When we got started on this competitive robotics journey we had no idea what to expect or where it would take us. There’s no way we could’ve imagined we would be doing what we are now.
In our first year we faced a lot of challenges. We started out with the most basic Vex robot kit and we practiced by taping out a replica of the field on the floor in our front room. We didn’t have any of the game elements either – so we had to wait until we got to a tournament to see if our designs were going to work. So most of our time at the tournaments was spent tweaking our robot so we could actually score points. Lol
Nonetheless, we had a decent amount of success that first season even though we were clearly the youngest competitors in most of the events we participated in.
In those first few months, it was already clear that Chase had caught the bug so we were all in on competitive robotics at that point.
Tipping Point Was a Turning Point
Going into the season for Tipping Point, we felt pretty fancy because we had actual game elements to use on our front room floor and Chases building ability was increasing rapidly. Midway through the season, we were even able to set up our own practice field.
This was also the season when Landon starting creating videos of our tournaments. That was big for us because it felt like this was the point where we went from a couple of guys who competed in robot tournaments to a real and true robotics program that was here to stay.
We did about twice as many Tipping Point tournaments as we did for Change Up. That was important because the experience we gained through going to all those events helped us get better in every area of our program. Between our first tournament in October and the World Championship in May, our game strategy and driving ability improved exponentially.
Our Tipping Point season got off to a rough start when we went to Gears, Brains, and Bolts in Miller Grove, TX and For the Love of Bots in Lucas, TX.
At Miller Grove we ended the qualifying round ranked 23rd out of 24 and no one wanted to ally with us. We like to joke that at that tournament we were a push bot that couldn’t push.
We did a little better at For the Love of Bots – we barely made the alliance round and were fairly competitive in our Round of 16 match.
But that tournament was a big turning point in the season. It was there that we started to get advice from teams from Lovejoy, Carrol, and Granbury High Schools. They gave us some great ideas for how we could improve our notebook, our strategy, and our driving. It didn’t take long to see the difference their help made.
In November, we went to the Battle by the Beach Signature Event in Galveston, TX. There we put up a respectable 7-5 record in qualifying and our driving was getting a little better with every match. We also won the Excellence Award that weekend – which took a lot of the pressure off the rest of the season since it qualified us for Worlds in May.
Our next tournament was in Wichita Falls, TX and that was where the help we got earlier in the season really started to pay off and we became a good team. We went a perfect 6-0 in qualifying and made it to the championship. If it weren’t for one tiny mistake in the final match, we would’ve won the tournament.
After that, we went on to post a solid performance at every tournament we competed in leading up to Worlds.
A World Class Experience
Participating in the Vex World Championship in Dallas was an incredible experience for us! Even though it was wild to see SO many teams from all over the world when we got there, we still went into the tournament feeling confident. With how we had done throughout the season, we felt like we were as good as anyone there.
The competition at that tournament was extremely tough but we still earned an 8-2 record in qualifying matches. That gave 23900B Speed Zappers the confidence to choose us as their alliance partner – which was awesome because they were a lot of fun to work with.
But they weren’t just fun – we made a great alliance. We advanced all the way to the semifinals where we got to play a match against an alliance made up of teams from Kazakhstan and California – 1737D Dream On and 95070G Redwood Robotics.
How cool is that?! That’s why we love Vex. Where else do you get opportunities to meet so many cool people from all over the world?!
In that semifinal match, we tried to double park with Speed Zappers and we were sooooo close. But we tipped the platform at the last second.
It was a heartbreaking loss… but it was so exciting. It just made us more excited to get started on the new season and do it all over again.
If you had told us when we started with VRC all that we would accomplish and all that we would experience we wouldn’t have believed it. We can’t wait to see what Spin Up has in store for us!!!
