“We are looking forward to being World Champs this year.”
After reaching last year’s World Finalist spot in 2022, Team 4414 HighTide is headed again to the FIRST Robotics World Championships in Houston. They are riding high on three regional wins at Hueneme Port, Ventura County and AeroSpace Valley. Additionally, they earned awards in Autonomous and Excellence in Engineering.
Team 4414: HighTide is an industry-based robotics team located in Ventura. Student participants range from grades 9 – 12 and attend school at Buena, El Camino, Foothill or Ventura High. Students learn career-oriented skills in engineering, design, mathematics, computer science, and are inspired by industry professional mentors. Michael Sessa of Sessa MFG (where the team trains) said, “Team 4414 HighTide is so dedicated and driven to excellence in everything they do. We are so lucky to have such great students along with amazing mentors.”
This year’s game Charged Up presented by HAAS Automation sees two alliances competing to process cones and cubes and score onto their grid. The match ends with robots racing to engage on their charging station. Alliances are made up of 3 robot teams that work together to earn the highest score. While the competition is intense, it is built on the values of professionalism, cooperation, kindness, and more.
Student Burton Sessa said, “We have put in countless hours of prototyping, design, manufacturing, coding and more. The dedication of every team member has helped us adapt through this new season. We all learned so much about the game this season and I am stoked to see how we will do during Worlds.”
Programmer Irene Kim said of her experience, “I always appreciate our team’s cooperation and intense dedication to constantly improving the robot. This year, the programmers definitely had a lot of fun learning about and utilizing dynamic trajectory generation that allows the robot to autonomously drive to each of the 27 scoring locations!”
Quincy Lowder, a manufacturing team member, said “We have built a top-tier robot this year, and our performance at regional competitions is a result of our team’s hard work this season. I love being part of a
team that strives for excellence in everything we do. Our team is excited to compete again at WORLDS and reach our full potential in Houston!”
Alumni and Mentor Anshul Bajaj said, “Understanding your opponent’s and most importantly your teammate’s ability is essential to performing at the highest level. Using our Tidescouts app, Team 4414 students recorded and collected performance data for the teams we competed with. These metrics informed our strategy which elevated our overall competitiveness.”
Head Mentor JJ Sessa congratulated the team on their Regional wins and said, “Thank you to all our sponsors, friends and family for your support. We are looking forward to being World Champs this year. For more information: www.team4414.com
