COVID-19 won’t fully freeze the Foley Freeze

By Liam Bell

In March of 2020, FIRST Robotics competitions were brought to a pause as COVID-19 began to spread throughout Michigan. Only teams who had signed up for week 1 or week 2 competitions were able to see their robot on the field before what would become the end of the season. Due to these health concerns, the Foley Freeze could no longer meet in person, nor attend regular competitions. However, the team was not deterred from continuing during the 2020-2021 Robotics Season.

As with the rest of the school, the Foley Freeze has adapted to new normal, as coaches and leaders have rigorously enforced social distancing and the use of masks in our meetings. Team meals are now in the cafeteria as opposed to the regular team room, allowing team members to sit further apart and maintain social distancing. Sanitizing chairs, tools, and materials regularly is also a daily priority to keep work spaces safe.

The Foley Freeze has also contributed to Bishop Foley’s successful return to in-person learning in late August. In the summer, many members of the team constructed plexiglass dividers for the classrooms in the school, to further protect Bishop Foley’s students’ health by shielding them if neighboring students are required to talk to each other. The team made and installed these in all classrooms to be used as an extra safety measure in addition to wearing masks.

Before and while Bishop Foley temporarily shut down in-person learning for several weeks after Thanksgiving, the team continued to meet both virtually and in-person to discuss various issues related to the team and the 2021 season, allowing team members to talk safely from home and remain in contact with their teammates.

The team has also begun to prepare for the in-person and the various virtual competitions that have been offered by FIRST. All of our sub teams have assisted in developing our submissions for the game design challenges, innovation challenges, and Infinite Recharge at home. All of the subteams have or plan to contribute in some fashion to the challenges, whether it be the CAD subteam designing models for the game design challenge, or media subteam releasing marketing material for the innovation challenge.

The Foley Freeze students and mentors have successfully adapted to the new challenges from 2020 and strives to continue creating and inspiring new ideas, even in a unique year.