In 2009, we again attended the Blackstone Valley Tech Qualifier, but instead of failing miserably on the table, we made it into the final rounds. The same two people had been running the robot during the previous rounds, so we decided to allow two other team members to run the robot for the first match (it was team ranked first, (us) vs. team ranked sixty-fourth). However, the robot seriously malfunctioned, and the robot scored a mere 95 points (a record low for the team). Fortunately, we won that round, (by 5 points). Eventually, we made it to the final match, where the robot achieved its first in-competition 400 point score! At this competition, we ended up winning the “Oh No! I can’t believe it!” award (for the 400 point score), the first place robot performance award, and the first-place research quality award.
A few weeks later, we attended the Quincy Qualifier (for practice), however we did not have any 400 point runs at this event. Even so, we won the Robot Performance Award and the Champion’s Award.
In December, we competed in the MA State Competition. The first runs were lower than expected (low 300’s), but later on the robot performed perfectly. Unfortunately, the scores were averaged, and we started the finals in 2nd place. We eventually made it to the final round, after correcting a scoring accident and lost 30 seconds at the table due to an unplugged wire (but the robot still scored 400 points). The robot malfunctioned in the last round, so we came in second place. Even so, the judges awarded us the Champion’s Award!
This win qualified us for the US Open, but it was cancelled! However, we were chosen as one of the top six teams in the United States, therefore qualifying us for the Open International Competition in Taiwan in May! In Taiwan, we scored 400 points twice, and 395 points once. We ranked fourth but our score was second highest, as the three teams above us were all tied for three perfect table scores. We had a wonderful time at the event and made some great new friends from all around the world. This concluded The Battery Powered Picklejar Heads third and last year of FIRST Lego League.
The Battery Powered Picklejar Heads 