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As one of the organizers of the 2026 Wallingford Parade, I was intrigued when first-time registrant ChainLynx Robotics, directed by Joshua Myers, LHS CTE teacher and Engineering & Mechatronics Coach, signed up to march in the parade. In reviewing the registration form, it became apparent that this was a special group of Lincoln High School students. I have previously reported on other groups at Lincoln, but these have been sports-related, so I wanted to find out more about this robotics group. So I met with team members, got to see the team robot, and learned from Penny Daniels, ChainLynx Co-President, about the achievements of this group of truly dedicated high school students.

Co-President Penny Daniels with LHS Teacher Mentors

ChainLynx Robotics Team members

According to Penny, ChainLynx is organized into five departments:

• The Business Department handles how the team gets and uses money: creating budgets, securing sponsorships and grants, and overseeing marketing efforts such as sponsor panels and merchandise. These activities help fund robot materials, team operations, and travel expenses for competitions.
• The Logistics Department coordinates transportation, meals, lodging, and other arrangements needed for events and competitions.
• The Strategy Department focuses on understanding each year’s game, identifying priorities for the other departments, and analyzing team statistics to ensure ChainLynx is as prepared as possible for every event. The department also includes the drive team, which holds tryouts and trains the students who operate the robot during competitions.
• The Controls Department is responsible for programming the robot and ensuring it functions properly during both the autonomous and driver-controlled phases of a match.
• The Mechanical Department designs, manufactures, and builds the robot, including its wiring and physical assembly.

Corporate sponsors Boeing, SPEEA, and Electro-Impact provide support to the program.

Teamwork and communication across the five departments are essential to building a well-rounded robot and achieving team goals. Robotics is about building robots, sure, but it’s also about students developing valuable life skills such as leadership, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. Students are encouraged to participate in multiple departments, allowing them to gain experience in different areas of the team. For example, a student may help build the robot while also learning about budgeting, sponsorships, or event planning. This cross-department involvement gives students a broader understanding of how the team operates and helps them develop a diverse set of skills.

Now that you understand how the team is organized, let’s take a closer look at what they do with the robot and how they compete.

What is FRC?

FRC stands for FIRST Robotics Competition. FIRST is a national organization that helps to bring STEM learning opportunities to elementary, middle, and high school students. In addition to FRC, FIRST holds two other competitions: FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). The FRC is designed for high school students, and is the largest and most advanced of FIRST’s competitions. Teams of students work together to design, build, program, and test robots to compete against other teams in a new game released each year.

How does it work?

FIRST releases a new game at the beginning of January, challenging teams to design, build, and program a robot capable of completing that season’s objectives. Teams have about two months to develop their robot before the competition season begins. Starting in March, teams compete at district events and are awarded ranking points according to various factors: qualification match performance, playoff results, overall event ranking, and judged awards.

Teams compete in alliances of three robots. The first phase of the competition is qualification matches, during which alliances are randomly assigned. In each match, alliances compete against each other, earning ranking points based on their performance. Once qualification matches are complete, teams move into the alliance selection phase. Beginning with the highest-ranked team, alliance captains select other teams to join their alliance until eight alliances of three teams each have been formed. These alliances will not change for the remainder of the event, and compete as a unit in the elimination bracket. On the afternoon of the second day of competition, the eight alliances compete in a double-elimination playoff bracket to decide the winner of the event. Teams earn district ranking points based on their progression through the playoffs, qualification ranking, and other performance factors.

Throughout the season, each team competes at two district events. The district ranking points earned at these events are combined, and the top 50 teams in the Pacific Northwest District qualify for the District Championship. There, teams compete for a chance to qualify for the World Championship. Typically, around 20 teams from the District Championship earn a spot at the World Championship, where they compete against the best teams from around the world.

The following is a video from the Pacific Northwest District Championships. ChainLynx is part of the Blue Alliance closest to the camera:

ChainLynx Awards

Although ChainLynx did not win the championship this year, they still played well.  Over the past six seasons, ChainLynx has won a variety of awards:

• 2021
  • Rookie Design Award
• 2022
  • Gracious Professionalism Award
  • Entrepreneurship Award
• 2023
  • Industrial Design
• 2024
  • Industrial Design
  • Judges’ Award
  • Glacier Peak Event Winner
  • Leadership Award Semi-Finalist [Jairen Dorsey]
• 2025
  • Team Spirit Award
• 2026
  • Autonomous Award
  • Leadership Award Semi-Finalist [Penny Daniels]

Wallingford Parade Performance

It will be exciting to see this year’s robot and the ChainLynx team walking in the Wallingford Parade on July 11th! Unfortunately, Penny won’t be with her teammates in the parade, but fortunately she’ll still be a part of it: look out for her marching with the Seattle All-City Band.