Big Jiawei.

We kicked off our 2026 campaign at the CA District San Diego Event presented by Qualcomm from March 20–22. Finishing qualification matches with a strong 10-6-0 record, Team 812 secured the 8th seed ranking.

During alliance selection, we competed in the playoffs as the Captain of Alliance 6, partnering with Team 5474 as our first pick and Team 4160 as our second pick.

In the double elimination bracket, Alliance 6 fought through four intense rounds, clutching elimination victories in Match 6 (147–120) and Match 9 (228–206) before concluding our run in Round 4. Earning 35 total district points, Big Jiawei established a competitive foundation for the rest of the season.

Heading into San Gabriel Valley, our software and mechanical teams delivered key improvements. We deployed updated PID curves for Big Jiawei's flywheels, dropping our spin up time to under 120ms, sequentially improving our recovery rate and fuels per second.

Advancing through demanding playoff matches, Big Jiawei anchored alliance scoring and dependable teleop shooting. Our strong tournament performance and district ranking points officially earned Team 812 a spot at the FIRST California Southern State Championship.

The pinnacle of our 2026 season brought Big Jiawei to the FIRST California Southern State Championship, competing against some of the fiercest competition in the world and current world champions.

Facing elite defense in the playoff division, our drive team pushed Big Jiawei to its maximum. We added an active hopper using Neo 550s which increased our throughput by over 50%, while our pit crew maintained the burnt out motors and belts. Qualifying for and competing at States represents an achievement for Team 812 and The Preuss School UC San Diego—being the first time in a couple years which the team had qualified for playoff events.