The Winds of Thor- A FTC Robotics Team
Our History
The Winds of Thor are a team with a very long and unique history. They originally started in 2003 and have competed in robotics tournaments every year since. Under the names the Sandy Lego Beachbots, the Coastal Quarks, the Sonic Speedsters, and the WAZINs for Change, they have won 18 awards and a state championship! Working mainly in First Lego League and First Tech Challenge they have also been a part of the Google Moonbots challenge, the Spring Showdown, and a few other competitions. Coached by Ming Dooley throughout their entire 8 (going on 9!) years, two of the original team members currently remain.
Timeline:
2003
FLL Mission Mars Challenge. This was the team’s rookie year as the Sandy Lego Beachbots. No awards were won but the entire team had a fantastic learning experience!
2004
FLL No Limits Challenge. This year, the team won the Judge’s Award at a qualifying tournament and the Research Quality award at the Southern California Championships. They were still the Sandy Lego Beachbots.
2005
FLL Ocean Odyssey Challenge. The team won the Programming award at a qualifying tournament.
2006
FLL Nano Quest Challenge. The team won the Against all Odds award at the Southern California Championships.
2007
FLL Power Puzzle Challenge. The team won a new record of 3 awards! They received two First Place Robot Performance awards as well as First Place Robot Design at the Southern California Championships.
2008
FLL Climate Connections Challenge. The team beat out over 60 other teams for the Southern California Championship award and won a spot in the international FIRST World Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, they won First Place Robot Performance award at a qualifying tournament, Third Place Robot Performance at the Southern California Championship, and a additional Championship award at the same qualifier. This was their last year as the Sandy Lego Beachbots.
2009
FTC Hot Shot Challenge and FLL Smart Move Challenge. This was the team’s first year as a FTC team as well as their first experience splitting up. The FTC team called themselves the Coastal Quarks and the FLL team the WAZINs for Change. The WAZINs won two awards: the Judge’s award at a qualifier and the Second Place Technical Design award at the Southern California Championships. The Coastal Quark’s didn’t win anything but were nominated for the Think Award. In addition, the WAZINs participated in and won first place in the Del Mar Fair off-season challenge.
2010
FTC Get Over It Challenge, Google Moonbots Challenge, and FLL Body Forwards Challenge. This time, 4 awards were won! The Coastal Quarks won two connect awards at two separate FTC qualifying tournaments as well as a documentation award for their work in the Google Moonbots challenge. The WAZINs won First Place Robot Design at the Southern California Tournament.
2011
FTC Bowled Over Challenge and LEGO Spring Showdown Challenge. The team won a Second Place Technical Design in the Spring Showdown Challenge. They were under the name Sonic Speedsters. They have since changed their name to the Winds of Thor and are currently working towards their first tournaments for the FTC season.