Shoreland Robitics!

 

 Today, I managed to invite myself along on the first Shoreland Robotics Competition this year.

 

It was a long day... and The teams did not fair very well. But I got to spend the day and see first hand what all the excitement was about.  I now have a new found respect for the coaches and the teams as they put in a full Saturday 

As for the teams....  They did not fair too well.   Only two teams actually had a robot to compete with.   And of the two,  one of them had just finished their design and had not even tested it thoroughly before the competition day.  Repairs were made at the start of the day.  

Mostly because the event was held nearly two hours away from the school.   And although I did not have to drive, I was still pretty exhausted after it was over. I have new found respect for the coaches of the teams.  And I was happy I got to see and be a part of that experience. 

 

To sum things up...   As best as I can remember and comprehend...    There are 4 teams in each field at the start of the match.  The 4 individual teams are set up into two teams.    Your teams will have one ally and two allied foes.    You are supposed to help each other  while preventing your rival from completing their task.  It all happens within 2 minutes.  ( I think...maybe longer.)  

The tasks!   Primarily,  you are supposed to pick up these donut looking rings and put them on a stake.   There are two colors.   Blue for the blue team, and red for the red team.   You get points for each donut on a stake... no mater who puts them on the stake.  

Why would your rival put your rings on one of the stakes? There are two corners that will reduce the score by a factor if you get a completed stake in the zone.   In otherwords,  you can  use your completed opponents stakes against him if you happen to find an unguarded one.    

Or you can assemble his rings on a cone yourself and place them in that corner.  

Or you can accidentally put a number of rings on the stake and your opponent gets the points.  

It can get confusing...  But the time is over so quickly that there is not really much time to form a complicated strategy.   Ultimately,   you just do your best to get a ring on a stake... And hopefully more than your opponents. 

And one fo the teams struggled with that task all day today.  The unfinished robot could not move very well nor pick up a ring.   So they struggled to "block" for their allies while the allied team scored the points.  

The other Shoreland team had better luck, but still did not crack the top 16 teams.  It was a tough competition. 

In the end,  I was thrilled that I got to attend and happy to be able to witness the robotics team in action.   I think I might have enjoyed this sport if I had had it in high school.   

But as I said before...  It was a long day.   The kids played around on the bus as we traveled back and it brought back memories of a simpler time.   When I would managed the Football team and we would come back from a late football game.  Music,  conversations and laughter all made the ride back a little less uncomfortable   

It was a long day...As exhausted as I am,   I look forward to moments like this in the future....  God willing.   Because sometimes...  Hanging around young people is kind of fun!   And every moment counts.