By: Brian Fischer ‘22
During this busy week right before the competition, freshman Blake Jewell and his fellow teammates have to work hard to finish the robot. It’s been a long season for the robotics team and it all leads up to the competition. The robotics team meets every other day after school in the boys division. They work hard to get the robot before the competition. The competition has been building up all season and all of the robotics team is getting excited to go to the competition.
“This is one of the main reasons I love robotics. You got one shot and that is all,” Jewell says.
The competition is not until March 21st, but they have to stop working on there robot on February 19th to send it in. This makes it so the robotics team has to go a full month before they can see their robot again.
“I’m really excited to compete and it will be hard waiting a whole month after sending our robot in,” said Jewell.
The robotics team has been working hard ever since they first got together. Working in the robotics lab right outside of the boys main office. Wires are everywhere and there is one big robot in the middle of all of them working. You see more people getting stressed as it comes down to the last week of working on the robot and having to send it in.
Being a freshmen on the team can be very tricky. You don’t know what is to come at the competition and what it feels like to compete in the big competition. Jewell is super nervous going into this competition. He doesn’t know what is to come.
There is only one competition in robotics. This competition is at the University of Denver with almost every high school in the state competing. This makes it super competitive with everyone trying to beat each other.
Most sports like basketball, baseball, or football have a season with multiple games throughout it. These sports you get to learn from your mistakes and to do better next time, but with robotics you get one shot and if something goes wrong at this competition there is no fixing it for next time.
“Imagine being in a championship game, this is what the robotics competition feels like.” said Jewell
Jewell plays soccer and robotics for Regis Jesuit. He compares this robotics competition to feeling like the championship of a soccer season, it is the last part of the season and after that big day the season is over and you just have to look back and see all the fun you have.
Blake loves robotics and all the thrills he gets from it. He encourages everyone to do something new and just see if they like it. Blake tried something new with robotics and found something that he truly liked. Now he is less than a month away from competing in his first competition and is more than excited to compete.