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Congratulations to Teams 2486 and 9432!
Congratulations to the CocoNuts (Team 2486) on being the 2024 FIRST Impact Award winner! They are the second Arizona FRC team to have ever earned the award formerly known as the Chairmans Award. Plasma is ecstatic for them earning the highest honor in FIRST! CocoNuts, you are an inspiration to all FRC teams, not just those of us in Arizona that know and look up to you.
Congratulations to Team 8-Bit (Team 9432) on being part of the World Championship winning alliance from Daly! They and their alliance partners Orbit (Team 1690), Team SCREAM (Team 4522) and the RoboLancers (Team 321) were able to defeat the very strong alliance from the Newton division in straight matches. What an amazing rookie season they have had. What will they do next year? (One CD post says that Team 8-bit is only the 4th Rookie team to ever win Einstein. Someone needs to check that!)
Time for some quiet
Plasma’s 2023 – 2024 season has come to an end. It was a busy one with the team ranking 16th at the Arizona Valley Regional with a record of 7-7-0 and being Regional Finalists at the Las Vegas Regional after ranking 4th with a record of 11-5-0. A big Thank You to our alliance partners, Friarbots (Team 3309) and Hamilton Microbots (Team 698) from Arizona Valley and The Nerd Herd (Team 687) and Mechanical Magicians (Team 9125) from Las Vegas.
Now Plasma can start to look forward to the Arizona Robotics League and other activities in preparation for next years challenge!
Get ready for Crescendo!
Get ready to make some NOISE!...
Totally discharged
Plasma’s 2022 – 2023 season is complete. It was a busy one with the team ranking 18th at the Arizona East Regional with a record of 7-8-0 and winning the Regional Engineering Inspiration Award which qualified the team to travel to the World Championships in Houston. A big Thank You to our alliance partners, Team Paradise (Team 1165) and Westwood Robotics (Team 2478).
Plasma also ranked 2nd at the Arizona West Regional with a record of 13-5-0 and winning the Team Sustainability Award. Plasma would like to thank their partners, Space Cookies (Team 1868) and Firebirds (Team 3019) without whom Plasma could not have reached the finals.
At the FIRST World Championships in Houston Plasma competed on the Milstein Division where they finished with a rank of 66th and a record of 2-8-0.
CHARGED UP
Charging has begun for the 2023 challenge...
Sad news!
On Thursday November 3rd, the FIRST community lost one of its own. Josh Cluff, a member of Degrees of Freedom (Team 6413) passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly. He was an integral part of the Degrees of Freedom team where he formed many friendships.
Plasma sends Team 6413 and the Cluff family their heartfelt condolences and warm thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.
The Si Se Puede Foundation with the Cluff family’s blessing has launched a fundraising campaign for members of the FIRST community wishing to support Team 6413 and the Cluff family as they deal with their loss and remember Josh. All of the funds raised will be used for a specific project in Josh’s name. The project will be determined by his parents at a later date. The campaign can be found here.
Summertime
Plasma is participating in the Arizona Robotics League (ARL) along with several other Arizona FRC teams. All Arizona FRC teams are welcome to join in. You can find out a little more about ARL from their Twitter page here or their YouTube channel.
Congratulations Christine Sapio!
Plasma also sends a very hearty Congratulations! to Christine Sapio of the CoCoNuts (Team 2486) who is the 2022 Woody Flowers Award recipient! For those who have never had the pleasure of meeting or interacting with Christine, you can learn a little bit about her here.
No further REACTions
The 2022 season is now finished. Plasma went to 3 regionals and advanced to the Playoffs at each of them. The team finished the season with a 25-20-0 record. At the Arizona North Regional Plasma finished 10th with a record of 10-7-0 and won the Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors. At the Arizona Valley Regional the team finished 11th with a record of 9-7-0 and won 2 awards: the Entrepreneurship Award and our lead mentor Russ Harris won the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award. At the Las Vegas Regional the team finished 8th with a record of 6-6-0.
Congratulations to Russ for receiving the WFA award!
Exciting back to back Regionals
The Arizona North Regional saw Plasma finish ranked 10th out of 36 teams in Week 2. Plasma was the 1st pick of Alliance 2 led by The Bionic Bulldogs (Team 60) and followed by Brute Force (Team 2240). The Alliance eventually lost the in the Semi Finals after taking Alliance 3 to a tie breaker match. Thank you again Alliance partners and congratulations to the Regional winners of Alliance 1: Team Tators (Team 2122), Eaglestrike (Team 114) and N.E.R.D.S. (Team 1726).
The Arizona Valley Regional saw Plasma finish ranked 11th out of 35 teams in Week 3. Plasma was the 1st pick of Alliance 4 led by LAUNCH TEAM (Team 6352) and joined by PCDS Blue Tide (Team 2840). Alliance 4 eventually lost in the Semi Finals to Alliance 1 which went on to win the Regional. Thank you to our Alliance partners and congratulations to the Regional winners of Alliance 1: EPIC Robotz (Team 4415), Westwood Robotics (Team 2478) and RoboBears (Team 7703).
Now Plasma sets their sights on the Las Vegas Regional!
The Arizona North & Arizona Valley Regionals
The Arizona North Regional is quickly approaching. Good luck to all teams who are going to Flagstaff!
The Arizona Valley Regional is the week after. The next two weeks are going to be very busy for Plasma. If you don’t see us in Flagstaff, come to the Arizona Valley Regional the week after.
Rapid React has begun
The 2022 challenge RAPID REACT has begun. Teams are now busy analyzing the game and working on designs and prototypes. There is lots to do between now and the Arizona North Regional in Flagstaff.
The 2021 Sanghi Foundation Arizona State Invitational
The 2021 Sanghi Foundation Arizona State Invitational is now in the proverbial bag. It was a good time to shake off the cob webs and get in some time on the field with the robots built for the 2020/2021 challenge. Now everyone can speculate on the 2022 challenge.
The 2021 Challenge(s)
The global pandemic is still a challenge for the world to to deal with. In light of this the 2021 Challenge is actually going to be a series of challenges that teams can choose which they want to participate in. There will be no in-person events this year for obvious reasons. With the medical advances being made in late 2020 and early 2021 it is looking good for us to once again meet and compete in person in 2022. In the mean time, there are several challenges for teams to try:
- A Game Design Challenge – Use your creativity to design a game of your own or at least a concept worthy of being in a future FIRST game.
- INFINITE RECHARGE at Home – There are two ways to participate: show off what your robot & drivers can do in skills challenges and illustrate your robot’s technical qualities by sharing information with judges remotely.
- FIRST Innovation Challenge – Identify a real-world problem related to this season’s theme, design a solution, build a business model, and deliver a pitch to compete with other teams.
- The traditional awards – Even though there are not in person events, teams still submit to win some traditional FIRST awards. There will also be some new awards created for this year in addition as well.
Check out the FIRST web site for more details on all of the changes for this year. Good luck to everyone, stay safe and hopefully we can all meet up next year!
Looking forward to 2021
FIRST recognizes the pandemic has presented teams with unprecedented and significant challenges. In response, FIRST has determined that the 2020 INFINITE RECHARGE game will be replayed for the 2021 GAME CHANGERS season. Over the next few months the Game Design Team will be looking at adjustments to the game, all of which you will learn about at Kickoff in 2021.
In addition, FIRST will not be supporting any off-season play this year. That means no Arizona State Championship in October.
INFINITE RECHARGE Awards
The awards from the various FIRST events were recently announced. There was some good news for Plasma members. Christine Ardavin was one of the two Deans List Finalists from AZ North. Additionally, Jeremy Knutson received one of the two Arizona specific Teacher of the Year awards. Congratulations to Christine and Jeremy!
Plasma congratulates all of the winners from both AZ North and AZ West.
If you want to re-watch the Arizona Awards, you can view AZ North from 2:21-2:24 and AZ West from 2:47-2:50 on the FIRSTinspires Twitch channel.
Infinite Discharge has begun
The 2020 challenge INFINITE RECHARGE is over way too soon. While the team shares the larger FRC communities sadness at not being able to compete, we understand that it is better to be safe than sorry.
There will be something for FRC teams to do after the global pandemic passes. Now is the time to be safe and sharpen those skills for next year (or for college in the case of the graduating Seniors).
Purple! Power!
Arizona North
Since there is no Bag-and-Tag deadline this year the teams next real deadline is being ready to compete at Arizona North. Let the countdown begin…
INFINITE RECHARGE has begun
The 2020 challenge INFINITE RECHARGE has begun. Time to start analyzing the game and working on design and prototypes. There is lots to do between now and the Arizona North Regional in Flagstaff.
A big shout out to Plasma alum Kelly Carlson who was part of the kickoff broadcast! Purple power! Mentor Bob Carlson who had a cameo as well!
2019 Arizona State Champs
Plasma was the Alliance 3 Captain and was joined by The Cobra Commanders (FRC Team 498) and N.E.R.D.S. (FRC Team 1726) in the alliance. Despite very tough competition by Alliance 1 (Westwood Robotics – FRC Team 2478, Falcon Robotics – FRC Team 842, and Dragon Robotics – FRC Team 2375), Plasma’s alliance won the 2019 Arizona State Championships when Alliance 1 was disqualified in the final match due to a red card.
Plasma extends its thanks to its alliance partners, supporters, and fans for ending the 2019 season on a high note. The team now looks forward to seeing everyone at kickoff in January 2020!
Dr. Woody Flowers
On Saturday, October 12 FIRST announced that Dr. Woody Flowers had passed away from medical complications. Plasma extends its deepest condolences to Woodie’s wife, Margaret, and all of his loved ones.
For 30 years Woodie was an unflagging supporter of FIRSTs mission and an inspiration to thousands of students, alumni, mentors, volunteers, and supporters. Besides coining and modeling the term Gracious Professionalism he also inspired and encouraged a generation to be better people, not just better engineers.
Woodie’s wife, Margaret, has graciously asked that those wishing to honor Woodie do so through the Woodie Flowers Memorial Fund.
FIRST invites you to share notes of condolences and reflections about Woodie in a comment on Inspire blog post of Woddies passing, on social media using the hashtag #WoodieFlowers, or on the Memorial Fund page.
2019 Sanghi Foundation Arizona State Championship
The 2019 Sanghi Foundation Arizona State Championship will be at the ASU Wells Fargo Arena on October 18 and 19. Stay tuned for more details and hopefully a web cast link for those who cannot be there in person.
An important message!
On Tuesday May 7th, the FIRST community lost one of its own. Kendrick Castillo, a member of Team IMPULSE (Team 4418) was a victim of the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado. You can read more about Kendrick’s life and his incredible selflessness and bravery at Denver Post and CNN.
Plasma and all of it’s alumni, volunteers, and supporters stand with Team 4418 and the entire Highlands Ranch community during this incredibly difficult time.
FIRST has launched a fundraising campaign in support of Team 4418 and the family for members of the FIRST community wishing to support Team 4418 as they mourn and remember Kendrick and recover with all the victims in their community.
Indiana Robotics Invitational 2019 Results
Plasma finish the qualification matches ranked 7th with a record of 8-2-0 and was the Alliance 6 captain going into elimination matches. The rest of Alliance 6 consisted of Jack in the Bot (Team 2910), The Foley Freeze (Team 910) and Team R.O.B.O.T.I.C.S. (Team 107). Despite the alliances best efforts, it was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Alliance 3. Thanks again to all of our alliance partners!
Indiana Robotics Invitational 2019
Plasma is currently competing at the Indiana Robotics Invitational against 67 other teams. Tune into the webcast if you are not able to be at the event: Watch now
Houston Results
The Houston Championship were an incredible experience for Plasma. The team was ranked 8th at the end of Qualification matches on the Turing field with a record of 6-2-2. The team was the Alliance 6 captain at the end of alliance selections. The alliance consisted of Pigmice (Team 2733), Lunar Kitties (Team 5930), and N.E.R.D.S. (Team 1726).
The alliance made it all the way to the division finals before loosing to the #1 Alliance. Many thanks to all of our alliance partners for helping us do as well as we did. This was the best showing for Plasma at Championships in its history and it could not have been done without everyones help! Thank you and see you all next season (or at the Arizona State Championships in October).
Arizona West results
Plasma was ranked 2nd at the end of Qualification matches. The team was the first pick of the #1 ranked team, Westwood Robotics (Team 2478) and Robo Krew (Team 2662) rounded out the #1 Alliance. Alliance 1 did well until the finals where it was beaten 1-2 by Alliance 6. Congratulations to Alliance 6 for a very well played Finals: AzTech (Team 6479), The Cobra Commanders (Team 498) and Python Robotics (Team 6833).
Despite not winning the event there is some good news to report. Plasma managed to do something it has been trying to get for many years: it was given the Arizona West Regional Chairman’s Award! That could have happened without all the effort and hard work put in by all our past and present team members, mentors and parents.
Now it is time to prepare for the World Championships in Houston.
Flagstaff results
Plasma was the first pick of the Alliance 7 Captain, Skyline Robotics (FRC 4565). The Bionic Bulldogs (FRC 60) rounded out the alliance. The alliance advanced to the finals where it eventually lost to Alliance 1: Robonauts (FRC 118), Westwood Robotics (FRC 2478) and The Midnight Cicadas (FRC 5059). Congratulations to all Alliance 1 teams on their hard won victory.
Despite loosing in the finals, both Skyline and Plasma received wildcard slots for the Championships in Houston. Now it is time to set the teams sights on the Arizona West Regional.
Arizona North Regional
Watch the matches online if you are not able to be there with the team. Here is the link: Watch now
Celebrating the life of Sam Woolington
There will be memorial service for Plasma alum Sam Woolington this Saturday, February 23rd at 10 AM at the Church of The Master Presbyterian (6659 E University Drive in Mesa). All who knew him are invited to attend.
Sam touched the lives so many team members and families over the years. He is missed by all who knew him. Please come and share your stories of Sam as we celebrate what he did in his short time with us.
Next stop: Arizona North Regional
Now that the last 6 week build season is done and the robot is in the bag, it is time to prepare for the Regionals. Plasma will be competing at the Arizona North Regional in Flagstaff on March 13-16. The team looks forward to seeing what other teams have built.
If you cannot be in Flagstaff, you can watch on the live stream. When a link for that is posted it will be linked here.
Reminder: Pre-kick off workshops
Just a quick reminder, there will be 2 hours of pre-kickoff workshops at Central High School starting at 7 PM on 4-Jan-2019. The workshops are totally optional. Check with a mentor if you want more information about what sessions are planned.
DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE
Commencing countdown, engines on...
Powered Down
The 2018 Arizona State Championships are over and is time to power down in preparation for the 2019 season. The top 30 teams in Arizona competed in a single day qualifier and elimination series of matches. Plasma Robotics record of 6-2-0 made it the number 3 seed going into alliance selections. Plasma was the number one pick of the Alliance 2 captain, the Sabercats (FRC 4146). The CocoNuts (FRC 2486) rounded out the alliance. Unfortunately the alliance lost in the finals to the number 1 Alliance.
Congratulations to the winning teams: Falcon Robotics (FRC 842), Westwood Robotics (FRC 2478) and the Sentinels (FRC 1212).
The 2018 Sanghi Foundation Arizona State Championship
The 2018 Arizona State Championships will be held on Saturday October 13, 2018 at Arizona State University. As in previous years, the top 30 teams in Arizona will face off to see who will take home the blue banner. The ranking calculations were based on the district model, using only the 1st Power Up event each Arizona FRC team participated in.
Good luck to all teams!
Update: those who cannot be there in person can watch on the AZ FIRST Twitch feed here.
The 2019 game names
FIRST has announced the 2019 game names for all programs:
FRC: Destination: Deep Space
FTC: Rover Ruckus
FLL: Into Orbit
FLL Jr.: Mission Moon
Hmm, sounds like next year will be space themed but we could be wrong…
Powered Up!
The 2018 season is now complete. It was a wild ride for Plasma with a record of 34-11-0 in official play. Time to recharge the batteries and start making plans for the 2018 Sanghi Foundation Arizona State Championships in the fall and the 2019 season.
Plasma sends a big Thank You to all alliance partners!
FIRST Championship – Houston
Arizona West Regional
Arizona North Regional Results
At the end of qualifications Plasma was ranked 29th with a record of 5-4-0. The team was the #2 pick for the #1 seed alliance led by The Cheesy Poofs (FRC 254) and #1 pick Falcon Robotics (FRC 842). The alliance went on to win the regional. If you were not able to be there to cheer the team on, check out the exciting action in the Finals 1 and Finals 2 matches.
Plasma sends a big “Thank You” to our great alliance partners. The team is now preparing for the Arizona West regional and the Championships in Houston.
Lets Play!
Plasma Robotics is participating in the Arizona North and Arizona West Regionals. Stop by the pit to say “Hi” or watch the live webcast from the comfort of wherever you may be.
POWER UP
is here! The 2018 Build Season has begun. This year there are more than 91,000 high-school students on 3,647 teams from 27 countries who will be competing in either 55 Regionals or many District competitions.
There are $50M of college scholarships available to FIRST students this year. Do not forget to check them out if you are looking to go to college! For more information go here.
Good luck to all teams and may we meet at Championships.
The 2017 Sanghi Foundation Arizona State Championship
The 2017 Arizona State Championships were held on October 21, 2017 at Arizona State University. The top 30 teams in Arizona competed in a single day qualifier and elimination series of matches. Plasma Robotics record of 6-2-0 made it the Alliance 1 captain at the end of the qualifier matches. Unfortunately the alliance was eliminated in the first playoff round.
Congratulations to the winning teams: Dragon Robotics (FRC 2375), Falcon Robotics (FRC 842) and Team CAUTION (FRC 1492).
Arizona FRC State Championship 2017
The Sanghi Foundation 2017 Arizona FRC State Championship is 1 week away!! Good luck to all teams that are participating. Make sure you sign the ASU waiver or else you will not be allowed to participate.
Forgot your password?
If you forgot your password, check your Inbox for an auto generated reminder email. If you do not see it, check your spam folder (and then go whitelist plasmarobotics.org).
2018 Game Names
The 2018 FIRST competition names are all finally known. The FRC competition is named POWER UP. Check out our game page for the teaser video. The FTC competition is named RELIC RECOVERY. The FLL competition is named HYDRO DYNAMICS. All FTC and FLL teams should be busy at work already since the clocks have started.
We wish all teams at all levels good luck. Don’t forget to have fun too!
Arizona FRC State Championship 2017
The Sanghi Foundation 2017 Arizona FRC State Championship will be held October 20 & 21, 2017. The top 30 teams in Arizona will face off to see who will take home the blue banner. The ranking calculations were based on the district model, using only the 1st Steamworks event each Arizona FRC team participated in.
The FIRST Festival of Champions 2017 is over…
The Festival went to 5 matches! The Houston Champions got out to an early 2-0 lead before the St. Louis Champions rallied back and managed to win the next 3 meatches and the event. Congratulations to the winning alliance: FRC Teams 2767 (Stryke Force), 254, (The Cheesy Poofs), 862 (Lightning Robotics) & 1676 (The Pascack PI-oneers)
Some interesting statistics about the matches:
The average rotor points in autonomous: 78
The percentage of alliances getting 1 rotor in autonomous: 100%
The percentage of alliances getting 2 rotors in autonomous: 30%
The average fuel points in autonomous: 35
The average high goal score in teleop: 107.60
The average final match score: 470.60
The average winning score: 525.60
The percentage of alliances with 4 rotors at the end of the match: 80%
The percentage of matches won with 4 rotors & kPA bonus: 50%
The FIRST Festival of Champions 2017
The first FIRST Festival of Champions will be held July 28th & 29th in Manchest, NH. We wish all the Champions good luck at this inaugural event.
St. Louis Championships are over…
The Daly Division won the last St. Louis Championship finals. Congratulations to FRC Teams 2767 (Stryke Force), 254, (The Cheesy Poofs), 862 (Lightning Robotics) & 1676 (The Pascack PI-oneers)!
The Houston Championships are over…
The Roebling Division won the first Houston Championship finals. Congratulations to FRC Teams 973 (Greybots), 1011 (CRUSH), 2928 (Viking Robotics), & 5499 (Bay Orangutans)!
Time to fly!
Now that build season is over it is time to see whose airships can fly and whose will remain grounded. Good luck to all FRC teams!
The 2017 FRC Challenge!
The 2017 FRC Challenge & Teaser
The 2017 FRC challenge will be announced on January 7th. Check out the teaser here.
The 2016 Sanghi Foundation Arizona FIRST Robotics State Championship
The 2016 Arizona State Championships were held on October 15, 2016 at Arcadia High School. The top 30 teams from around the state competed in a single day qualifier and elimination series of matches. Plasma Robotic finished high enough to be an alliance captain. Unfortunately after several tough matches the team only walked away with 4th place. Congratulations to the winning teams: Pridetronics (FRC 3853), Falcon Robotics (FRC 842) and Team CAUTION (FRC 1492).
The 2016 FRC Challenge!
The 2016 FRC challenge was just announced: FIRST Stronghold. Learn more about it here.
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