Last Saturday, 36 Vex Robotics teams competed at the first VEX tournament of the new year at the Grandville Robotics Competition Center. Several area high schools sent teams and the Grand Rapids Christian High School Vex Robotics Team had 6 teams compete.
As usual on Saturday competitions, the round-robin match play featured six matches in the morning/early afternoon which determined rankings for the late afternoon single-elimination tournament. The Eaglebots teams fared well in the round-robin matches and all six ended up as selections in one of the top 16 alliances for the single-elimination tournament.
- 63600A – August, finished 6th overall in match play with a record of 5-1 and was selected as one of two teams in the top ranked alliance for the tournament;
- 63600B – TESS, finished 29th overall with a record of 1-5 in match play and was selected in the 15th ranked alliance;
- 63600C – January, finished 22nd overall with a record of 3-3 in match play and was selected in the 13th ranked alliance;
- 63600D – V.E.W.T.S., finished 36th overall with a record of 0-6 in match play and was selected in the 8th ranked alliance;
- 63600E – Mercy, finished 14th overall with a record of 4-2 in match play and was selected as one of two teams in the 3rd ranked alliance;
- 63600F – FredTheFrog, finished 24th overall with a record of 2-4 in match play and was selected in the 12th ranked alliance.
The single-elimination tournament was full of action and excitement. The Eaglebot teams competed strongly with two Grand Rapids Christian High School Eaglebots teams making it to the Final Four top alliances in the semi-finals for the day. Teams 63600C January and 63600E Mercy were in each of the semi-final matches but came out on the losing end and were unable to make the finals for the day. Each team that made the finals received an automatic selection for the Vex Robotics State Competition for Michigan in late February 2024.
In the separate Skills Competition, which pits teams doing robotics skills independently on the field, our Eaglebots were outstanding with season-high scores for all teams, which for some will give them at-large invitation to the state competition in February:
- 63600A – August, 5th in Skills with a score of 210 for driver and programming – ranked 31st in state of Michigan currently (out of 134);
- 63600B – TESS, 16th in Skills with a score of 137 – ranked 58 in state of Michigan;
- 63600C – January, 8th in Skills with a score of 192 – ranked 44 in state of Michigan;
- 63600D – V.E.W.T.S., 14th in Skills with a score of 153 – ranked 56 in state of Michigan;
- 63600E – Mercy, 12th in Skills with a score of 164 – ranked 51 in state of Michigan;
- 63600F – FredTheFrog, 17th in Skills with a score of 130 – ranked 60 in state of Michigan.
Select Awards are given each tournament for different aspects of competition, team interviews, robot construction, and design. They are coveted awards and given sparingly. Among all teams, Team 63600C was exclusively awarded the Build Award, which is their second Build Award this season for demonstrated excellence in design, attention to detail and safety, robustness and teamwork.
For the first time in Eaglebots history (from what the coaches can remember and from our trophy case) Team 63600A earned the highest award at the tournament, the Excellence Award! From the Vex Robotics rules:
“The Excellence Award is the highest award presented in the VEX Robotics competition. This award is presented to a team that exemplifies overall excellence in building a high-quality robotics program. This team is a strong contender in numerous award categories. Key Criteria • Engineering Notebook must be submitted (usually at team check-in) • Ranking for Design Award • Ranking for Qualification Matches • Ranking for Robot Skills • Ranking for other judged awards • Quality of the team’s interview with the Judges • High-quality robotics program • Team conduct.”
With this top-earned award, Teams 63600A August has punched their ticket to the Vex state tournament in Michigan with an automatic selection!
Congratulations to all the Eaglebots teams on your outstanding play, excellence in competition, and your demonstration of character throughout the tournament!
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