2023 Challenge – 20th Anniversary Event

General Rules

The Sonoma County Robotics Challenge is a youth event aimed at supporting the development of student abilities in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. General tenets encompassing all events are listed here.

Events

Bull in a China Shop | Bull in a China Shop Rules (pdf)

This challenge uses a circular ring with 10 different items placed at various locations in the ring. A single robot has the task of knocking the items out of the ring in the shortest time possible.

Drag Racing | Drag Racing Rules (pdf)

The objective of this contest is to race your robot on a track that is 16 feet long and beat your opponent to the finish line. This year’s drag racing competition is open to grade 4 & 5 students only.

Sort the Bricks | Sort the Bricks (pdf)

Sort the Bricks is a new event for 2023. Competitors need to build a robot capable of detecting colors and moving Lego bricks to specific locations.

Free Form | Free Form Rules (pdf)

This year’s Free Form event challenges teams to explore the idea of our robotics “20 year anniversary celebration” with bonus points added for creating a routine or story on this theme. Entries will be judged on the robot’s ability to follow action scripts, difficulty of tasks, and adherence to the theme. Participants may choose to enter the Beginning or Advanced competition categories in this event.

King of the Hill | King of the Hill Rules (pdf)

This contest matches two robots climbing a hill to occupy a space at the top that is only large enough for one. The robot who is in the top space at the end of one minute is "King of the Hill."

Off Road Racing | Off Road Racing Rules (pdf)

Off Road Racing involves a 16-foot long course with barriers placed at different intervals. The object of the event is to overcome the barriers, stay on track, and finish with the best time.

Sumo | Sumo Rules (pdf)

Robot sumo wrestling engages two robot contestants in trying to push each other out of a circular ring. The first robot to touch the floor outside of the ring loses. The last robot remaining in the ring wins.

Robotics Triathlon | Robotics Triathlon (pdf)

The Robotics Triathlon asks participants to create an ‘Olympian’ like robot that will traverse an obstacle course, follow a line, and finally drop a ping pong ball in a specific location in the shortest time possible.

Construction & Design Museum Grades 1-6 | Display Rules (pdf)

Students in grades 1-6 are invited to display their Lego creations in the Construction and Design Museum. This year's theme is focused on the theme of ‘robotics celebration’ and our event’s 20 year anniversary. To participate, students should build a Lego creation featuring the celebration theme.

Awards

Golden Propeller Head: A trophy is given to the team that best represents the spirit of the games by demonstrating excellence in teamwork, mechanical design, programming, and performance. The trophy is kept at their school until the following year’s competition, when it is handed off to the new team. The team’s name is engraved into a plaque on the side of the trophy.

Grand Gear Head Award for Mechanical Design: Awarded to the team whose robot best demonstrates solid mechanical design and function.

Genius Programmer Award: Awarded to the team that demonstrates the best use of robot programming.

Team Spirit Award: This award goes to the team that most enthusiastically demonstrates a commitment to getting others to see how accessible, fun, and rewarding science and technology can be, especially when you’re part of a great team. Displays chronicling your team’s outreach efforts are encouraged.

Best Overall Robot Performance Award: If your robot is performing ahead of the pack and the high scores are racking up, you are destined to receive this award.

Against All Odds Award: If you walked to the tournament in the rain, barefoot, through a jungle of angry robot-hating gorillas, this award may be for you! The award goes to the team that has come from the back of the pack to demonstrate grace under pressure, while improvising and adapting to overcome all obstacles that have been thrown their way.

Click here to return to the Robotics Challenge home page.