Houston Mayhem 2021

Event postponed until May 22nd due to flooding concerns. The store has let us know that the area's streets flood quickly during heavy downpours. I will be setting up the arenas in my garage in the Spring area on Saturday May 1st for folks that want practice or help getting their bots ready. Email me for the address.

 

General:

 

This event will be fought outdoors in the side parking lot of Electronic Parts Outlet. There will be 3 weight classes consisting of 150 gram, 1 lb, and 3lb.

• The 1lb and 3lb arena will be 6 ft x 6 ft with a wooden floor and sufficient ventilation for internal combustion engines and gaseous flamethrowers.
• The 150 gram arena will be roughly 3 ft x 4 ft with at least two pits protected by low walls that Speed Wedge UK cannot drive over going forward.

 

Spectators are encouraged. There is no fee for spectating. If you would like to volunteer while spectating, please see the bottom of this list.

 

I will let in 32 x 150 gram bots, 16 x 1 lb bots and 16 x 3 lb bots.

 

Time:

 

Safety will begin around 10:00 AM. Event set up will start at 9 AM. Matches are planned to start at Noon with brackets on Challonge. If you want to compete, you need to be in the parking lot by 11:00 AM.

 

 

Masks:

 

Mask wearing is strongly encouraged next to the arena during matches and while crowded around the arena. September/October will hopefully be mask-free.

 

Volunteers:

 

If you want to judge, announce, referee or stream, please let me know. We would appreciate the help. Seriously. These events don't run themselves.  

 

Judges don't need experience. If your dad, mom, friend or significant other want to sit in a chair and watch robot fights with a front row view, they can be judges. We have training material courtesy of SPARC.  

 

Referees need to have competed once before or to have watched live fights for an hour or more. The job is to verify that both bots are ready, declare bots knocked out, do countdowns and run the timer.

 

Streamers need experience and equipment. We don't know how to do this, but if you want to stream the event and provide your own internet connection, we will send out the links to people. You will have access to 120 Watts. This should run a laptop and some cameras.

 

Sponsors:

• Electronic Parts Outlet – Facilities, Awnings, Tables, Chairs, Random Prizes, Arena Timer
• Innovation Spark – Staff, Networking for Volunteers, Vacuum Cleaner, Wifi, Money
• Team Allenella – The aluminum 6x6 arena
• Team Slaughterhouse – Time, Broom, Arena Building and Maintenance and the 150gram Arena
• HexBug - Prizes
• Fingertech Robotics – Gift Certificates for Prizes
• Warehouse Frames 'n Gallery – Plaques

 

Nitty Gritty stuff that competitors need to read:  

Entry Fees:

 

150 gram - $10

1 lb - $15

3lb - $20

 

 

Robot Requirements:

 

The robots are to meet the SPARC robot construction requirements. We will not specifically require a power light, but there needs to be some means of identifying when the robot is powered on such as noise or light. http://sparc.tools/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/SPARC_Robot_Construction_Specifications_v1.3.pdf  The scale will be +/- 2 gram precision with calibration weights available. I allow 50% non-wheeled drivetrain weight bonuses. Examples include Droopy, bristlebots, and non-wheeled varations on No Fly Zone. I'll also allow flamethrowers with pre-approval as to fuel choice. I'm also going to do 100% knockout required rule for multibots to encourage their use. This time, I am going to fail anyone who cannot disable their robot without taking the top off during safety.  

 

Weight Checks: There will spot checks of the weight of both robots before going into the arena when it is believed that robots may be overweight. Examples of suspect robots include robots that suddenly have a big piece of metal added to the top to defend against saw bots. The weight tolerance for once the event starts is 5% of class weight (to facilitate duct tape and hot glue). If you do not make weight within 2 minutes of being weighed, you get a postponement. If you have to postpone twice, you forfeit.

 

 

Postponements/Arena Call Up Time:

I’m trying to be cool, but several of y’all are bringing too many bots to where you don’t show up in time for matches and slow down the day. You will have 1 postponement per bot which will get you an additional 20 minutes. Additionally, I will force postponements on bots which fail to be ready to load in the arena within 2 minutes of the previous match ending and bots which fail to make weight within 2 minutes of being weighed. There will be several 3/32” L-keys around the arena area so that you won’t need to run back to the pits to grab the one you forgot. The event keys will be spray painted red. I might even use them as winner’s pogs or hand them out like candy upon completion of safety. Once your postponement for the bot is used up, you are forfeiting the match. Sorry folks. I suggest staging bots that are ready somewhere near the arena along with their transmitters and turn on keys. Additionally, you can ask someone else to turn your kids’ bot on for them and coach them until you run over.

 

Entanglements and High Centering:

Entangling or high centering on parts of your opponent is part of the game. However, if certain pieces of certain robots repeatedly entangle or high center their opponents, that will be declared strategy and the entangling piece will be removed and banned from further matches. Examples of entangling objects can include rubber bands, duct tape or latex wheel traction compounds. Examples of high centering objects can include plastic rings, bouncy balls, and fake islands. You or a friend are allowed and encouraged to sweep the arena of debris and remove sections of the floor that are sticking up before your match. This is not considered a delaying tactic unless deliberate slowness is perceived.

 

Facilities:

It is suggested that you bring your own table and chairs. There won’t be enough for everyone, and a couple teams are flying in. Also, only about half of the pit tables will likely be under the overhang/eaves. If you have a canopy, I suggest bringing it. The bathroom is back inside the store behind the counter on the right with the oscilloscopes and stuff on it.

 

The venue is power-limited. There will be a soldering area inside the store and a battery charging table outside with AC. If you would like to charge your batteries at your pit table or run other equipment, please bring a battery to power your stuff.

 

The arena will be the same as the last event, but I'm bringing a Swiffer to clean the sawdust off the polycarbonate. For people with low profile bots or forks, please be aware that plywood floors develop deep gouges that can trap bots or leave them stuck.

 

Prizes:

There will be cash prizes plus any product or gift certificates that people can wrangle. I’m going to get a prize drawing together for folks who go 0-2.

 

Brackets and Tournament Structure:

 

The brackets themselves are subject to change until the tournament starts. This includes reshuffling of participants in a non-random fashion. The brackets will be hosted on Challonge.com.

 

For 1lb and 3lb, we will be doing a standard double elimination tournament where all bots must lose twice. We might replace this with modified double elimination to make the day end sooner.

• 1lb and 3lb matches will be 2 minutes.
• All matches will be judged.

 

For 150 gram, we will do 3-match round robin in groups with the top 8 point scoring bots going on to a single elimination tournament plus a 3rd place match. Each bot will get to fight at least 3 times. If there is a tie for getting into the final tournament, there will be a rumble to decide who gets in based on order of knockout.

• 150 gram matches will be 3 minutes.
• If the match goes for the full time in the group rounds, a tie is declared and both bots will be awarded 1 point.
• If there is a winner in the group rounds, the winner will be awarded 2 points. The loser will be awarded 0 points. The point total along with match results and tie-breaking matches will be used to determine who goes to the final 8.
• The robots have to make contact before knockouts can be counted. Otherwise, the bots are reset, and the match is resumed. Likewise, if there is no clear aggressor in knockouts/pittings or if there is a simultaneous knockout, both robots will be reset in their starting areas and the match resumed. The referee may poll the audience when it is unclear which bot was the aggressor.
• There will be no judges during the group stage, only for the final tournament. However, the referee can penalize bots who fail to make contact.
• Judges for the final matches may be pulled from teams without bots in the final tournament.
• Round Robin Match Order: We will go in alphabetical and numeric order starting with Group A Round 1 followed by Group B Round 1. Round 2 will not start until 2PM. Round 3 will not start until 3PM. Final Bracket is scheduled for 4:00, 4:30, and 5:00 (finals).