We held a dual event on Saturday November 20, the Downingtown Fall Classic (sponsored by QVC) for High School Teams and the Downingtown Junior Fall Classic (sponsored by QVC) - This is the coverage of the Junior Classic.
We had 18 teams from two states (thanks to Acme for taking the 3 hour drive). We got off to a slightly late start but teams got seven full rounds of play in.
Robots scoring systems were in 4 categories: VEX claws, custom tower claw, spatula and snorkel bots. Base designs were omni, holo, variety of omni/regular wheels (including the new super grips), and one half track (always a crowd pleaser).
Only one robot could hang on a regular basis, it was a custom hook on a slide that grabbed the upper outside and the lifted the robot. When it hung it was the turning point for those matches.
The spatula bots when teamed up with a snorkel bot was the best playing team. The spatula would preload and then score. It would contiue to score until the other alliance scored. It would then wheel over and remove the opposing alliance rings. Meanwhile the snorkle bot would score.
The referees for both events and discussed how to manage agressive defensive play. The pinning rule (5 seconds and back away a full robot length 18") was explained to all the teams. Teams were also warned about the entanglement rule. When called teams were disabled on the field. We had some incidents during early rounds. Once the word got out the agressive play dropped with the middle school teams.
Elimination battles were hard fought with many of them ending up in ties.
The final moments was an impromptu Junior Classic vs Classic winner takes all - three on three match. Action was fast and amazing. The Juniors held their own for the first 1:45 of the match. The Classic winners came back with 5 quick scores in the last 15 seconds to take the match.
Thanks to our major sponsor QVC and award sponsors Kaloke, Techentrouge and STEMRobotics
== Round Up Junior Fall Classic Award Winners ==
Excellence Award
*80 Downingtown Area Robotics
Tournament Champions
*12K The Potomac School
*23A STEMRobotics
*81 Downingtown Area Robotics
Tournament Finalists
*12J The Potomac School
*23D STEMRobotics
*740A Chichester Middle School
Amaze Award
*98 Downingtown Area Robotics
Build Award
*12K The Potomac School
Design Award
*740A Chichester Middle School
Judges Award
*740E Chichester Middle School