I was inspired by the this year’s Stronghold theme to go for broke and do an epic poem for the team to remember the year by. Most of it is very specific to my team, but I think the sentiment is probably very translatable. I hope you enjoy it! I do plan to add an ending after Championships.
THUNDERTALE
Once Upon A Time there was a Robotics Kingdom called Rolling Thunder. This kingdom was known by the heraldic number 1511, that identified the Rolling Thunder Kingdom within the broader Dominion of FIRST. The entire Dominion of FIRST stood For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology and strived to spread these aspirational words from kingdom to kingdom.
In order to promulgate these goals and aspirations, each year the FIRST Dominion commanded its kingdoms gather and compete in tournaments so that the Dominion might see what new skills and traits the various kingdoms had acquired. This epic poem tells the story of Kingdom 1511 in the tournaments of the year 2016.
Strengthen the Dominion, with tournaments of sport,
Wherein each kingdom plays the game.
With alliances of three, they each play a part,
Seeking triumph, bragging rights, and fame.
Excitement at Kickoff could not be contained.
The game of Stronghold is what will be played,
With defenses and outer works they must breach.
Towers they will weaken, and robots sway,
As they capture, and scale, and screech.
And please, no fouls they beseech.
So with the game animated and the rules well defined
Kingdoms meet to brainstorm and develop
Robots with shooters and scalers in their design.
Strategy decides the best way to win a match up,
And what to do in autonomous and teleop.
Rolling Thunder begins to build in earnest with several goals in mind:
Clear the low bar, and thrash all defenses to be sure;
Score in the low goal and leave the castle undermined;
Mount the batter and capture the tower to assure
A rise to the top, because we are no amateurs.
So design proceeds slowly as we struggle to agree.
How do we scale? By winch, folding or extending arm?
The kingdom is torn and it seems that all cannot see
How to reach a consensus, bring peace, restore calm.
And of course we keep forgetting to update the wiki.
And drive base, oh drive base, why will you not comply?
First wheels, then tracks, then wheels again.
To get the wheel spacing right, we try and try and try.
It seems a never-ending game.
And we still, have not all, updated the wiki.
Yet ho - we turn a corner and the end is in sight.
Our robot design appears to take flight.
We CAD and calculate – to speculate would be trite,
And it begins to take shape as Harris shows its might
Fabricating parts until deep in the night.
A slight setback with Chamtek, will we lose our momentum?
Our shop is teeming with work and parts are hitting the shelves.
But no, Tim and Tony step in, and they mill something fearsome,
Overnight it’s like a visit from Santa’s elves.
And there is even useful stuff on the wiki.
Time ticks forward, as bag day approaches,
Wiring proceeds and sensors are mounted,
Programmers write furiously, don’t forget those back-slashes!
Figures are checked and every pound is counted,
It’s now or never that our last obstacles must be surmounted.
We hold a practice tournament called Ruckus
And invite nearby kingdoms for a day of robot trials.
Some robots succeed; some falter, and some are stupendous
But we all help each other out with a smile
As the field is destroyed and readied for a bonfire.
Now it’s over, now it’s done, the robot’s bagged and it’s time to rest,
But wait, we’re a Chairman’s team, the robot isn’t everything!
We have advocacy, we have demos, and we have to pass the game test!
Robot 2 must be finished for practicing!
We need to pick journeymen and knights and start scouting!
Our first tournament is in week one, up in the land of Canada
And our troubadours are preparing their performance.
We’ve met a lot of Canadian teams that come to Rha Cha Cha
So we look forward to attending one of their pageants
To show them our spirit, skill and perseverance.
We arrive in haste and storm the field with valor,
50 matches are played with fierce competition.
Breaching goes well, tough we have trouble with our scaler,
But our knights drive well and our strategy bars none.
Our robot is tired and damaged, but we rank number one!
Day two arrives with snow falling gently.
Our journeymen make haste to repair and reinforce,
Our troubadours perform and our knights rally.
We make it to playoffs, and our cheerers are hoarse,
We select our no. 2 alliance; it’s a tour de force!
Team 2609 from Guelph, with the name of BeaverworX
Join our alliance, they have excellent scoring,
And we can completely smash the outer works.
Let’s not forget Team 4951 CDS Cyclones, who hail from King -
Don’t their royalty find that confusing?
Our alliance is strong, but there is weakness within,
Our scaler breaks, oh the shame! There goes the end game!
Our foes take advantage and push for the win 
Team Dave, Rams Robotics and Irish Iron win the fame,
With robots and knights of great acclaim!
But all is not lost; there are many awards to bestow,
The Dominion of FIRST is more than just robots!
So we assemble with great fanfare for the awards show
Anticipating great rivalry and speeches with inspiring thoughts.
Our troubadours’ and coaches’ nerves are in knots.
And finally the moment is here and Chairman’s is announced.
We run down to the field incredulously,
Our team has won, our foes have been trounced.
We are on to Championships seeking glory,
But this is just the first part of the story. . .
Finger Lakes approaches and we can taste a win.
We have hard work to do and improvements to make,
With all these changes can the robot be relied upon?
There is so very much at stake,
Is the pressure more than we can take?
And so we continued on to the Regional of the Finger Lakes,
Starting with a major rebuild of our robot.
We thought of local friends and rivals and the ever increasing stakes
As we started taking the breacher apart,
To replace it with a new one, a fortified counterpart.
While a group kept toiling on robot front,
Robot back was also being fixed.
Our robot fast approached disembowelment.
But the new scaler arm was quickly affixed,
With the strap and cable betwix’d
Four hours later, after a few voices were raised
The scaler arm was done, the breacher was complete.
We all shared in the praise
And the mood became upbeat.
We had matches to practice and alliances to beat.
Then Leo came in the middle of it all,
A brand new bundle for Leann and Larry!
Word spread as soon as we got the call,
All were well, both mom and baby.
We were all so happy – but we could not tarry.
So go forth we did, and rallied our team
By the end of Friday we ranked first!
It was déjà vu all over again,
As we went to the social and dispersed,
To dance, and sing, and karaoke unrehearsed.
By Saturday eliminations we had dropped
To captains of the second alliance.
Strategy determined which teams we would co-opt,
To create the ultimate mergence
Of skill, camaraderie and valiance.
Alas we started well, but in match two victory fled.
A red card presaged the cloudburst.
In match three a wire stopped us dead,
Could it be that we are cursed?
Have not enough difficulties been traversed?
Our grief was intense but there were no histrionics,
At least our loss was not amongst strangers.
It was shared with our friends Team 3015 Ranger Robotics,
And those stalwart defensive marauders
Team 378, the Circuit Stompers.
Team 1126, SPARX and Team 578, Red Raider Robotics
Played the game most well, despite being tippy
With Team 2010, the Lightening Bots’ unfortunate acrobatics.
If you don’t know what I mean watch the video carefully,
Then go to Chief Delphi and share your thoughts politely.
In the end the winners came from alliance five,
Team 639 Code Red Robotics picked with aplomb.
Their alliance had dexterity and drive,
Including Team 20 the Rocketeers, FIRST icons
And our neighbors Team 1405 the Finney Falcons.
But all was not lost, we did not leave paupers,
Amal is a Dean’s List finalist.
And Mr. Brewer won Woodie Flowers,
His name joins the ever growing list
Of our team’s FIRST protagonists!
And our team won the award for Imagery,
And a Safety Hat pin as well.
So go forth with joy and glee,
Onto Championships and our next show-and-tell,
Where we will proudly display our metaphorical shrapnel.
Katie, KT and Amal, our troubadours, keep practicing.
Work it till your voices sing
With truthful praises of our team.
The competition is daunting,
But your Chairman’s performance is uplifting.
Hannah, Jordan, Veronica and Tess,
Geoff, Catherine, Aaron and Kate,
You journeymen keep our robot from becoming a mess.
And Zack, keep positive mate,
Eventually your lights are going to be great!
Austin, McKenna, Casey and Andrew,
We know there is a lot of stress,
Let’s keep focused knights, a tight efficient crew,
You always do your best
And we are never less than impressed.
Jeffrey, Brett, Maksym, Ariel and Mandy,
Mady, Ian, Semaj and Ryan,
Keep cheering, keep up the energy.
Your support keeps the team trying,
You lead by example, you are inspiring!
And for our apprentices Rachel, Ally, Calvin, Wady and Zach,
Aiden, Ryan, Julia, Ethan and Matt,
Dig deep, keep trying, and stay on the attack!
Your skills and experience will accumulate,
And wining will be your fate.
Outer works we will breach,
And towers we will plunder!
Perseverance we will teach,
Our team will never surrender!!
Because the thunder just keeps getting louder!!!