The 2023 Sussex Scrimmage
Robot Drivers at a match. All photos submitted by Carly Ungerer
Carly Ungerer
Hamilton High School’s Charger Robotics, FRC team 537, is one of the oldest robotics teams in the state and has the most Impact Awards in the state. The Impact Award is one of the most important awards in FIRST robotics, and is given to teams who make notable impacts on their communities both in STEM and other areas of outreach. One key reason for this is the yearly event the team runs, called the Sussex Scrimmage.
The 23rd annual Sussex Scrimmage, an event where 25 other Wisconsin FIRST teams come to practice before competitions begin, occurred this past weekend. The high school robotics team hosts the event and spends the weekend preparing for other teams and preparing to compete.
One major preparation that must occur in the lead up to the Sussex Scrimmage is the course set up. The game animation and course information is released in the first week of January, and that is when the course team of the robotics team begins to build. The team builds their own field and its elements every year. And, on the Saturday prior to the scrimmage, the team spends the day setting up the course and assembling it. On top of this, the team must also prepare the robot to compete with the other teams. This year’s bot is named ED1C24, for the hex color code of “Charger Robotics red,” and is colloquially called “Ed”.
As for the scrimmage itself, Charger Robotics succeeded in running the event smoothly thanks to the volunteers and student team members hosting the event. The team ran about 40 matches in total, with an average match reset time of under 10 minutes. This is comparable to events run regionally. At the event itself, many events, panels, and demonstrations occurred. The event involves scouting discussions, Dean's List Award discussions, and an Impact Award exchange. FIRST Lego League (FLL) teams from the middle school gave demonstrations of their robots and projects, in which they tackle real world problems through research and creativity.
Charger Robotics was able to participate in many of the matches, which allowed the drive team to practice on the robot. The scrimmage also helped the team troubleshoot, by seeing how and when the robot broke to be more prepared for future competitions. Despite some issues, ED1C24 performed well and was fully functional by the end of the scrimmage. Now the team will take what they learned from the scrimmage to improve and iterate in preparation for their first competition in early March. The team captain of Charger Robotics, senior Emilie Fuhr said, “The Sussex Scrimmage is a really great opportunity for teams to explore their robot’s capabilities and find out what works before being away from their shops and tools at competition. As the day went on, many teams’ capabilities grew exponentially, including Team 537. It’s also a really fun event for the public to watch and get to see how students apply STEM concepts they’re learning in class beyond the classroom.”
