The Oxford High School Robotics ‘TORC? Team 2137 traveled to Midland on Oct. 18 to compete in the Great Lakes Bay Bot Bash. There they entered not one but two robots into the competition. This was a first for TORC.
TORC used its 2014 competition robot, driven by Drew Sedam and its 2014 practice robot, driven by Evan Mince to compete against seventeen other teams. While Sedam is a seasoned TORC driver, Mince drove the practice robot for the first time in a competition for TORC.
Also new to the drive teams were: Tori Funke and Tony Sands as human players and Dan Hopman and Bradley Taylor as spotters. Sedam, Sands, and Taylor led TORC 1 to the elimination rounds where TORC 1 became part of the number one alliance along with Team 2832 the ‘Livonia Warriors? and Team 4044 the ‘SCREAMIN EAGLES? of Capac. Mince, Funke, and Hopman led TORC 2 to the elimination rounds where TORC 2 became part of the number three alliance along with Team 4362 the ‘GEMS? of Brighton and Team 5224 the ‘Panther Power? of Standish.
As a part of the number one alliance, TORC 1 received a bye in the quarter final round, so TORC 2 led the way into quarter finals. TORC 2 won the first match of their quarter final bid 71 to 59. However, TORC 2 was defeated in the following two matches of the quarter finals, thus being eliminated. TORC 2 made an impressive showing and earned the respect of their opponents, proven by being selected as one of the top three choices for alliance partners.
‘It was really fun being able to drive the bot but also challenging,? Mince said. ‘I felt like I did fairly well for it being my first time driving and I’m looking forward to trying out for driver for this season.?
TORC 1 then entered the semi-final round. Early into the first match, TORC’s alliance partner, Team 4044, was disabled an unable to contribute to the game. However,TORC and Team 2832 were still able to maintain the lead. Near the end of the match, TORC 1 suffered a main breaker failure and the robot became disabled for the remainder of the match, allowing the opponents to score. The match ended in a loss for TORC 103-119.
After making a quick repair to the robot, TORC 1 took the field determined to win the final two matches of the semi-final round. Once again, the lead was underway. TORC and its alliance partners were running scoring cycles and playing defense when the TORC 1 robot encountered another main breaker failure. This led to the second match loss of 117 to 152 and the alliance was eliminated.
‘The Midland competition was a great opportunity, to show first time students what the competitions are like or to let people who want to be on the field have a taste of what it’s like. Both sub teams had their hiccups but fixed them and helped each other through it,? explained Funke. ‘While the main team had the note experienced people and competition robot the second team did not fall far behind them in skill. It was great practice especially for quick paced match when you only have two matches to fix your robot. I always have a great time and in a weird way gain experience that I can apply in the future.?
During the awards ceremony, TORC was honored to receive the ‘Hero Bot? award. The ‘Hero Bot? Award celebrates a Team that showed exceptional graciousness on the field of play and in the pits.
‘I am so proud of our robotics team and our students. They always give their best effort, they cooperate with their alliance partners, and they have earned TORC an immense amount of respect,? said TORC Mentor Kim Shumaker.