BENNETT WHABAMS
TEAM #23996
TEAM #23996
We are a welcoming, cooperative group that work hard to achieve our goals. Our strong work ethic is what has built up and will continue expanding the Whabam team. The sense of responsibility among the Whabams is something we take pride in, and in our short time as a team we already feel like a family. The camaraderie we exhibit is truly unique; something we will continue to recognize and utilize in order to empower our team.
1st Year: 2022/2023 Season
Won Connect Award at State Qualifiers
Attended Illinois State Championship
2nd Year: 2024/2025 Season
Won 2rd Place Inspire Award at State Qualifiers
Attended Illinois State Championship
Won Compass Award at Illinois State Championship
In the first meet of the 24-25 season, we won 2 out of 5 matches! During the meet, the robot experienced a malfunction when its claw detached, which was a serious threat to our meet performance. Thankfully, we were able troubleshoot the mechanism and persist. At meets, every member of the team does their part. For example, throughout the meet it was the job of our outreach department to speak to our alliance partners, in order to both strategize and foster connections between teams!
In our second meet we won 2 out of 5 matches. We were proud of our considerable improvement in mechanical and tele-operational consistency, but recognized room for improvement in all departments.
Our bot’s abilities remained the same, being able to hook specimens on the low and high chambers and score in the low basket. Unfortunately, like our first meet, the claw detached off again, but we were able to fix it and get back into action!
In our third meet, we won three out of five games. Overall, we felt satisfied with this outcome. We thought we collaborated with teams exceptionally well. Our robot was able to get into both the high and low baskets, putting specimens on both chambers, and is able to hang! However, like other meets, we learned the claw is delicate, as it broke again during this meet. With a lot of perseverance, we fixed it and got back to the matches!
In our 4th meet, we cooperated and butted heads with some of the best teams in Chicago. We ended the day with a 2-3 record, demonstrating the ferocity of the competition. The whole day was filled with valuable learning opportunities, and we made sure to make the most out of our environment, leveraging the fact that teams would be especially gracious and prepared to share with others in the presence of judges. Some of these interactions were invaluable, building relationships with teams we hadn’t previously interacted with, while gaining knowledge many only learn after years of experience. Our efforts at this year’s city meet were certainly a significant step toward achieving our broader outreach and inclusion team goals.
In the eyes of our team, state championships were a resounding success. All in all, we won 2/5 matches, falling just one match short of reaching the playoffs. We're extraordinarily proud of our performance at such a high level, where our work as individual teams fused into a joint effort to do the best possibly could. Just like every competition there were hiccups throughout, our synergy ensured they remained just hiccups.