Otay Ranch

We are all excited for today. It’s our first tournament of the season and our teams are fired up! We are competing at Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista, and we are ready to fight until the very end, supporting each other the whole time!

Teams 569A and 569B finally got their robots running smoothly after a few hiccups, and now just need an autonomous to finish off their strategies

Team 569C got their robot finished a few weeks ago, and have been practicing their driving non-stop the whole time. They also need an autonomous program, but with their robot they are more concerned with making sure that they can drive their well-oiled machine like a well-oiled machine.

Last, but most certainly not least, we have Team 569D. They have been working tirelessly on their robot all year, and now they are the furthest along. They are the only teams to have a somewhat functioning autonomous, and they have been driving their robot all week in preparation for this tournament. Not only this, but their leader, Joel Smith, has been going around to all the other teams and helping out where he can, especially when 569B is in a tight spot.

Needless to say, this tournament is definitely gonna be a big one. We are hoping to get at least two teams qualified for Southern California State Champuonships at this first tournament. Wish us luck, and maybe we’ll see you there!

Be sure to check back throughout the day for status updates about how the tournament is going!

[Updates]

[9:15 AM]: With opening ceremonies out of the way, it’s time to get down to business. Teams 569A and 569B are working on cleaning up their wiring, while Teams 569C and 569D are practicing and developing a strategy that fits the tournaments circumstances.

Matches begin at 9:30 AM. More updates after then.

[11:15 AM]: Every team has been through several matches now. Here are the qualifying rankings so far:

Team 569A: 25th

Team 569B: 13th

Team 569C: 4th

Team 569D: 15th

More updates to come (probably at lunch)!

[11:45 AM]: the tournament is at lunch now. Here are the current team rankings:

Team 569A: 19th

Team 569B: 8th

Team 569C: 2nd

Team 569D: 13th

All the teams are taking a short break, then getting back to working on their robots, making sure they are perfect for the rest of the tournament. Team 569B is going to work on programming an autonomous code to use in later matches. More to come!

[12:45 PM]: Back from lunch and a few matches down! During their last match, Team 569B had some connection issues, so they were down for the whole match. Meanwhile, Team 569C forgot to connect a battery to their power expander, and so lost their match as well. Overall not a strong start for the two teams, but they can still win. Here are the rankings:

Team 569A: 17th

Team 569B: 12th

Team 569C: 3rd

Team 569D: 9th

Teams 569B and 569C are hoping to make an alliance with team 7700R, as they are the top robot at the tournament, and so it would really help them to win. More updates in a bit!

[2:00 PM]: Qualifying matches are now over. Team 569A seems like they may just be out of the tournament due to their low rank. Hope is not lost for them though as are still eligible for the Excellence Award, which would automatically qualify them for the Southern California State Championships. Team 569D is planning to ally with Team 709D. Team 7700R is going to ally with Team 569C as their first choice. Their first choice for second alliance is Team 569B, however due to their ranking, they may be chosen by another team first. Here are the updated rankings:

Team 569A: 23rd

Team 569B: 15th

Team 569C: 5th

Team 569D: 11th

Next Update after alliances for the playoffs have been decided.

Alliances for the playoffs have been decided. Team 7700R picked team 569C and it’s been 507B. Team 569B was picked up by Teams 3671B and 7700S. Teams 569A and 569D are allied, along with Team 507D. Not quite the alliances we had hoped for, but the day isn’t over yet. Teams 569A, 569C, 569D have already played at least one match (not against each other). More updates to come as the competition continues to heat up.

[4:15 PM] Awards have been handed out, and the tournament is still underway. Unfortunately, none of our teams received any of the preliminary awards, and Teams 569D and 569A were eliminated from the bracket during the quarter-finals. Teams 569B and 569C have both moved on to the semi-finals, with both teams looking a though they will face each other in the finals. Not good for Team 569B, but they will figure something out. Either way, it’s going to be an exciting match.