2022 VEX World Champions

Robot Performance

As a part of an extremely eventful weekend, one of our VEX teams, 254F, attended the VEX World Championship in Dallas, Texas. After qualification matches in the Arts Division, 254F (seeded 2nd out of 81 teams) accepted an invitation to play with the #1 seeded alliance, team 38141B PiBotics B. Together, we were able to win the Arts Division and advance into the Thunderdome, where we competed against the 8 other division winners to win the World Championships!

Qualification Matches (Arts Division)

Our robot experienced few mechanical issues, so a lot of time was spent before qualification day fine tuning our autonomous code in preparation for the bevy of matches that were to come. We performed very well in our qualification matches, coming out with an 8-2-0 record and the second highest OPR in the Arts division. This success resulted in a 2nd place ranking with 23 win points. Going into the elimination rounds in the Arts Division, Team 38141B PiBotics B, the #1 seed, invited us to their alliance.

Playoff Matches (Arts Division)

We won every elimination match leading up to the finals, where we played 7 division final matches because of field errors, white screens, and many other issues. The strategy we used with Team 38141B was very simple. During auton, we went for the middle mobile goal, contested or not, because we had one of the fastest center mobile goal rush capabilities in the tournament. Team 38141B would be on the left side and would rush, either using their extender or not, depending whether they were contested. The main driving strategy we used was dependent on the number of rings we had scored. If we had more rings than our opponent and a greater amount of mobile goals, then we would drive up the platform with our mobile goals and have 38141B stack the mobile goals next to us. In any other situation, we would have both robots elevated on the platform with all possible mobile goals. This worked extremely well even though we had one mishap. It happened when our opponents in the finals changed places, but we quickly adjusted and made an appropriate counter. We simply rushed without using our extender and beat our opponents, leading them to revert back so we could follow our original strategy.

Inside the Thunderdome

Our alliance used a very similar strategy inside the Thunderdome. We used the same strategy as in the divisional rounds, because we knew no one would be able to counter it. Our assumption proved correct throughout the quarterfinal and semifinals.
Then came the finals. We misaligned our auto in the first match, causing us to be at a disadvantage due to a low mobile goal count. For the second finals match, after double and triple checking our alignment, we deadlocked with our opponents on the central mobile goal. Trusting in our robot, we continued the deadlock while 38141B collected rings around the field, our opponents eventually let go of the contested mobile goal, and the scoring from our alliance partner won us the match. In the tiebreaker match we missed the auto again, but our skilled driving and double park won us the match and the tournament!
We would like to shout out Team 9257C House Cats and Team 4154X U.S.S.R. for being an amazing alliance to compete against. Our alliance was very fortunate to emerge victorious after three incredibly competitive and nail-biting matches.

A Special Thanks

At the 2022 VEX World Championship in Dallas, we would have not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our matches. Special shout out to our pit crew and scouts for keeping 254F functioning at 100% capacity. We would also like to highlight the efforts of our mentors to make this experience possible for all of us. Lastly, Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and referees that made this tournament an exciting experience.

2019 Bellarmine VEX Tournament

A Brief Summary

This past weekend, we hosted the Bellarmine Bay Area VEX Tournament, an annually hosted tournament hosted by Team 254’s VEX Program. We had five of our VEX Teams (254B, 254D, 254F, 254W, 254X) compete in the tournament. Congrats to VEX Team 315K Paradigm and VEX Team 3324V Supernovas-Fusion for winning the tournament! We would also like to shoutout VEX Team 3324V for winning the Robot Skills section of the tournament and VEX Teams 95070A Redwood Robotics and 315K Paradigm for winning the Excellence Award.

Event Summary and Highlights

General Summary

Overall, the tournament ran smoothly, we had no major hiccups throughout the event and everyone seemed to have had a great time. Our teams saw varying success, as our VEX teams D, W and F made it to eliminations. This event had many firsts for Bell Vex History, to mention a few, this was the first to have a Bell Vex Logo, and the first to have live scoring.

Robot Performance

254B

Throughout the tournament 254B was struggling with many issues. Most of the issues stemmed from connection and software issues. The robot’s hardware performed well, but not being able to control the hardware lead to this team’s demise. Unfortunately, this team placed last in the tournament. But, it was a great learning experience for the team.

254D

This team was also struggling with various software issues, their automatic positioning system was not working according to plan, leaving them to recreate their autonomous routes throughout the tournament. They were also having trouble getting their massive tray to deploy properly. Ultimately, they ended up near the bottom of the rankings. Because of their past success, 254W chose to pick them as their alliance partner, but lost in the round of 16.

254F

During the qualification matches, the robot performed really well, we were able to slow down the other teams with our very defensive robot. The six motor drive base really helped us push through all the cubes and defend very effectively. Our new and improved arm allowed us to be the fastest team at scoring cubes into the towers while also being able to stack cubes reasonably quickly. We ended up ranked in 7th place and we made it all the way to semifinals.

254W

This team had won 4 of 6 qualification rounds and placed in 20th after qualification rounds. Their new intake design was not working according to plan, causing them to focus on tower control instead of their designed purpose, cube stacking. Fortunately this worked out for their benefit, this team became ranked 23th and decided to choose 254D as their alliance partner. They then lost in the round of 16.

254X

Throughout qualification matches this robot struggled quite a bit. Resulting in 2 wins and 4 losses, this team placed in 45. They had issues stemming from their lift and intake. These issues resulted in slow intake speed and an inability to score very quickly or in high quantities.

A Special Thanks

At Bell Vex, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that attended the tournament. We would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, teachers, and parents who helped run the tournament smoothly.

VEX States 2019

On March 15, 2019, VEX teams D, F, and X flew to Los Angeles States, and team M went to San Jose States, to compete for a spot at VEX Worlds. Unfortunately, none of our teams won an instant qualification to Worlds; however, teams D and F lost at semifinals at LA, one match away from being qualified, and team M won the Build Award!

At San Jose, team M had to battle out against some of the toughest teams in the area. Even despite the tough competition and minor robot issues during qualifications, team M was still able to keep a tough fight. At LA, all 3 of our teams ended up high in qualifications. Team D and F allied, while X was chosen by another good team. However, in their first match team X went against the two winners of the Google Signature event, which was the most difficult tournament our teams went to this season, happening a few weeks ago. Despite not winning a qualification at States, our teams will most likely get qualified through skills or online challenges. In skills, teams D and F are 12th and 13th in California rankings, and we are a finalist for the website online challenge. By next week, hopefully we will have a better idea of how many teams we will be sending to Worlds!

VEX Turning Point By The Bay Champions!

On January 19, 2019, 254 VEX teams 254D, M, X, and W attended the 2019 VEX Turning Point At The Bay tournament in Richmond. Overall, the tournament was the best tournament yet this season, with 254X winning the tournament along with team 81818X, and 254D winning the Excellence Award. Both teams are now qualified to attend a California State Championship in March.

During qualification matches, 254M got 2nd, 254D got 8th, 254X got 11th, and 254W got 15th. For elimination matches, team D and M allied with each other in the 2nd seed alliance, while X allied with 81818X in the third seed, and W allied with 95070C. 254W got eliminated in the first round, the round of 16, while the other 254 teams moved on. In the semifinals, 254X and 81818X fought and won a tough match against 254M and D, and moved on to win the finals. Last, while awards were being announced, team 254D was given the Excellence Award for overall great performance in the competition, during the judge’s presentation, and with robot skills.

Bellarmine VEX Tournament 2016

By John Vu

This past weekend Bellarmine hosted its Annual Bellarmine VEX Tournament with a total of 69 teams from all over the Bay Area competing. Six teams from Team 254 competed against an assortment of designs and robots to make it past the qualification matches.

By the end of qualifiers, three teams from Team 254 were moved into eliminations. During alliance selection, Team 254C joined Teams 5369 and 5327B to form an alliance. Team 254A, 254F, and 254C all competed in the quarterfinals, but only Team 254C broke into the semi-finals. Unfortunately, 254C’s alliance was eliminated in the semi-finals

With three teams making it passed qualifiers, the tournament was a strong test, pushing teams and robots to their limits. The tournament’s intensity gave insight on the necessary improvements and adjustments that teams will need to make on their robots and strategy for the next tournament. Now, teams will continue working and improving their robots from the new insights from this tournament for their next upcoming tournament.

Congratulations to tournament winners 86868, 5776T, and 563.

2016 VEX World Championship

This past week, VEX Team 254C travelled to Louisville, Kentucky to compete in the 2016 VEX Worlds Championship. 254C competed in the Arts division at worlds. In total, there were four other high school divisions, each consisting of 100 teams from around the world.

By the end of the 250 qualification matches, 254C had won 6 of it’s 10 qualification matches, and was ranked 26th by alliance selection. Unfortunately, this was not enough to convince other teams to invite them to an alliance, and so their Nothing But Net season ended there.

However, students have already begun to think about the new 2016-2017 VEX Robotics Competition, Starstruck, which will require a drastically different design from Nothing but Net.

2016 Duel In Diablo VEX Tournament

This past Saturday, VEX teams 254E and 254F travelled to Concord, to compete in the Duel in Diablo Nothing but Net VEX Tournament. At the tournament, they competed against 27 other teams from around the area.

Both teams performed very well throughout the qualification matches. 254E, with just a single loss, finished the qualification matches ranked 3rd overall. 254F also performed fairly well, ranking 11th by the end of the qualification matches.

During alliance selection, 254E invited 254F to join the third seed alliance. Due to the size of the tournament, each alliance only contained two teams. Unfortunately, this turned into a problem when the robots from 254E and 254F had issues, and there were no other robots to rely on. This led to the alliance being eliminated during quarterfinals.

Despite not doing as well as they had hoped during eliminations, 254F was awarded the sportsmanship award.

2015 Tracy Triangle VEX Tournament

Yesterday, VEX teams 254B, 254D, 254E, 254F, 254G, & 254H attended the Tracy Triangle VEX Tournament. With over 80 teams, this was the largest VEX tournament our teams attended this season.

Throughout the tournament, all 254 teams performed very well. By the end of the qualification matches, 254B had gone undefeated and ranked 3rd out of all teams. During alliance selection 254B invited 254F & 4768C to join their alliance. Additionally, 254H joined an alliance with 4768B and 4768. 254E also joined an alliance with 5772 and 5327C.

Unfortunately, teams 254B, 254F, & 254H were eliminated during quarterfinals. 254E made it through several challenging elimination matches, but ultimately lost in their 3rd final match by a small margin.

At the end of the tournament, 254H was awarded the Create Award for their robot design. Congratulations to the tournament champions 5776T, 8000B, & 8000D.

2015 Willow Glen VEX Tournament

Yesterday, Team 254 for had the opportunity to compete in the Willow Glen Plaza VRC Tournament. VEX Teams 254A, 254B, 254C, 254D, 254E, & 254H had the opportunity to compete against 18 other VEX teams from around the area.

Overall, all 254 VEX teams performed very well. By the end of the qualification matches, 254C was ranked 1st, and 254B was ranked 2nd. 254E and 254A also performed very well, ranking 6th and 9th, respectively. All 254 teams made it into the elimination matches, with the first seed alliance consisting of 254C, 254B, and 254F. Unfortunately 254D’s alliance was eliminated during the quarterfinals, and 254C, 254B, & 254F lost to 254A’s alliance during semifinals.

During the finals matches, teams 563F, 254A, & 256B went head to head with 563, 254E, & 6734B. After four exciting matches, 563F, 254A, & 256B won, due to a last minute strategy change that led to the 254E accidentally entering their opponent’s loading zone, which led to a disqualification.

Additionally, 254C also won the Excellence Award, and ranked first in robot skills at the tournament.

2015 Central Valley Nothing But Net Tournament

Last Saturday (12/5/2015) VEX teams 254C, 254B, and 254F competed in the 5th Annual Central Valley VEX Robotics Challenge. For all teams that competed, this was their 3rd tournament of the season, so it was a great opportunity to implement changes based on their previous tournaments.

Overall, all teams performed very well at the tournament. Throughout the day, all 254 teams were ranked highly, and were strong competitors. 254B ended the qualification matches ranked 7th, and was invited to join the 3rd seed alliance with teams 973A & 4033B. Team 254C went into alliance selection as the undefeated first seed robot, and picked teams 3396 & 973G to join their alliance. While team 254B unfortunately lost during the semifinals, team 254C was able to win all of their matches throughout eliminations, and ultimately won the tournament.

Despite not making it into the elimination matches, team 254F impressed the judges with their robot and strategy, and was awarded the Judges Award.

This tournament was a rather successful one for Team 254, and everyone involved learned a lot. Teams will now return to working on their robots and strategies for the upcoming Willow Glen tournament.

2015 DVHS VEX Tournament

This past weekend (10/18), VEX Teams 254A, 254B, 254C, 254F, & 254E all competed at the DVHS VEX Tournament. Being the first tournament of the season, it was a great opportunity for our VEX teams to determine how their robots functioned during competition, and to test their strategies.

With their single flywheel design, and a strong lift, team 254C was eventually invited to join the sixth seed alliance, with teams 824C and 5327B. After several close matches during quarter\-finals, narrowly won and moved on the semi\-finals, where they were unfortunately defeated by teams 8000A, 8000D, and 5776Y. Congratulations to tournament winners, 5776T, 5369, & 5776.

Overall, our teams all had a lot of fun at the tournament, and learned a lot from other teams. Several of our teams now have plans to work to improve their robots for the upcoming Bellarmine VEX Tournament.

2015 VEX World Championships and “Nothing But Net”

This past week, Team 254A and 254D traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete at the 2015 VEX World Championships. 254A competed in the Science Division, while 254D competed in the Technology Division. Our teams faced off against top teams from places like New Zealand, Texas, China, England, Mexico, and Bahrain. 254A experienced numerous setbacks at the tournament on their scissorlift, such as spilling ketchup onto their Cortex and numerous stripped gears and bent axles. 254A worked around the clock to repair the robot, but unfortunately were unable to fix the robot in time for eliminations. 254D did reasonably well, placing 30th in their division, but also unfortunately did not reach eliminations. On a happier note, the new VEX game “Nothing But Net” has gotten our team members talking about potential designs to shoot balls into a net, such as flywheels and catapults. Unlike previous years, for the majority of the match bots cannot lift above 18 inches, eliminating the lifts that have been dominant in earlier games.

Louisville was also quite a surprise for our teams. The food in Louisville was a lot better than Anaheim, where the majority of previous World Championships have been held. Our team especially enjoyed the Moelicious BBQ food truck and the hot and fresh minidonuts served at the event. Cracker Barrel was also well-liked by students. We also went go-karting in Indianapolis and relaxed at Dockweiler Beach in LA.

Tracy NorCal VEX Skyrise Tournament

On Saturday, 1/31, 254A, 254B, 254C, 254E, 254F, and 254G competed at Merrill F. West High School at the Tracy NorCal VEX Skyrise Tournament. 5 of our 6 VEX teams at Tracy reached the elimination rounds, a strong showing from the Cheesy Poofs!
254B and 254F joined 824B during the elimination rounds, and reached the semifinals. Team 254C joined 9378A and 9378B, and reached the quarterfinals. Team 254E joined 5776 and 8000D, reaching the quarterfinals.

254A, using an eight-bar side-roller robot design, reached the finals alongside 5369 (the Duckies) and 5327C (Gael Force) as part of the first-seed alliance. Unfortunately, after a long deliberation by the referees, they lost to the second seeded alliance in two matches. Congratulations to 1935A (HEART Academy San Jose), 7579B (Next Generation Science & Technology Group), and 8000B (Head-Royce School)! In addition, Team 254C won the Sportsmanship Award!

Our teams learned a lot at Tracy about potential designs and had a lot of fun, and are looking to make improvements to their robots for the NorCal State Championship, coming up at the beginning of March!

Bellarmine VEX Tournament

The 7th Annual Bellarmine VEX Tournament, hosted by Team 254, will be held November 21-22, 2014 project management web app. The event is free for spectators. The best time to watch is from the alliance selection process (3pm Saturday), through the finals, which will finish by 6:30pm.

Information

• Changes from Last Year
• Schedule
• Tournament Location & Parking
• Northern California VRC Championship Qualifications
• Concessions
• Information for Competitors
• Information for Novices

Changes from Last Year

• There are more teams competing, so if you can, please get inspected on Friday evening (6 – 8pm). We’ll officially open the pits at 7am and start inspections at 7:15am on Saturday.
• We will have a photo booth setup with a backdrop for professional looking photos of your robot and/or team. This will be located next to the skills challenge field on the 2nd floor of the Sobrato building.
• We will have a competition Instagram: Use #BELLVEX in Instagram during the tournament and see your picture appear on displays in the Pits and in Sobrato.

Schedule

Friday, November 21, 2014
6 pm – 8 pm	Check-In and Inspection (in Liccardo)
7 pm – 9 pm	Practice time for teams
Saturday, November 22, 2014
7:00 am	Pit Area and Registration Opens (in Liccardo)
8:00 am	Check-in Deadline for teams (at Pit Admin in Liccardo)
7:15 am – 8:30 am	Inspection (in Liccardo)
7:30 am – 8:30 am	Practice Rounds (in Sobrato Theater)
8:30 am – 8:45 am	Driver’s Meeting (in Sobrato Theater)
8:30 am – 9:30 am	Sign up for judging interview (at Pit Admin table)
8:45 am	Welcome (in Sobrato Theater)
9:00 am – 12:30pm	Qualifying Rounds (in Sobrato Theater)
12:30 pm – 1:00 pm	Lunch Break (We will have Pizza Order Forms)
1:00 pm – 2:35 pm	Qualifying Rounds Continue (in Sobrato Theater)
2:45 pm	Alliance Selection Process (in Sobrato Theater)
3:00 pm – 5:30 pm	Elimination Rounds (in Sobrato Theater)
~5:30 pm – 6:30 pm	Finals, Awards, Closing Ceremony (in Sobrato Theater)

Tournament Location & Parking

Bellarmine College Preparatory 960 W. Hedding St. San Jose, CA 95126

Google Maps

Campus Map

For the competition, the pits are in Liccardo cafeteria and the competition fields in Sobrato theater. These are #6 and #7 on the campus map at: //www.bcp.org/about-us/our-campus/index.aspx.

Street parking is very limited due to permit parking restrictions. There is additional parking by Emory and Stockton streets. Check in with the Pit Admin when you arrive, who will provide you with a map of the tournament facilities.

Northern California VRC Championship Qualifications

We are qualifying 8 teams for the Northern California VRC State Championship:

• 3 Team Winning Alliance
• 3 Team Finalists
• 1 Design Award winner
• 1 Excellence Award winner

Awards Given

• Excellence Award
• Design Award
• Judges Award
• Sportsmanship Award

Concessions

We will offer pizza for preorder. Info will be sent in a different email. We will have a few pasta dinners available for Friday night and will be offering snacks and drinks on Saturday.

Information For Competitors

• If you cannot arrive before close of check-in at 8am, please call or text (preferred): 408-377-5330 or email: [email protected].
• If you want to be considered for the Excellence or Design awards, you will need to sign up for an interview by 9:30am. Go to the Pit Admin to schedule (or change your appointment time if needed). The interview rooms are on the second floor of the Sobrato Theater building near the swimming pool.
• The skills challenge field is also on the 2nd floor of the Sobrato theater building. Teams are not limited to the number of attempts, however, any team with fewer than 3 attempts can move ahead of other teams waiting in line.
• Bring your signed VEX competition waiver, available at: //www.roboticseducation.org/documents/2013/06/vrc-participant-release-form.pdf.
• Check the match schedule when it is published and make sure you are ready for each match. We try hard to keep matches running on time.
• Be sure your robot is ready for inspection. Double check the requirements here: //www.roboticseducation.org/documents/2013/06/inspection-checklist-vrc.pdf.
• Have fully charged batteries for each match.
• Be sure the drivers and coach have safety glasses when they arrive at the field to compete.
• Bring a power strip. We should have an outlet within 6′ of your table for you to plug into.
• WiFi will be available in the pits
• A Help Desk will be available with a limited supply of parts should anything break or you are unable to pass inspection

Information For Novices

It is highly recommended for you to arrive Friday to go through the inspection and try a couple practice matches. Friday will be much more relaxed and our inspectors will be able to help you through the inspection process. Also, our field managers will be able to guide you through the competition process. Be sure to bring fully charged batteries, chargers, spare parts and tools in case anything breaks. Ensure your VEXnet keys are working well.

DVHS VEX Tournament 2014

Competing and Improving

The Dougherty Valley High School (DVHS) in San Ramon hosted this tournament. The team was pleased to see upon arriving that competition boards were placed in the pit area, and that the location of the pit allowed for very quick switching between matches. Unfortunately none of our sub teams managed to qualify for States, but this competition allowed our robots to be tested for the first time and we used this feedback to repair and upgrade our bots. For example Team 254F lost two matches in qualifications and two in eliminations. The members of Team 254F are now working on improving their intake and looking forward to the next VEX tournament.

Team 254G with glorious sub leader Vidur communicating with his sub team

One VEXing Tournament

Thankfully there were no MAJOR technical issues (robots catching fire, exploding, becoming sentient) and all of our teams learned a lot in the competitive process. The tournament was a success! We would like to recognize teams 21D for their excellent design for the high rises, and also 6089, 5776C, 5327A, and many other teams in attendance for challenging us and helping our sub teams to improve their bots. Lastly, many thanks to DVHS for their tasty and very reasonably priced snacks; oh and also for hosting this fun and competitive tournament. And to the VEX teams at the competition, all of us are looking forward to seeing many of you at the Bellarmine VEX tournament this November!

Team 254D Driver about to shake hands with some fellow VEX enthusiasts

Team 254B watching their bot intently as Tom takes a sly selfie

Stay Cheesy

International Vex Summer Games

On July 11th and 12th, members of VEX Team 254D traveled to Hawaii for the new Hawaii International Games tournament. The tournament featured two competitions, one for the old game, Toss Up and one for the new game, Skyrise. The Cheesy Poofs were fortunately able to secure spots in both competitions, entering the robots Scorpion and Qilin. Although the Cheesy Poofs did not fare so well during the qualifications due to various issues in both divisions, top teams recognized the strength of the Poofs. In the Toss Up competition, 254D was selected by the 2nd seeded alliance while in the Skyrise competition, partnering with 359A, the Hawaiian Kids, and 1973A, the Trojanbots. The alliance lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual tournament victor. In the Skyrise Division, 254D was selected by the 5th overall seed, joining 368A, Team Kika Mana, and 1841A, Buff n’ Blue 1, again losing during the quarterfinals. Despite the team’s failure to proceed through the quarterfinals, the Cheesy Poofs gained valuable experience and knowledge in designs and strategies for the new Skyrise game that will carry over to the new season.

NASA Robotics Alliance Celebration

On Tuesday, June 10th, Teams 254s, 971 and 1868 met with NASA Ames’ Director Dr. Simon P. Worden, to celebrate the accomplishments of the teams and thank Dr. Worden for the center’s generous sponsorship over the years.

The 3 teams were recognized for their success in the FRC, VEX, and Botball competitions this past year and all the students were given certificates. The teams thanked NASA, their mentors, and their parents for all the support they’ve received throughout the lifespan of the team.

Members of the audience also got to re-watch some of the exciting Einstein finals matches and relive Team 254’s World Championship win.

A dessert reception hosted by Team 1868 and socializing took place after the event.

VEX World Championship

Overview

This past week, 15 members of Bellarmine’s VEX Robotics Team 254 competed at the VEX World Championship. Team 254D \(led by Elias Wu ’14, Tyler Cuff ’14, Jeffrey Kaufman ‘15, and Tarun Midde ’15\) ranked 7th in it’s division, and Team 254G \(led by Eric Wang ’17 and Goutham Gnanasekaran ’14\) ranked 22nd in it’s division after the qualification matches. Both made it to the Elimination matches as part of the 6th alliance \(out of 8 alliances\) in their respective divisions. Although the odds were against them, both made it to the finals of their respective divisions. Because of the structure of the competition, both always faced alliances that were ranked higher, and yet managed to make it to the finals. Both even won one of the three finals matches. Team 254D won the overall Website award, and Team 254G won the Teamwork award in their division.

Qualification Matches

After intense qualification matches in the Technology Division, 254G ended with a 6-4-0 record and a 22nd rank. 254G started out strong with three consecutive wins against opposing alliances on Thursday. However, matches after that were much more difficult. 254G would then go on to lose two matches in a row Friday morning, but was able to maintain a winning record through Saturday to finish with a 22 rank in the division. 254G also won the Teamwork Award in the Technology Division, which was a pleasant surprise for the team after their tough matches.

Team 254D also had a series of challenging qualification matches in the Science Division. They began on Thursday with several difficult matches caused by tough opponents and unlucky alliances. Nevertheless, 254D rebounded in the qualification matches on Friday and Saturday to end up with a 7-2-1 record, ranked 7th in the division.

Elimination Matches

In the Technology Division, 254G allied with sixth seed 7232C and ninth seed 2213D for the eliminations matches. Despite being one of the lower ranked alliances, they made it all the way to the finals in their division. All of our rounds in division eliminations were difficult, with every one of them going to a third tiebreaker match. The first round ended in a tiebreaker match against an alliance led by third seed 1893B. 254G’s alliance won by just 2 points in that match with a final score of 42-44. Next, they faced the alliance led by 1575D which also ended in a tiebreaker match. However, this one was way more intense. After what seemed like a crushing loss for our alliance, the score was revealed to show that the opposing alliance had suffered a disqualification. The final score of the match was 9-0, with 7232C, 2213D, and 254G advancing to the finals. Our alliance lost the first match by a score of 45-34 to 169E’s alliance, but we were able to rebound and win the next match by a score of 52-32. Finally, 254G and 2213D competed in the last match of the final round. Our opponents won autonomous and were able to defend the goal zone successfully. The final score of the match was 43-30, in favor of 169E’s alliance. 169E, 1460J, and 136M advanced to the Round Robin. Overall, this was a very successful year for 254G and we hope to experience similar success in the future.

During alliance selection, 254D was bumped up to the 6th seed. They declined an alliance with the 3rd seed team, 5139A, instead choosing to captain their own alliance with teams 2941D and 2880A. They went on to face the 3rd seed alliance in the quarterfinals. After losing by a huge margin of 82-4 in the first match as a result of tipping during the autonomous, 254D and its partners went on to beat the 3rd seed alliance, made up of 5139A, 800B, and 4194F, in two consecutive matches. In the semifinals, 254D competed against the 2nd seed alliance, captained by Team 26, along with 231A and 9090A. They defeated the opponents in the first two matches through a combination of a successful autonomous, strong defense, and by changing game strategy with their partners each match. Then, as the 6th seed alliance, 254D went up against their biggest challenge in facing the 1st seed alliance in the division finals. Team 1136A led the opposing alliance with teams 1961C and 6135B. Unfortunately, after playing in every single one of the previous elimination matches, 254D’s robot suffered motor and cortex difficulties in the finals. They lost the first match, won the second, and ultimately lost a tense final match. While this was a disappointing loss for 254D, they nevertheless performed extremely well against highly difficult odds, and they are proud of their accomplishments.

After Competition
After a great season, the members of Team 254 enjoyed the traditional evening of fun at Dave & Buster’s. In surprising turn of luck, they collectively managed to score a series of jackpots, pooling their winnings to buy a cheap remote\-controlled helicopter (unfortunately, D&B lacked quality yo-yos). After returning to the hotel, Team 254 had fun playing with their new toy. Overall, this year’s VEX World Championship was a memorable experience for Team 254.

254A receives Excellence at Bakersfield VEX Tournament

On Saturday, December 14th, VEX Teams 254A and 254F competed at the Frontier Titan Robotics Tournament in Bakersfield, California.

Our teams had some tough matches in the qualifying rounds, and even had to go against each other. Despite that, 254A went undefeated and seeded 3rd, while 254F seeded 13th.

254F was picked by the 2nd seeded team, 563, Titan Robotics. This alliance later picked Team 1437X, Patriot Robotics.

254A picked 1437Z and then 1437Y, Patriot Robotics.

After easily getting through the quarterfinals, 254A had to face 254F in the semifinals. 254A ended up narrowly advancing to face the number 1 seeded alliance featuring teams 21D, 21, and 1837A. In the finals, robot problems plagued 254A’s alliance in the first round. Then, in the second round a field disconnect occurred that resulted in 254A, 1437Y, and 21 being disconnected and only 21D left to play the match by themselves.

During the awards ceremony, Team 254A was given the Excellence Award for their outstanding performance in Qualification Rounds, Robot Skills, Programming Skills, and presenting their Design Process. This means that either 254A or 254B (who received Excellence at the Bellarmine VEX Tournament) are eligible to receive the Excellence award at the State Championships in March.

Modesto VEX Tournament

On Dec 7th, five of Bellarmine’s VEX robotics teams competed at the Central Valley VEX Robotics Tournament.  Although our teams had a few tough matches, often competing against each other, four of the five teams made it to eliminations.  254G placed third in the ranking, and 254D placed 15th.  254G joined 21D and 254E to form the 2nd alliance and 254D joined 2367 and 2367B to form the 7th alliance.  Both faced each other in the quarterfinals, and 254G and 254E advanced to the semifinals.

In the Semifinals, 254G and 254E faced 8000A, 8000B, and 8000C.  They managed to win the first game 37-36.  Because of some connection issues they were defeated in the second match, and were unfortunately eliminated in the third match.

In the skills challenges, 254E scored 15 points in Programming skills and 57 points in Robot Skills.  254C got 10 points in Programming Skills 254D scored 56 points in Robot Skills.