Event 2: Auburn

Event 2: Auburn

And just like that, our second local competition is done and dusted.

The team had a lot of fun, worked hard, and the results, once again, showed. This event ran in the same format as Glacier Peak - 31 teams, 12 qualification matches for each team, then the top 8 ranked teams would select their 2 alliance partners and play in a double elimination bracket for the event win!
Right away, during a practice match of all things, we ran into our first mechanical issue of the weekend:

Literally unplayable.

That black rod is supposed to be in a straight line... We may have driven into a part of the field with it...

But... that was our only mechanical issue of the weekend. Consistency and reliability are huge in these events.

Do SotaBots have fun? Oh, yupp!

While this team never fell over in a match, everyone would have had a great laugh if they did!

The match schedule for qualifications is totally random - but sometimes you just get a dud. (Theres folks out there who run statistical analysis of everything including match schedules - we had a numbers proven worst match schedule of any team at that event...) At the end of our 12 matches, we held a record of 8-4. Due to our reliability, consistency, and raw performance however, we ended qualifications in rank 5! Beyond all our expectations once again.

Downtime? Use all the time.

One task between competitions that we didn't finish was building our full spare intake module. Between matches, when there wasn't much else happening, 2 students continued putting this together.

One item on the robot that was concerning us was out elevator tube. We are driving faster, scoring more, and every action on this system causes a bit more wear and tear. Fortunately, this held through all our matches, but we will have to replace it again if we advance beyond this weekend!

Bent, but not broken!

Saturday morning was Alliance selection for the elimination tournament. We would have been the 5th Alliance Captain - except that we were invited to join Alliance 2, joining up with team 1318 from Issaquah High School and Kentridge High School. Elimination matches always seem to happen at a faster pace that qualification matches - more pressure, more reason to perform, less time between matches. Here is where the robots really have to show their robustness.

Everything happens faster during the elimination tournament.

Not a sight we wanted to see - our Alliance captains from 1318 taking a hacksaw to their robot between matches! Fortunately their pit crew worked magic and got out to play in the next match.

All our improvements, optimizations, and reliability really showed here. We played 3 practice matches, 12 qualification matches, and 6 elimination matches - and never had a fault that prevented us from driving and scoring points.

Hard to get pictures of the robot on the field...

Once again, we found ourselves in the event Finals - taking on the number 1 Alliance. And, once again, we played hard, but could not overcome the impressive robots on the opposite side of the field. The team was still ecstatic - 2 events, 2 second place finishes. If all that was the cake, there was another laying of icing on top: We were recognized by the judges with the Quality Award. This technical judged award recognizes a team and robot that are robust, capable, and a quality example for other teams to emulate. Between event, we had specifically worked on how to communicate and share details about our robot. Earning this award validated our efforts, and further excited the entire team. Since their 2019 beginnings - this was their first ever judged award recognition!

Judges line up to celebrate and recognize award winners!

On top of that layer of icing sat another sugary treat metaphor that I can't think of - with our success at both local events, we qualified for this years District Championship - again, for the first time in this team's history! This invitational tournament takes place at Eastern Washington University and will see the 50 highest placed robots in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska compete in a similar format over three days. From that event, the top 17 teams in rankings and play-off scores will earn a spot to attend the World Championships hosted in Houston, TX.

We're currently sitting in 9th place.

As noted above, we have some more work to prepare for the next event to keep our reliability and performance, but this team has shown their mettle, and I won't be surprised if we need to buy plane tickets in the near future. :-)