club has two main seasons, the pre-season and the build season. Josh Dreesman (11) said, “Pre-season is the entire time before the actual event comes out. January is when build season starts. Once they announce what the event is, the entire team gets together and watches it live, and then we start building immediately.”

The pre-season allows the members to understand the tools they are given and choose which department they think suits them best. There are many different departments, or groups, in the club who do different things, such as wiring, programming, designing and building the actual design. Ethan Yu (11) said, “[In the] CAD department, last year I was in wiring. In CAD, we basically just make models, something needs to be printed”

In January, the build season starts, with teams following the prompt they are all given to build a robot they believe will be able to do the task the best. Caleb Borlin (11) said, “Each team has 1 robot, and the tournament varies every year. Last year we had cones and cubes, you are often on a team with 2 other robots, and you have to work together to win the match.”

The tournament is an exciting spectacle every year for the team, with many thrilling moments, especially with working with the other teams. In prior years the club has had commendable placements, with the most notable being able to stack three robots on a platform, meanwhile the other teams could only get one robot on the platform. For many group members, the tournament is their favorite part. Jacob Caperton (11) said, “Winning, seeing the bot we built, seeing if the robot ‘robots’.”

To join the club, potential members may show up at the meetings scheduled on the Rocky Mountain Robotics – Rocky Mountain Robotics FIRST Team 662 (weebly.com) website and sign up there or sign up on the website first.