In early October, FRC Team 1816 “The Green Machine”, held our annual all team retreat, which is one of the many ways for us to get to know one another and the feel of the newest iteration of the team. We started off learning about each other through activities such as two truths and a lie, and the jacket game: essentially musical chairs but with jackets, and instead of moving to music, we moved when we had something in common with the person in the middle. We then transitioned into events to teach us important skills for the upcoming season, which doubled as team building. First of these activities was the human knot where we grabbed each other’s hands and attempted to untangle ourselves. This task stressed both communication and cooperation between team members. We then began a this or that competition, played in the new bracket eliminations format, which may be used in the 2023 “Charged Up! season. This game also had us practicing our presenting skills, which are so important when it comes to future judging presentations. There was a brief break outdoors for a scavenger hunt, finding various things around the surrounding neighborhood. After this we jumped right back in with two new games, one teaching about strategy, the other teamwork and communication. The way we learned about strategy was getting paired into groups and given random pieces of different cards, with the goal to get as many completed playing cards as possible. To do this, groups of 2-3 students needed to trade with other teams. Sounds a lot like scouting and strategy at a robotics competition! Each team had its own plan, and it was surprising to see which team emerged as the winner. The other activity was very different: It was paper-folding with eyes closed. The shapes that emerged were quite different! Not at all what we thought they were supposed to become. This taught us that without proper communication, and without a clear vision, it can be difficult to complete tasks. Two people hearing the same instructions can easily have two completely different results. Throughout the day, we worked as a team to learn and discuss our core values: respect, trust, inclusivity, commitment, and joy of life. We discussed what they mean, in general and for the team, why they are important, and named people who we thought best exemplified each attribute. We finished out the day with the final rounds of “this or that competition”, paired with some ice cream.
After such a positive and fun filled retreat, the Green Machine is ready to go and is extremely excited for the upcoming season!
– Nora B.