Midwest U.S. Robotics Club
Great plains Robot Showdown

August 10, 2002
Olathe, KS, USA

All right! A competition only two states away! The only thing Becky and I had to bring was a small breifcase that contained Tinbender which built in one day on the weekend prior to going to Kansas. I didn't have time to build anything else, besides I was asked to be a judge for the non-antweight events. When we arrived at the Holiday Inn in Olathe, KS, we found many of the teams working on their robots in their motel rooms. The competition was to be held across the street at The Great Mall of The Great Plains, so some of the MURC members were there setting up. The arena was in the air-conditioned Mall and there were some pretty big crowds pressing in to watch all day. The pit area was in a yet-to-be-developed store which kept us isolated from the masses.

This competition was put together by MURC members who lived far apart from each other, but coordinated the effort like pro's to pull it off. They chose the Kansas City area as a central location for all the teams expected to come. There were several teams from Colorado, Wyoming, Wisconson, Nebraska, Missouri, and yes, even Kansas. Most teams consisited of young kids, but there were a couple of us 'older guys' there too (but I'd have to admit I was the oldest). The kids mothers probably weren't used to seeing their kids competing against adults, but in the robot combat world, that par for the course. Hey, I don't like getting beat by 10 year olds, any more than they like getting beat by me! It was great fun and well organized. They had a proffesional DJ (Mark) that MC'd the show and played many different tunes that fit well within the theme of combat and competition. Mark Played Kung-FU Fighter for our team Robotodojo! We had a great time meeting new folks and talking with fans. The best finish that Tinbender could do was a fourth in the 1-lb Antweight division and placed 2nd in the rumble. It was a weird experience driving something so slow compared to the big iron of my other bots. I've got a whole new skill set to learn. Fighting these little bots create just as much tension as the big ones do!

Ted Zeiger and his team Cosmos from Colorado took the lion's share of the trophies which were better than most of the competitions I'd been to. Everyone had a great time, and most of us that stuck around to break down the combat arena went out to eat at a local steak restauraunt (Oscar's). There were 24 of us at the table. If you like building 1-lb, 3-lb, or 12-lb bots, you've got to put the next MURC event on your calender

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