Mechanically Challenged, Viola High School’s FIRST® Robotics team, competed in the Ozark Mountain Brawl October 4-5, 2024 at Harding Academy in Searcy, Arkansas. This event is held every off season and is the last competition in Viola’s region that uses the previous season’s game and robots. Viola was represented at the competition by 10 students and 3 mentors on two teams. The team was able to bring two robots to this competition for the first time in its history.
At this year’s event, the competition started off with skills challenges that tested a team’s ability to complete tasks with this year's robot. These skills challenges included events that were related to this year's game, and an action photo contest.
After the skills challenge events were over, the qualification matches started Friday evening and concluded on Saturday morning. Qualification matches are used to determine the ranking of teams in order to select alliances for the elimination tournament. This year, the team competed with two robots, with all students being involved. Both teams finished with a 3-6 record in the qualification round.
Despite this record, Technologically Impaired (the name chosen for the second team) and Mechanically Challenged were ready for the elimination round. Both teams were chosen to be members of the number one ranked alliance. Their alliance team members were Team 3937 (Breakaway) from Searcy’s Harding Academy, and Team 323 (Lights Out) from Alma, Arkansas. After alliance selection, Technologically Impaired's robot competed as a defensive robot for the alliance, and Mechanically Challenged served as an insurance robot in case one of the robots in the alliance became too disabled to continue.
The tournament was set up as a double elimination bracket that pitted the first alliance versus the fourth alliance, and the second alliance versus the third alliance. Viola’s alliance went undefeated through all of the rounds, and won the championship without losing a match in the finals. This win made Viola Robotics two-time champions in back to back years.
Photo Caption:
Pictured from left to right: Drake Rogers, Eli Trueman (back), Gracie Todd (front), Aaysha Trueman (behind robot), Kevin Thrasher (mentor), Sandra Cooper (middle, mentor), Chanel Gonzales (front), John Martin (middle), Bobby Peat (front), Noah Harber (back, obstructed by John), Loren Todd (back), Joey Harber, Chad Cooper (mentor), Alecia Klem.