After competing at tough qualifying events and the NE District Championship, we headed to the FIRST World Championship for the first time in six years! For four thrilling days from April 17th to 20th, 2024, we teamed up with 600 FRC teams from all over the world at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center for an exciting competition and exploration!

Before our highly anticipated trip, we dove straight into preparations. One day was dedicated to packing every inch of our coach’s car and trailer with our robot, its components, pit equipment, spirit supplies and more. On another day, team members poured countless hours into assembling buttons, producing over a thousand by hand! Some team members even dyed their hair orange in demonstration of LigerBots team spirit!

Early on Wednesday of April 16th, the LigerBots flew from Boston to Houston, meeting other New England teams along the way. Upon landing in the humid Houston climate, it was all hands on deck as we immediately got to work. We set up our pit, calibrated our robot for inspection, played in practice matches, and prepared match scouting strategies. 

After the championship’s commencement, our team was placed into a division of 75 teams, with 124 intense qualifiers. Our division, Johnson, was named after NASA scientist Katherine Johnson. Following two days of qualifiers, we ended ranked 6th out of 75 teams, an unbelievable feat that allowed us to become the 5th seed alliance captain. Throughout the competition, our strategy team thoroughly analyzed scouting data, leading to our selection of three teams to be on our alliance: Nashoba Robotics #1768, ROBOTZ Garage #4451, and ICRobotics #5584, interestingly an Australian team. Our playoff matches proved tough, but unfortunately we were eliminated after losing our matches by a narrow margin. 

Alongside the competition, the FIRST Championship was a place for exploration. Some team members walked around 600 FRC pits, collecting dozens of pounds of pins. Others explored the simultaneous FTC and FLL competitions, particularly to cheer on the FLL team such as the Goofy Gyros, an outstanding team that competed at both FLL tournaments that we hosted in the fall. During downtime, team members scattered around the tens of dozens of booths at the Innovation Expo, including colleges and leading tech companies.

After the competition, we made the most of the Houston trip. We explored the Johnson Space Center, FRC Team 118, the Robonauts’s open house, and the nearby aquarium. What a great end to such an experience!

This wraps up our 2024 competition season…wow what an incredible season. As we approach the spring, we are jumping straight into our off-season, attending many more outreach events, working on offseason projects, and gearing up for the 2024-2025 year.