CHS District Blacksburg VA Event 2024
Beginning our recap from Friday afternoon, the team embarked on a journey to Blacksburg, Virginia, with approximately a three and a half hour drive. This marked a significant milestone as it was the team’s inaugural event. Remarkably, we arranged lodging at an entire villa located just 15 minutes away from the venue. The villa had a full commercial kitchen along with a smaller one, which proved instrumental as our parents took charge of meal prep for the entire weekend! This setup facilitated strategy sessions and provided valuable downtime for the team at the close of each day.
Load-In:
Upon arrival at 5:30 PM with our trailer, the volunteers warmly greeted us, streamlining the process of unloading and setting up our pit. Within less than 20 minutes, our equipment was smoothly rolled out of the trailer and into our designated area, setting the tone for a stress-free load-in experience!
Robot Inspection:
Following the setup of our pit, we promptly engaged with the robot inspectors to initiate the inspection process. Our robot weighed in at 93.8 pounds, and due to its streamlined design this year, inspection took a mere seven minutes. With no pneumatics, extending arms beyond the chassis, or sharp edges, our robot easily cleared the inspection hurdles. Subsequently, we familiarized ourselves with the venue layout, got to be on the field on-person to understand its nuances, and located the practice field for Saturday’s sessions. Engaging with other teams allowed us to forge new relationships and cultivate friendships early on, laying a solid foundation for collaborative endeavors ahead.
Saturday morning kicked off with two guaranteed practice matches, but our team seized the opportunity to secure an additional practice round, totaling three matches. This allowed us to test out different autonomous modes, including our four-piece and one-piece sneak autos. Following these trials, we participated in the Opening Ceremonies, where our very own Addison and Michaela, alongside fellow students from other teams, delivered a stirring rendition of the national anthem.
Qualification Matches Commence:
Our journey through the qualification matches began with a triumphant victory in match 3, securing a score of 45 to 38. In match 9, we continued our winning streak with a score of 32 to 57. However, the real challenge awaited us in match 11, pitting us against formidable opponents: rank 5 at the event, 1086 Blue Cheese, rank 2, 1629 GACO Robotics, and rank 3, 5804 Torch. Despite our valiant efforts, we fell short in this match, earning 56 points to our opponents’ 63.
Smooth sailing characterized most of our qualification matches until match 31, where we suffered severe damage to our intake due to a collision with 5804.
We regrouped, sought assistance from fellow teams for spare parts, and managed to repair our intake in time for match 42, where we staged a remarkable comeback, securing victories in our remaining three matches of the day.
End of day 1 after having lost our intake in match 31 we wanted to have an emergency plan for if this ever happened again in a match. And we know that our geometry could theoretically allow us to have a source intake but we had not programmed this function. So that evening we spent some time at the practice field getting this function running and validated so we would be prepared for anything that tomorrow could bring.
As evening descended, we reconvened at the villa for brainstorming sessions, delving into alliance selection strategies and identifying compatible teams. Despite holding the top rank at the event, we remained vigilant, recognizing the fluidity of rankings and the importance of consistency. With five more qualification matches slated for Sunday, our focus remained unwavering as we aimed to maintain our momentum and secure our position in the competition.
Sunday Qualifications and Playoffs:
Kicking off the morning, we engaged in crucial discussions with various teams, gathering insights on their autonomous capabilities, spare parts availability, and overall readiness for potential alliance selections. After consulting with five different teams and analyzing the collected data, the strategy team convened to deliberate on the findings. While there were numerous impressive teams with high-scoring robots, our focus zeroed in on Team 449 due to the promising compatibility of their two-piece Centerline Auto, which perfectly complemented our four-piece close Auto, potentially yielding a substantial 39 points in autonomous.
Following the conclusion of the final qualification matches, we successfully maintained our position at the top spot, with a remarkable Effective Power Average (EPA) of 2.44 and an average match score of 54 points.
Alliance Selection:
In alliance selection, we requested Team 449 The Blair Robot Project to LYNK up with us as our first pick, accompanied by Team 1885 Comets. We later LYNKed in 8230 the Koibots as a backup robot. The decision to include Team 8230 was influenced by their swerve capabilities and effective defensive maneuvers, enhancing our alliance’s strategic versatility and we also brought them in so that all the teams at the event got the chance to play in playoffs.
During the lunch break, we crafted a robust strategy with our alliance partners, outlining backup plans and thoroughly discussing the desired approach for each match.
As the top-ranked alliance, we commenced the playoffs on the advantageous red side, offering a clear view of the scoreboard and other game features displayed on the screen behind us. Our alliance embarked on a winning streak until the semi-finals, where an unfortunate camcoder wire disconnection from the intake resulted in a loss with a score of 60 to 85.
Despite this setback, our pit team quickly addressed the issue by securing the disconnected wires, allowing us to bounce back. Navigating through the lower bracket, we fought our way to the finals, delivering impressive scores of 76 and 74 points in consecutive matches. These victories secured the blue banner for our alliance, rookie team, and rookie drive team, marking a monumental achievement at our inaugural event.
It is important to note that by the end of this event, everyone was getting worn out - from the bots to the students - we had just played 16 qual matches and multiple playoff matches. This had been a grueling schedule to maintain, at this later point in the competition this was yet another place where having a relatively simple bot shined and for the most part we were able to keep everything running at tip-top shape.
A couple of key aspects that we identified as strengths and aim to further improve for future events are worth mentioning. Firstly, our team implemented a meticulous Google Forms checklist, diligently followed by our pit crew each time the robot was brought in after a match. This comprehensive checklist enabled us to catch potential issues such as loose bolts, disconnected wires, or wheels entangled with carpet fibers before they became a compounded issue. We strongly believe that this proactive approach significantly contributed to our ability to deliver consistent performance in almost every match, ensuring that our robot operated at its peak throughout the event. This practice not only enhanced our overall gameplay but also instilled a sense of confidence in our team’s ability to tackle challenges effectively.
VABLA was an amazing event, all the teams were incredibly inviting and it was an incredible atmosphere to compete in. We had so much fun competing in the CHS and all the volunteers and coordinators made it a top-notch event to attend!