San Gabriel Valley Qualifiers
On December 2, 2012 , the Mesa Robles Robotics Team competed at their first Qualifying tournament. This competition took place at Jefferson Middle School and went from 8 AM to 5 PM. The Qualifier was essentially an elimination round before the Regional and National tournaments. It was certainly an eventful day as tensions were high and the competitive spirit was in all. The morning started off with the Opening Ceremony where we were greeted by LeRoy Nelson and his staff. We were then immediately whisked away to the board for a practice round.The match was successful with us scoring 245 points. After that we practiced our project many times and worked on our robot, it was time to present our project to the judges. The project was a success but immediately after everyone went back to work on the robot. Then we slipped into the TWILIGHT ZONE. Stress was at a all time high and tensions were very high. A simple prank involving a wireless computer mouse and a really stressed out William led to objects in the air and threats. This type of event could have thrown away 6 months of work. An emergency team meeting was held outside, but still tension persisted. Our first run was also a design run and we scored 245. The design judges seemed impressed with our robot's check system and easy transition attachments. Up next we had Core Values, and although it was awkward, generally it was okay. Finally we had our two last runs, where we scored 200 and 285. After cleaning up our pit area and snapping a couple pictures, the closing ceremony started. We freaked out when a judge was holding one of our folders but when that category came and went, that's when we really freaked out. As sweat ran down our faces, the champions award was called out. AND WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!