Spooky on the Plains: Gearing up for this Robotics Season!
- Vestavia Pillar
- Nov 3
- 3 min read
Written by Grace Ding, Hannah Chen, and Sophia Chen
On Saturday, October 25th, the VHHS Robotics Team kicked off their season at the Spooky on the Plains Tournament, located at Loachapoka High School. Keep reading to learn a little bit more about this extracurricular, the results of this tournament, and what more of the season will look like!
A bit about robotics
This year, there are four VHHS teams: Awesome Sauce! (99040A), Blackout robotics (99040B), Botanical Bots (99040E), and Current Control (99040Z).
Each team has around five to seven members; together, they need to design, build, and program a robot fit for the year’s game. The 2025-2026 game is called Push Back, where the objective is to place blocks of their assigned color onto goals (some are in the center of the field, and two long goals are on the sides of the field).
Each team also submits an engineering notebook that details their design processes, reflections post-tournaments, building revisions, goals, and anything and everything else in between. This notebook will continue to be added to and revised throughout the year.
What makes robotics so special is that there are so many different aspects to the competition, meaning that there are a lot of different fields to cover. Hence, each person on a team tends to have a specialized role. A few example roles include builder, programmer/coder, notebooker, researcher, financial analyst, and lawyer. Of course, it’s not like each member is restricted to one area; in fact, a team works best when each member takes on multiple roles and supports each other. For instance, while someone may be the lead builder, others can be assistant builders.
Tournament Day
Upon arrival, each team turns in its notebook and is subject to a robot inspection. Each robot must be within a certain size while not exceeding the material limits set by the competition, such as the number of motors or pneumatic air tanks allowed. Once all teams pass, the tournament begins.
A list of randomized Qualification matches is dropped. In each qualification match, a team will be randomly assigned an alliance and two opponents. Each team usually competes in six to eight matches before the Qualification matches conclude.
In between Qualification matches, teams compete in Skills matches, where they try to score as many points as possible on a preset field.
Each team is given a rank determined by match performances and Skills after qualification matches conclude. The rankings are used to determine the order in which teams can choose their alliances for the Elimination rounds. Since this tournament was small, only 24 teams were given the chance to compete in the Elimination round. After alliances are chosen, the teams compete in a bracket until the champion is determined.
Results and what’s next
This tournament truly showcased the hard work and preparation of our teams. Team 99040B, Blackout robotics, dominated the qualification rounds and secured first in rank. Then, they continued their winning streak in the elimination rounds and were crowned tournament champions. They also earned the Excellence Award for their overall performance in matches and skills. Team 99040A, Awesome Sauce!, advanced to the quarterfinals, and they put up a good fight, attempting to park their robot in the final moments of the match. Team 99090Z, Current Control, was recognized with the Design Award, which is given to a team with an outstanding engineering notebook and interview.
This weekend, on November 1st, the teams will compete again, where they hope to show their improvements and continued dedication. They are also preparing for a global tournament coming up in mid-November in the Smoky Mountains. Wish them good luck as they continue their season and represent VHHS.
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