Yesterday we had our first competition for 2014 in Auckland. Approximately 15 teams competed at this informal, instead of 20-25 you would see at a "normal" scrimmage.

For those wondering what I'm talking about by an "informal scrimmage", it's basically where everyone is really relaxed, with no strict schedule and where the fields end up being named the "Much Field" and the "Many Field" (instead of "Field 1" and "Field 2"). Wow.

To be honest, I was finding it a little tricky to follow the rankings as there was only one screen that I saw, and it generally had a match schedule displaying, but I happen to know 2941D (Otumoetai College) ranked first after the qualification rounds (as they were the captains of the first seeded alliance).

Free Range Robotics were picked by 2918D (Glenfield College), thanks for picking us!! And we're very sorry about our drivetrain overheating.

The finals were a close battle between the first seeded 2941D+2918A (red) alliance and the 2941A+2915A (blue) alliance. The scores were getting close,

but in the final match there was a bit of "accidental defensive stance" play by the red alliance (interesting strategy decision), giving the blue alliance a large opportunity to take the win.

Congrats to 2941A (Otumoetai College) and 2915A (Lynfield College) for winning the competition!

This scrimmage was also an opportunity for skills runs, and I believe that there were scores well into the 80s.

We have competitions every weekend now until the National competition (28 Feb - 2 Mar), all of which we plan to attend.

~George