VRC WAIANAE
SEPTEMBER 2024
On September 14th, VEX teams 359B. 3590A, and 3950C from the Hawaiian Kids arrived at Waianae High School with high spirits!
INTENSE MATCHES
24 amazing teams gathered at Waianae High School VEX VRC tournament, looking to showcase hard work on robots and skills. The match atmosphere was electrifying, with programmers watching to see if their programs would succeed, and drivers anticipating the moment they could start driving. The day was filled to the brim with close-cut matches and exciting competition. Teams lined up for skills, ready to showcase their talent in programming and expertise in driving. Team 359B pushed through and placed 3rd overall in skills!
ALLIANCE SELECTIONS
Throughout the day, our teams made tons of new bonds. One that stood out was between 359B and team 96789Z, Mililani Mechs. When 359B’s motors were overheating, the Mililani Mechs swooped in and lent them a fan, which quickly cooled off the robot. Without them, 359B’s robot wouldn’t have been ready to compete in their match! A big thanks goes out to 96789Z for showing kindness and camaraderie.
TEAM ARRIVAL & PREPARATION
Teams 359B, 3590A, and 3590C arrived early in the morning to Waianae High School to compete! Even though they prepared for this moment during build season, actually being there was completely different. It was their team's first competition of the season and they were nervous but pumped to have their robots in action. They readied their robots and headed over to the inspection tables. After passing robot inspection, all teams started to strategize and prepare for the upcoming Qualification Matches. They were ready to confront the challenges lying ahead.
TEAM COLLABORATIONS
As Alliance Selection approached, our teams were excited to see who would be moving on. When selections started, 3590A chose 359B to be their partner. Sadly, 3590C was eliminated, but they still kept their spirits high and cheered our fellow teams on! Together, they ranked 3rd seed. They prepared their robots, arrived on the field, and set their minds to win Quarterfinals. They were against Seed 6, Teams 42700R and 42700A. As the starting bell rang, each team ran their programmed autonomous and hoped it would win the bonus points. When driver control counted down to zero, each team held their breath as they skillfully maneuvered their robots, carrying Mobile Goals and scoring Rings on stakes. As the clock ticked down to the last seconds, robots scored their final points and rushed to hang. When the buzzer rang, every team breathed a sigh of relief knowing they tried their hardest. The scores were announced and sadly, 3590A and 359B were eliminated. However, they were still upbeat, knowing exactly what went wrong and knowing exactly how to fix it.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS & CELEBRATIONS
As the day came to an end, Team 359B placed 7th with a record of 4-2-0 (win-lose-tie), 3590A placed 3rd with 5-1-0, and 3590C placed 22nd with 1-5-0. Each team was sad to have lost in the end, but they are eager to learn from their mistakes and improve from them. Our students can't wait for Monday to get back into prototyping new solutions!
LOOKING AHEAD
Teams 359B, 3590A, and 3590C are extremely grateful for their chance to compete in the Waianae High School. We want to give a special thanks to our mentors for guiding us through this challenging yet amazing experience. We wouldn't have been able to do it without them. This being the first tournament, we didn’t know exactly what to expect. But we came away from this learning so much and we can't wait to come back to the Jr Searider Competition on September 21st with all of our gained experience and knowledge! This is only the beginning of our VEX journey and we have so much more on our way!
Check out our other VRC Competitions!