By Sofia '29 and Lola '29
From March 13-15, Notre Dame’s robotics team, The Janksters, attended their first competition of the 2026 season, the Silicon Valley District Event hosted by Woodside High School. This year’s game, REBUILT, is a shooter-based game where the objective is to score “Fuel” (6-inch balls) into the “Hub” (a 6-foot tall rectangular structure). Robots must also navigate the several field obstacles such as the “Trench” (a bar that is 22 inches off the ground), the “Bump” (a 6-inch tall ramp) and the “Tower” (a 6.5-foot tall ladder).
At this competition, The Janksters' 2026 robot, Elsa, made its debut, and the team finally got to see it in action.
On Friday, a group of Janksters arrived early to set up their pit, a place where the team prepares their robot for matches during the competition. During the first day of competition on Saturday, the Janksters tested Elsa in practice matches against other teams. However, during one of these matches, the robot’s intake broke. The team worked quickly to repair this issue, but the intake continued to malfunction throughout most of the day. Despite these setbacks, the team maintained their positive attitude, especially while cheering on the drive team. Janksters could also be seen helping other teams in pits with bumper work and lending supplies when needed.
During lunch, the Janksters held a LGBTQ+ of FIRST Board Game Social, where they played games, socialized, and networked with students from other teams. Later on, their alliance set a competition-high score of 630 during a qualification match with Team 254 (Cheesy Poofs) and Team 2613 (Gear Heads), ending the day in high spirits.
On Sunday, the Janksters played their last qualifier games, putting in their best effort. They became the only team in the entire event to climb successfully on the Tower. While they were not picked during alliance selection, the Janksters maintained their enthusiasm by cheering for the other teams and treated this moment as a learning opportunity.
Aanya '26, the team’s captain, said, “SVDE was such an amazing way to kick off my last competitive season! Many of our team members were recognized for their hard work by the other teams and judges. I am so proud of all of us, and we are just getting started, with Contra Costa in a few weeks. We plan to tune our shooting, make our intake more efficient, and clean up wiring for our last district event. I can’t wait to see how we improve!"
During the SVDE awards ceremony, the Janksters received the Spirit Award for their enthusiasm, not only towards their own team, but to all teams participating in the competition, displaying a positive and outgoing attitude even when the situation looked tough. Janksters also earned individual awards, including Zara '28 and Ipsa '27, who received the Safety All Star Award. This award is based on nominations from other teams and awarded to students who implement good safety procedures within their team. In addition to this, Clarina '27 won the District Championship FIRST Leadership Semi-Finalist Award for her involvement and dedication towards the team. The FIRST Leadership Award recognizes an outstanding student leader who embodies the message of FIRST and its ideals.
As they reflect on this experience and how to improve from it, The Janksters are already preparing for their next challenge, the Contra Costa District Event on April 2-4.
