Southeast Michigan Robot Kerfuffle (SMIRK) 2025

Southeast Michigan Robot Kerfuffle (SMIRK) 2025 will be a MRCA ranked event at the Crossroads Community Church in Ottawa Lake, MI. We will have both 1 lb (antweight) and 3 lb (beetleweight) robots going head-to-head in an enclosed 8’ x 8’ arena.

Date: Saturday September 27th, 2025

Registration Opens: Friday August 22nd @ 9PM EDT

Tournament Size: 24 Ants (1 lb.) and 16 Beetles (3 lb.) with a limit of 2 antweight bots and 1 beetleweight bot per driver

Tournament Format: 4-round modified swiss tournament followed by single elimination bracket for all robots with a 3-1 record or better

Location: Crossroads Community Church [6960 Sylvania Petersburg Rd. Ottawa Lake, MI 49267] 

Venue: Has plenty of space for pits (tables & chairs are provided), but please bring an extension cord. Additional screens will be set up to view the fights.

Food:

• Meals: We are pre-ordering food from Raising Canes. If you want to have a meal on Saturday, you'll need to fill out the survey by Thursday afternoon at 3PM.https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScc5EB4O-r32n4ulEd4Ikq7AqX153saGtE63jcEgOujj_fhcQ/viewform?usp=header
• Other Concessions--We will have soda, chips, and candy for sale (cash only)

Arena: 8’ x 8’, wood floor with no hazards

Rough Schedule:

• 9:00am – Doors Open for Competitors
• 9:30am – Safety Opens
• 10:45am – Doors Open for Spectators
• 11:00am – Fights Start
• 4:00pm –  Single Elimination Finals Starts

Entry Fee: $30 per bot.  The entry fee can be paid through Venmo (@jedeguzman), PayPal (deguzman.jeremy@gmail.com), or cash at the venue. If paying electronically, please include your team name and robot names in the payment.

Sponsors:

SMIRK is proudly sponsored by the following businesses:

• Innov8tive Designs: Midwest-based designer and distributor of BadAss motors, which are used by numerous top-tier combat robots https://innov8tivedesigns.com/
• Repeat Robotics: Home to high-quality affordable parts tailored to robot combat, from gearmotors to ESCs to full combat robot kits https://repeat-robotics.com/
• Overture: Provider of a variety of filaments, including TPU, which is nearly ubiquitous in combat robots https://overture3d.com/
• Polymaker: Provider of a variety of filaments, including TPU, as well as more advanced engineering materials such as their PolyMax PC and Fiberon filled Nylon and ABS lines https://us.polymaker.com/

Prizes (Ants and Beetles):

• 1st--$100 Innov8tive Designs (Badass) Gift Card, $40 Repeat Robotics Gift Card, $50 Overture Gift Card, 1 spool of Polymaker TPU
• 2nd--$75 Innov8tive Designs (Badass) Gift Card, $20 Repeat Robotics Gift Card, $30 Overture Gift Card, 1 spool of Polymaker TPU
• 3rd--$50 Innov8tive Designs (Badass) Gift Card, $20 Repeat Robotics Gift Card, $20 Overture Gift Card, 1 spool of Polymaker TPU

Ruleset: This event will follow the MRCA Ruleset

Spectators: Spectators are welcome and free to attend and doors open at 10:45am.

Livestream: y_0 Robotics YouTube Channel

Feel free to email us at deguzman.jeremy@gmail.com if you have any questions.