I may have just missed this or something but I didn’t see anywhere that says approximately how many qualifying matches we get to play this year. I think is 2003 in Phoenix we got 11 and in 2004 at LA we got 7. This year with matches being the same length and more robots in each match, I assume teams will get to play in more qualifying matches. Has anyone heard about how many?
Here is the math for qualification matches.
Depending on how many teams are present at a regional, you may get more matches for a smaller regional, and less matches for a bigger regional.
Let’s say its a 36 teams regional:
It takes 6 robots to play a match, so it takes 6 matches for all 36 teams to play in one qualification round each.
Normal match cycle is 5 mins. That include the 2:15 minute of the match itself, plus player station setup and field reset. If things are going slowly, it may take 6 minutes to complete one cycle.
So, for every team to finish one qualification round, it will take 6 matches X 5 minutes/match, so, about 30 minutes for every team to finish one qualification round. 36 minutes if things get rough.
Now, last year’s Friday matches usually begin at 10am. The lunch break starts around 12:30pm, last until 1:00pm, then the matches finish around 5:00pm. That’s around 6 and a half hour of matches, enough to fit in 13 match cycles! If things get rough and require 6 minutes per cycle, that’s still around 11 match cycles.
Last year’s Saturday matches usually begin at 9:15am. The matches usually ends around 11:45am. That’s 2.5 hours of matches, enough to fit in 5 match cycles, 4 if things get rough.
So, adding them up, that’s between 15 to 18 matches for a 36 teams regional! Bringing the match cycle up to 7 minutes per cycle, that’s still 12 matches per team.
Just for fun, say it’s a 48 teams regional. That’s around 11 to 13 matches. Bringing the match cycle up to 7 minutes per cycle, that’s around 9 matches per team.
That’s awesome! Except for one thing…batteries. I’m not sure all the teams will be able to charge and reuse batteries fast enough for a match every 30 minutes (charging for like 20 by the time you have to queue up and stuff). Plus that leaves little time for making repairs and getting inspected, etc.