2019

2018-19 EVENTS

ST. LOUIS TRAINING CAMP

On December 30th, members from 3284 traveled to St. Louis to give presentations for the FRC Robotics Training Camp. LASER gave presentations on Chairman’s, Safety, and CNC with Omio to rookie teams and teams wanting to expand their knowledge on topics.

LASER TEAM BUILDING

To celebrate the end of first semester and the start of a new FRC® Season, LASER 3284 came together on December 20th to set team and personal goals. In addition to the party, 3284 watched the new Star Wars movie in theaters to celebrate FIRST Rise being powered by Star Wars: Force For Change®. After watching the movie, the team was ready for the challenges of the 2020 season.

FLL® CHAMPIONSHIP

LASER FRC® and FTC® teams hosted and ran the 3rd annual Central MO FLL® Championship on December 7th. 36 teams from Central Missouri competed at the event and all represented with Gracious Professionalism. LASER members had a great time hosting and running the event.

ROLLA FLL® QUALIFIER

On November 9th, LASER members volunteered at the 3rd annual Rolla FLL® Qualifier. All of LASER’s FLL® teams competed at this qualifier. Five LASER teams qualified to the Central MO FLL® Championship.

NIXA FLL® QUALIFIER

As the Central Missouri FIRST® affiliate, members from LASER volunteered at the 3rd annual FLL® Nixa Qualifier on November 23rd. LASER members served as Judges, Field Reset, Refs and Queuing.

COW TOWN THROWDOWN

On November 1st and 2nd, 3284 attended the Cow Town ThrowDown Offseason Competition in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. LASER competed against 50 teams from six states and placed third, being the third seated alliance captain. After a hard fought three matches, LASER lost in the quarter-finals to eventual finalists.

UL SAFETY TRAINING

LASER had their annual UL Safety training on October 10th. The entire team listened to a presentation by LASER's safety captains and then proceeded to take a test over the material. All members had to get a 100% on the test, and LASER is happy to say that 100% of their team is UL Safety certified!

CPR TRAINING

LASER believes that being trained in CPR is a valuable skill to have. Because of this, every member on LASER 3284 must be CPR certified. On October 10th and 17th, LASER members became CPR certified.

OZARK MAKER FAIRE

LASER traveled to Springfield MO on the 5th of October to demonstrate FIRST at the Ozark Maker Faire. The event was held at OTC college and had demonstrations from 'Makers' from all over Missouri. LASER demoed the FRC, FTC, and FLL progressions to share the message of FIRST and STEM.

GATEWAY ROBOTICS CHALLENGE

On September 28th, LASER traveled and competed at the Gateway Robotics Challenge in St Louis MO. LASER competed against 32 teams and played 5 qualification matches. LASER placed 9th overall, was selected by the 1st seated alliance, and then knocked out by the eventual champions in the quarter finals. The team had a great time competing in the event and would like to thank everyone who came out to support LASER!

INVENTION JAMBOREE: SCOUTS OF AMERICA

On September 14th, LASER members attended the Invention Jamboree for Boy Scouts of America to teach sessions to boys and girls about FIRST and how to program robots. LASER members also met with Missouri Governor Parson and First Lady Parson and continued discussions about the importance of FIRST.

MISSOURI STATE FAIR

LASER and other teams from across Missouri demoed at the Missouri state fair on August 11th. All four progressions of FIRST were represented and displayed to the hundreds of people that visit the fair daily, along with other STEM related activities.

NATIONAL ADVOCACY CONFERENCE

June 23rd through the 27th, four LASER team members traveled to Washington DC to discuss the funding and support of Title IV Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act with our members of Congress. LASER members met with four members of Congress, Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer and Vicky Hartzler, and Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley to discuss the importance of funding FIRST programs nation wide.

FTC® CAMP

During the week of June 17th through the 21st, LASER hosted a FTC camp. Participants learned about the basics of programming, fabrication, judging and engineering notebooks.

FRC® STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

LASER 3284 competed at the Missouri State Championship at Lindenwood University, on May 18th. LASER was ranked 6th going into the event and was selected by the 4th alliance to compete.

FLL® INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

May 15th-17th, a LASER FLL® team attended the FLL® International Invitational Tournament at Lego-land in California, where they competed against FLL® teams from around the world.

FIRST® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

On April 17th-20th, LASER traveled to and competed at the World Championships in Houston, Texas. LASER was placed in the Turing Division where they were ranked 14th out of 66 teams. They were picked by the 8th alliance captain, and made it to quarter-finals where they were knocked out by eventual Einstein Finalists. LASER was honored to receive the UL Safety Award for the third year in a row, LASER 3284 was awarded the Engineering Inspiration Award, which qualifies LASER for the World Championship next year! Not only did LASER have a great time at the Championship, but they were also featured in a segment about FIRST® Robotics on Good Morning America. Thank you to everyone who supported LASER in their tenth season, it was a good one!

FLL JR.® EXPO

LASER 3284 hosted the FLL Jr.® Expo on April 13th, from 9 to 1 at Osage Beach Elementary. The day consisted of the FLL Jr.® teams presenting their ideas and presentations to reviewers, and having their poster boards on display for all to see. Teams from all over central Missouri attended, thank you to all who came!

CHAIRMAN'S EXCHANGE

After being asked by the Coconuts, LASER hosted and ran Chairman's Exchanges at three FRC regionals. The Exchanges helped introduce teams to the award, and to also share ideas and processes between teams.

CENTRAL MISSOURI REGIONAL

April 4th through the 7th, LASER competed in their last regional of the season with 36 other teams from seven states and two countries. For the first time in LASER history, LASER was ranked #1 and was the first seeded alliance captain! LASER was knocked out in Semi-Finals, but took home the Autonomous Award. Thank you to all who came out and supported LASER in their last regional of the season!

GREATER KANSAS CITY REGIONAL

LASER traveled and competed at their second regional, the Greater Kansas City, on March 20th through the 23rd. LASER competed against 36 teams from 4 states. 3284 was ranked 4th and was picked by the 1st seated alliance. The alliance made it to finals where they put up a fantastic fight against the 2nd seated alliance. In addition to being finalists, LASER also won the safety award and the Excellence in Engineering Award. FRC Coach, Sherry Comer, was honored with the Woodie Flower's award due to her hard work and dedication to FIRST®.

HEARTLAND REGIONAL

On March 13th-16th, LASER competed with 36 teams from seven states and three countries at the Heartland Regional. 3284 was ranked 27th out of 36 teams, and was picked by the 7th alliance captain and fought hard in quarter finals. LASER was honored to win the most prestigious award in FIRST®, The Chairman's Award, along with 1st runner up Safety Award. LASER member Maya Irvine was also awarded the Dean's List Finalist award. Thank you to all who supported LASER!

MISSOURI FTC® STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

For the first time, all three of LASER's FTC teams competed at the Missouri State Championship. The event was held at Missouri University of Science of Technology in the Gale Bullman Building on Saturday March 9th.

MISSOURI STATE CAPITOL STEM DAY

LASER traveled to the Missouri State Capital on March 7th for STEM day. LASER demonstrated all four progressions of FIRST® to the public, LASER also held an FLL® scrimmage tournament, met with the Missouri Governor and Missouri Representative Suzie Pollock to share information about LASER and FIRST® Robotics.

KICKOFF

LASER was excited about the new game Destination: Deep Space! They spent the day brainstorming and holding their 10 year anniversary party with alumni in attendance. LASER is ready to Lift Off for this years game, with Destination: Deep Space!