By Varsitaa Srinivasan ‘26 and Clarina Manuel ‘27
The Janksters recently participated in their second off-season competition, Capital City Classic (CCC), held from October 27 to 29 at Pleasant Grove High School. CCC is an esteemed annual robotics competition, organized during the fall, and jointly hosted by FRC teams EagleForce, Citrus Circuits, and Wolfpack Robotics. The Janksters competed with 42 other teams hailing from various parts of California with a wide range of experience and specialized knowledge, making the competition an invaluable and enlightening experience for the students.
The Janksters began their CCC journey by excitedly driving to Pleasant Grove High School with their robot, Caroline, on Friday. They rapidly set up their pit area efficiently enough to even help other teams like Presentation High School with set-up, and built the practice field alongside event volunteers. Immediately after this, the Janksters participated in workshops and learned from some of the best teams in the world through approaches like structured workshops and free-form scouting. The students expanded their knowledge of how other teams design their robots, collect match data, and maximize their performance on the field. To end their day, they hosted an LGBTQ+ of FIRST social with the Citrus Circuits, where they not only fostered new friendships but created a community for LGBTQ+ students.
The next morning, the Janksters were ready to compete in six qualification matches, especially with their new sophomore driver and operator. Scouters diligently collected valuable match data from each and every robot, gaining insights into each team's robot design, which was instrumental to their match strategy. Between matches, both new and veteran students had the opportunity to make efficient repairs to Caroline and practice their public speaking skills by conversing with award judges. The students continued to participate in hour-long workshops, further building up their experience levels for the build season on topics like videography and quick prototyping. One workshop discussed one of the real-life applications of robotics, the NASA Artemis Mission and discussed the different components and processes behind such a complex robot.
The team woke up on Sunday morning ready for their final qualification matches and looked forward to alliance selections and playoffs. The Janksters placed 17th out of 46 teams as quarterfinalists with their alliance partners, Wolverine Robotics from Sacramento and T.E.C.H. Support from Dublin. The drive team put in their best effort during Caroline’s final matches as the whole team enthusiastically cheered for them from the stands. After packing up the pits and interviewing a few teams, the Janksters wrapped up the day watching finals and supporting fellow teams as they received awards and headed back to ND.
Capital City Classic gave the team worthwhile insights and learnings. New members gained experience in the pits, learned useful operations, and helped make robot repairs. CCC allowed veterans to prepare for the upcoming build season, and everyone greatly cherished their final matches with Caroline. The Janksters eagerly look forward to next year’s game and competition season!
