General Info

Overview

Welcome to the 2023 Thunder Basin HS VRC Bot Bash. This tournament will be held at Thunder Basin High School.

At this time there are no restrictions due to Covid 19; the following protocols will, however, be in place. Teams should bring hand sanitizer for their pit area; teams are asked to complete a Covid screening for all participants, students, coaches and participants before leaving for the event, wearing of masks will be encouraged, pit areas will be spaced to allow for social distancing. In the event restrictions are put in place registered teams will be notified via email and the event information will be updated.

Concessions

Concessions will be available. Lunch will be provided for all teams.

Competition Preparation

This event is sure to be a fast-paced and exciting event. All teams should come prepared for competition. Here are a few steps that every team should take to ensure that they are prepared.

1. Review the rules and run through the inspection checklist about a week before the competition so that there is ample time for adjustments. The inspection checklist can be found on the Documents tab.

2. Check the official VEX forums at www.robotevents.com for rule updates and changes.

3. Carefully read all of the information contained in the tournament posting on RobotEvents.com

4. Pack for the event the day before the day of departure. Here are a few items that you don't want to forget.

• Goggles/Safety Glasses
• Spare parts & tools
• Batteries and chargers
• Programming cable
• power strip
• laptop computer
• Engineering notebook (if you have one, helpful for Judges, Design and Excellence Awards)
• Banners and other decorations for your team pit
• Giveaways if you have them

5. Be sure to read 101 Things You Should Know Before Your First VEX Tournament, found on the Documents tab. 

6. Review the descriptions and criteria for the awards that are being given during the tournament. 

7. Prepare for your interviews with the judges. Check the awards tab to see what awards will be given during the tournament.

8. Remember that safety comes first, please don't bring tools that pose a safety risk to your team, or others nearby as the venue is a very tight fit. Also, remember no grinding or other actions that create sparks are allowed in the pit area. A shop area is available for teams needing to do any cutting or grinding.

9. Understand how the game will be played. VEX participants are more than welcome to watch the referee training videos before they attend a tournament. The referee training videos can be found at www.roboticseducation.org web site, under the Volunteer Resources tab.

10. Read through the Robot troubleshooting guide. The guide can be found  here .

11. Ensure your robot brain has the latest version of firmware.

Tournament Notes:

• Alliances will be 2 teams.
• All finals matches will be one-and-done (not best-of-three matches). 
• Ties in finals matches will be replayed until a winner is determined.

Participation and Consent Form

All team members, coaches and adult mentors should fill out the online consent form which is good all season and for all REC run events. Note: the Create US Open is a separate event run by a different group and has its own consent form. A link to the instructions for online consent form can be found  here . 

Grade Level: All

Skills Challenge Offered: Yes

Judging Format: All In-Person Judging