Robots took over the
Joe Flores Gym the weekend of the 7th through the 9th of
November, as the annual Madtown Throwdown was once again hosted by the Madera
High robotics team. Robotics teams from across California, as well as several
teams from out of state came to Madera to compete in one of the most
competitive off-season events of 2014. Madera’s own team entered two robots,
one made for last year’s competition and one constructed after the season, to
compete in the tournament.
During the first day
of qualification matches, Madera’s old competition bot performed well, ranking
in the top of the 32 teams present at the competition. However, during the
second day of qualifications, the firing mechanism of the robot snapped in
several locations, hindering the bot’s performance for the rest of the event. Quick
fixes were made which ensured that the robot would function, but full repair of
the “plunger” device could not be performed until the end of the event. While
the new robot did not survive qualifications, the competition bot made it to
eliminations, and ultimately the quarter final before being eliminated.
When asked about the
team’s performance, team mentor RC stated that “it [was] really more important
that the new kids learn about the competition and see what it looks like.
Ideally we would want to win but this competition is more of a learning
experience.” Several team members made the remark that they did not expect the event
to be as intense and competitive as it proved to be, and that it was a pleasant
surprise to see the competitive passion for robotics that came from the
gym.
