Coyote Robotics Reaches New Heights at the FTC Shenandoah Qualifying Tournament

Saturday, Jan. 28, the two GW Community School/Coyote Robotics Teams, FTC 965 "Redstone Rangers" and FTC 3749 "Department of Redundancy Department" faced off against 25 other teams from Virginia, West Virginia, and DC in the FTC Shenandoah Qualifying Tournament.  This was the last of 3 consecutive Saturday qualifying tournaments, and the field included the champions from all three previous Virginia tournaments we attended.

Team 3749, who lead the 2nd place alliance in last week’s tournament, attracted a lot of attention with their scissor lift.  It had been about 7 1/2 feet tall for the Annandale Tournament and had been extended during the intervening week to about 12 feet. (See photo to right.)  Entering the gym, participants and visitors alike could not help but notice the lift towering over the pit area.  Team 965, which had finally resolved all software, hardware and communications issues, had a fully functioning robot for the first time.

Team 3749 went 5-1-0 during the qualifying matches to finish ranked 3^rd.  This was despite the fact that they left part of their robot at GWCS (special thanks to Chris Lindner who found it on the floor under a table in Mr. Lindner’s room and drove it down to Charlottesville Saturday morning), and that after failing to lift a crate with their taller scissor lift during their first 5 matches, they finally removed the extension, returned it the previous size and successfully lifted a crate in their 6^th match.

Team 965 went 4-2-0 (losing one match 56-55!) to finish ranked 4th.  The most satisfying match was the 6th, when the robot and drivers scored the bowling ball and robot in autonomous and lifted a create with the robot arm while on the platform during teleop, the two tasks the robot was actually designed to do!

Finishing ranked 3^rd and 4^th, they thus captained the #3 and #4 alliances going into the elimination rounds and each selected two strong alliance partners.  The #4 alliance, lead by 965, faced the #1 alliance in the semifinals, upset them in the first game, and went on to win the semi-final 2-1 to advance to the finals.  The #3 alliance, lead by 3749, did the same thing, upsetting the #2 alliance in the first game and winning the semi-final 2-1 to also advance to the finals.  That left our two teams as captains of the opposing alliances for the finals and Mr. Lindner had to cheer for both sides.

Team 3749 “Department of Redundancy Department”, lead by captain Sam McKay, prevailed in the finals to take the championship while team 965 “Redstone Rangers”, lead by Josh Barton, had to settle for 2^nd place.  Both earned trophies (backordered!) and medals, and Team 965 was also recognized during the awards ceremony for their team spirit and robot design.

The teams now have 4 weeks off before travelling to Greensboro for the North Carolina Regional Championship on Feb. 25^th, followed a week later by the Virginia Regional Championship in Richmond, both of which offer a chance to earn an invitation to the World Championships in St. Louis in April.

A special highlight of the day was the presence of Joseph Esposito, a GWCS graduate, past president of Coyote Robotics, 3-year team member and current sophomore at UVA studying Computer Engineering.  He hung out with us in the pits before the matches, met the current team members, and served as a volunteer during the tournament.  His job was to enter the scores from each match into the computer, and no, he did not have to adjust the scores to help us win!

Congratulations to both teams, especially to Maria Nunez-Oliver who came down as press coverage and got drafted onto Team 3749 when Olivia got sick and had to go home.  Happily for Maria, her parents were in attendance as father was visiting UVA on educational business.  Thanks also to all the other parents and family members who drove us down and back or who came down just to cheer for us.  Thanks also to the GWCS and Coyote Robotics Communities for their continued support.  Go Coyotes!