Over the summer some of the best Vex Robotics Competition (VRC) teams in the world competed in the Mall of America located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Haverford School’s robotics team, the Cavalry, was among them. The Cavalry sent three teams led by coach Mr. Adam Myers to the Minneapolis signature event.
Before the tournament, the robotics teams were hard at work constructing their mechanical marvels. “Our team would try to meet during shop hours, and we coordinated times outside of shop hours to work on the robot,” Fourth Former Brandyn Luong said.
When building a robot, many changes may be made during construction.
“We were good on time until late July because we ran into an issue with our front ramp, requiring us to redesign within the last few days,” Luong said. “We were able to get it done. However, it compromised our code.”
A day after the robotics team arrived in Minneapolis, they headed to the tournament, met in the pits, and found out their schedules.
“In terms of match pairings, they were well spaced out, and we were on time for each of our matches,” Luong said. “We faced some difficult opponents, which happens because of the random pairings.”
This tournament is particularly special, as it is the beginning of the VRC season. These matches set the stage for how teams approach future tournaments.
“Although our team had faced difficult rounds, we ultimately learned strategies to implement in future competitions and this set a benchmark for major improvements that were needed,” Loung said.
As 169B carried on in the competition, their familiarity and experience grew.
“We found our driver improving on the field. His movements were more confident, and in one match we won with a 39-point deficit,” Luong said.
Between rounds, teams also work hard to best prepare for their next round. One key objective between rounds is maintenance work. During a round, robots are bashed into, rammed against, and experience all kinds of wear and tear.
“You want to find their greatest assets and devise a plan against the other team. Going into a match without a clear objective will set you up for failure.”
Brandyn Luong ’27
“It is imperative to ensure that your robot’s mechanisms are working. This could be as simple as checking the cables, to checking points of failure on the robot,” Luong said.
Communication and strategy are an especially important part of robotics tournaments because teams form alliances for each round. In between rounds, alliances meet to discuss the strategy for the upcoming round.
“To be successful at any competition in general, make sure you discuss strategy with your alliance partner,” Luong said. “You want to find their greatest assets and devise a plan against the other team. Going into a match without a clear objective will set you up for failure.”
