ENTRY
17

October 24, 2026

SOAR League Scrimmage & Debrief
Event SOAR Scrimmage, Fremont Middle School Attendees Josh, Torin, Sarah

Event Summary

We competed in our first event, the SOAR League scrimmage! We played two matches (there wasn't enough time for all of them) and finished 8th out of the 15 teams that attended. Our shooter needed constant adjustments and didn't work great, but we had a lot of fun! We learned a lot, met other teams, and got a real feel for what competition will be like.

Matches & Results

  • Played two matches
  • Currently ranked 8th out of the 15 teams at the meet
  • We completely reprogrammed our autonomous right before the matches, and it worked awesomely!
The competition fields in the Fremont Middle School gym, with hives, flowers, and teams gathered around
The competition fields at the scrimmage
Teams and referees gathered around the competition fields during a match
Teams gathered around the fields
Our first match
Our second match

Shooter Adjustments

  • We had some issues with the shooter, so we kept making adjustments on the practice field between matches
  • Tightened one of the shooter motors a lot, changed the shooter's angle, and added cardboard to the ramp
  • The catapult that moves balls from the intake to the shooter jammed a lot and didn't place the balls nicely in the shooter, which caused irregular shots

Robot Inspection

  • We went through our first robot inspection
  • Our width was just brushing 18 inches. We learned many inspectors don't like that, so we'll make the robot a little narrower, in case we get a really particular inspector. That means changing our side plates and possibly our wheelbase.
  • We need to mount our power switch somewhere easy for the referees to see and reach, so they can turn the robot off if it ever goes rogue

Intake Damage

  • Another team's robot broke our intake's rubber bands during a match, in a violation of the rules. Our intake was obliterated!
  • We learned we need to protect our intake

Drivetrain

  • Our wheelbase seemed slightly twisted because of how the weight was distributed. The back left wheel was coming off the ground, which made our strafing and turning slightly lopsided.
  • In our next rebuild, we'll make sure that wheel stays on the ground

What We Noticed

  • A lot of teams used certain goBILDA wheels. We looked them up, but they're pretty expensive, so we're sticking with the wheels we have.
  • Fun discovery: the tiles on our practice field at home were upside down! We thought the textured side was the top.

Strategy

  • We realized that tipping the hive is very important in order to win
  • We're not going to focus much on the flower for now. First we want to dial in the shooter.
  • Our autonomous right now: shoot, then drive to the loading zone and park

Outreach

  • We were excited to meet all the other teams
  • The two Roseburg High teams invited us to come over, and we're talking about doing outreach together

Rebuild Plan

  • Shooter: drop the shooter down to the base so the intake feeds directly into it. The flywheels will lie flat at the bottom with the motors pointing straight up, plus a guide sticking out the top, possibly with a chicken head!
  • Intake: replace the rubber bands with molded silicone fingers. The center two fingers will angle inward so they might be able to pull balls out of the flower. We're not sure this will work, but we're going to try it.
  • Shooter speed: make the shooter motors faster so the balls shoot harder
  • Size: narrow the robot slightly so we're comfortably under 18 inches
  • Disassembly: take off all the zip-tied plates so the robot is easier to work on, and take off the outer frame. We'll leave the inner parts in place for now so we can take measurements.

Lessons Learned

  • Stay comfortably under the size limit in case of particular inspectors
  • Protect the intake from other robots
  • Make sure balls load into the shooter consistently for steady, accurate shots
  • Keep the power switch visible and easy for referees to reach

To Do

  • Research silicone molding for the intake fingers: find or build a mold, and figure out the material, the temperature, and how to make a center hub with a hexagon hole for the shaft
  • Redesign the ramp that feeds directly into the shooter, and possibly add another silicone-finger feeder that feeds right into the shooter
  • Mount the power switch where the referees can see and reach it, possibly with a cover that looks like the one we photographed at the scrimmage
  • Take off the plates and the outer frame

This notebook was created with the assistance of Claude AI and Handy dictation software.