FTC Robotics
About Our Team
#11177 Gear Grinders
The Gear Grinders are a school based FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team from Fulton, Illinois. Currently, the team is made up of 11 students ranging from 7th to 11th grade. Members from our team started out in the First Lego League in 2012. Once they moved into 7th grade, the group started a FIRST Tech Challenge team. The Gear Grinders evolved from the original team named River Bend Red, which was formed in 2016. The team name was changed to Gear Grinders for the 2017-2018 season to be more inclusive to three students who joined our team that year from the local private school, Unity Christian Academy, also located in Fulton, IL. The name was agreed upon by the student team members. The name reflected the challenges we had worked through during our rookie season. Our robot that first season challenged our team’s programming and engineering skills; our gears were definitely grinding, both figuratively and literally, that season. So it only seemed fitting when a team member suggested the name Gear Grinders. It was a perfect fit! Our team mascot is Marty the Zebra. The mascot originated from a late night building session over a box of Zebra Cakes. We used the cardboard from the Zebra cake box as part of our phone holder on the robot. Ever since then, the cardboard Zebra cut-out has graced its presence on the robot. This year we added an actual mascot to help get the crowd pumped up during our matches. Regardless of the challenges, the Gear Grinders have continually improved each season. During the 2018-2019 season, the team was Second place for the Control Award and Captain of the Second Team Alliance, moving on to the Illinois State Championship. During the 2019-2020 season the team won the Motivate Award and was chosen as the 2nd team alliance partner.
Velocity Vortex 16/17
Relic Recovery 17/18
Rover Ruckus 18/19
Skystone 19/20
