About FRC 2181
Team History
The Blaine High School Robotics team was founded in 2007 by the wood shop teacher at the time, Tim Nestrud. When the team registered, they were assigned the team number 2181 by FRC, which is the number we compete under to this day. Since then, Team 2181 has been recognized in FRC for various accomplishments such as the Imagery Award, Industrial Design Award, and in 2013, winner of the 10,000 Lakes competition, which produced an opportunity to compete in Worlds.
General Season Schedule
First Saturday in January - KICKOFF! We learn the game and rules for the season.
January, February, March - Build Season - We prototype, design, and build our robot for the season. We meet 3+ times a week, this is the most important time of our year.
End of February - We compete in at least one "Week Zero" scrimmage.
March - We compete in at least 1, sometimes 2, Regional competitions. These are 3 day long competitions leading up to a double elimination playoff.
April - If we win the Regional, we compete at the World Championships in Houston.
May - The official Minnesota State Robotics competition. If we do well enough at our Regional, we compete here.
Summer time is a little bit of a break. We get together to do outreach events in our community and some team bonding but otherwise it's a slow period.
September, October, November, December - The team meets to compete in offseason events to ramp up for the new season. We work on offseason projects and do outreach/fundraising events. We train in new members and prepare for a new season. We typically meet once a week.
Check out the Calendar page for a more detailed look at meeting times and competitions.
Divisions of the Team
While every team member is expected to contribute wherever they are needed, students inevitably often specialize into certain areas of the team. Some examples of those specializations are below.
Mechanical
Prototype, design, and build mechanisms and the drive train to manipulate game pieces. This involves working with motors, gearboxes, CAD, pneumatics, and more.
Electrical
Assemble, design, and implement the robot's electrical systems. This involves working with motor controllers, roboRIO, cameras, and more.
Programming
Robots use autonomous and teleoperated programs during competition. Programming designs and refines these programs for optimal game play.
Marketing
FIRST is more than just robots. It is also about reaching out in our community, expanding our brand, increasing our fundraising, and teaching younger generations about STEM.
Strategy/Scouting
An FRC competition needs a 4 person drive team consisting of a driver, an operator, a drive coach, and a human player (passes game pieces to the robot).
Awards
The competitions do not only feature robot matches. Before and during Regionals, our team submits/presents awards to judges and we possibly receive awards.
Fast Facts
Location: Blaine High School, Room 128
Team Founded: 2007
Founding Sponsor: Medtronic
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