Team 1816 rolled Zazu, newly repaired after its somersault at the Minnesota State Fair this summer, to the Minne-Mini “Breakaway” Regional November 20. The team then kept its fingers crossed and programmers at the ready as the temperamental robot played its way through several tense qualification rounds. Zazu was intermittently dropping communications and wouldn’t always respond to driver prompts. Still, we managed to finish well-enough that we were picked to be part of an alliance with Team 2472-Centurions, Centennial High School, and Team 2175-The Fighting Calculators, Woodbury Math and Science Academy, Woodbury. Our alliance hung tough and played into an exciting twice-over semi-final match before Zazu finally lost communications with its human drivers.
More than 20 FIRST Robotics teams participated in the Minne-Mini Regional which was staged at Prior Lake High School. Volunteers from Eagan’s Blue Twilight donated and built the playing field. Team 2169-KingTeC helped setup and teardown the field. Edina Robotics parent volunteers staffed the concession stands. All the money raised from entry fees and concessions will go towards purchasing a real FRC playing field that will be used in the future.