Results from the Robotics's Qualifying Tournament

The day started early at 7am with team check-in at 7:30am.  We quickly set up in our pit area to get our stuff together for the mandatory software judging at 8:00am.  We had some problems with our autonomous mode not working correctly and did not pass our initial software inspection.  We had to run back to the pits and have another team help us install the proper template for our autonomous mode to work correctly.  We then had to hussle over to hardware inspection at 8:50am.  We had some rough edges on our cut aluminum pieces that we had to sand down before we could pass our hardware inspection.  Then, at 9:15am, we ran over to the interviewing and judging meeting where the students were interviewed by the two head judges of the tournament.  I was not allowed in as a coach, but later found out that the team did a fantastic job answering the tough questions presented by these judges.  The team then had to go back and pass hardware and software inspections to be allowed to compete.
 
The team started off very well staying in 1st place out of 20 teams through the first 5 rounds.  There was one round left before the quarterfinals and we had a weak alliance partner and did not win that match which dropped us down to 4th place.  None the less, the team had the most ranking points of any of the 20 teams in our division.  A truly amazing job for this rookie team that really had no senior help other than my good friend Mandel who helped out with the software side of things in the beginning.  The team advanced to the Quarterfinals which is huge.  They were the only rookie team that managed this feat.  The team did not make it any further but held their head high, earning the respect of the judges and the rest of the teams attending. 
 
We decided to hang out and watch the finals and the awards ceremony.  We were glad we stuck around because your Rock Robotic's team won the Judge's Choice Award.  The judges were all so impressed with the character and integrity of the team and their reliable build structure and operations that they could not help but present our students with the award.  The judges also were impressed with how much the team did with so little.  The team was a rookie team that did not purchase any additional equipment to build the robot with, they scored more cumulative points than any other team in their division of 20 teams.  The team advanced to the quarterfinals, beating out other very seasoned teams that have been competing for 4+ years. 
 
Congratulations to The Rock Academy's Robotics Team 4112 (Psalms 41:12 - "Because of my integrity, you uphold me and set me in your presence forever"), Judge's Choice Award for the San Diego Qualifying FTC Tournament!

- Jason Berchek

Judge’s award

"During the deliberation process there are often teams that deserve special recognition but for one reason or another did not fully fit into the other Award categories.  FIRST this allows the Judges of these competitions the discretion to bestow a special “Judge’s Award”  to a team that the Judges feel deserves some special recognition.  Today, our Judges have decided that TWO teams deserve this special recognition. 
Here is what the Judges have to say about the recipients of these two Judge’s awards:

"This first Judge’s award is given to an impressive team that we Judge’s feel had a really “strong arm” in the competition.  This team’s robot worked harder than a polo pony – a WHITE Polo…and deciding which team to receive this award left the Judges stuck between a ROCK and a hard place.  Winning the first of the Judge’s award is team 4112, the Rock Academy Warriors from San Diego."
 
The organizer of the FTC Tournament said “Congratulations to the Warriors on a great showing — all the more impressive because they are a rookie team!”

We want to thank those sponsors who have already donated to this exciting opportunity for our students!

• Slattery Law Firm
• River Church San Diego
• Pacific Building Care, Inc.