Hi! We can’t believe another season has already started; it feels like no time has passed at all since Houston. Welcome back to the Iron Claw Blog for the 2026-2027 season! This year was our 5th time attending Chezy Champs, hosted by The Cheesy Poofs. We found through previous years that Chezy Champs is a valuable experience for the first years and helps new members acclimatize to the FRC environment. Chezy Champs was such an awesome time and our team greatly enjoyed the competition and learned so much.
The team worked hard during the offseason to prepare for one of the most prestigious competitions and it definitely shined through. Our drive train was efficient, our shooter was fast, and the robot was very durable, having few technical issues.
To start off the weekend, on Friday afternoon, the Iron Claw Team loaded the pits and robot into our trailer. Shortly after, the team headed to Bellarmine College Preparatory with the goal of setting up the pits, completing field calibration, and running some practice matches with other teams.
On Saturday we were able to win 3 matches, but unfortunately 2 of our matches were really close and we weren’t able to secure them. We played against great teams like Hightide, The Cheesy Poofs, and Blazing Bulldogs. While it was a challenge we stood strong against them. It was an enlightening experience for the first years and they had so much fun!
We started off our Sunday playing with StuyPulse and EagleForce, then our next match was with C-Otters and Iron Panthers, both matches had us on the edge of our seats. Unfortunately we did not get picked for an alliance but we were ecstatic to get one of the few awards at Chezy Champ, the Quality Award! An award given for the robot with the most robustness, careful design, and excellence in fabrication. We are so so proud to have gone home with such a great award and are already looking forward to next year’s Chezy Champs.
Everyone on the team made many contributions and worked hard at Chezy Champs. The scouters provided valuable data; the pit team maximized their time with the robot in between each match to make the robot as ready as possible for the next match; and our drive team worked great together, scoring as much fuel as they could each match. All the mentors and teachers helped allow us to attend this competition. Special shoutout to the parents who contributed snacks and lunch; without them there would have been no competition.
We are so grateful for the opportunity to attend Chezy Champs. Many thanks to 254, also known as The Cheesy Poofs, for hosting such a great competition. It was an impactful experience for everyone. For many students it was the first time they were able to meet different teams, watch matches in real life, enjoy the competitive spirit, and learn from facing challenges. Thank you for reading, and we will see you in the next post!
