It all began back in the year of 2004, when school had just started, students were returning to another year of school at Poway High. But, this year, something new was about to happen. Something unexpected was about to sweep across the humble educational facility. When sent a flyer for an international robotics competition, (known as FIRST), several students jumped at the idea. Led by their enthusiastic instructor, Mr. Dohm, the kids spent the next few weeks before the kickoff learning about the game, the competition, and how this was all going to work. When the kickoff occurred, most of the team could not figure out how they were going to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. They had six weeks to design, construct, and polish off a robot capable of lifting nine-pound tetras eleven feet into the air and place them on scoring stations. Scrambling frantically to come up with a workable design, the team was quickly assisted by Michelle Blinco, a previous FIRST participant and Rancho Bernardo High school student.
            Sharing her experience and knowledge of the previous year's competition to give the team a more focused direction. Michelle was the first member of our team to come from a different school. She had found our team after Rancho Bernardo's team has lost their instructor. At the end of the six weeks, the team waved farewell to their sweat and efforts, as the crate, (with their robot packed snugly inside) was loaded onto the truck and shipped to Los Angeles. When it came time for them to make the journey, the team stood on shaky knees at 6 AM getting ready to leave. Their arrival at the competition, however, reimbursed the energy as they worked to prepare for their first match. On the third day of the competition, pressure mounted, as the team readied itself for the end matches, becoming the highest scoring rookie team, achieving the 'Highest Rookie Seed Award'. With victory after victory, Team Spyder rose to the semi-finals, where, after a valiant effort, they lost. Claiming third place in the entire Los Angeles Regional, while being a rookie team, was a major accomplishment, and a fantastic first year. Returning home, the team celebrated, and eagerly looked forward to next year, and the competition to come.