DCS earns top awards at tourney

Delhi Charter earned top awards at the St. Paul’s Clawbot Tournament this Saturday.
Four DCS high school and two DCS middle school teams competed against 16 other teams from Covington, New Orleans, Mandeville, and Baton Rouge. 
Early in the qualifying rounds, the DCS teams were plagued with mechanical issues such as loose axles, stripped gears, burnt out motors, and even wheels falling off their robots, but they overcame those challenges to earn spots in the quarterfinals.
Highlights of the day include a stunning 56 point win (the highest score that day) from an alliance of DCS teams 8892B and 8892C during the semifinals.  DCS team 8892A scored an impressive 22 points in the drivers’ skills challenge, 11 points higher than the second place team, earning them the top trophy in that event. 
At the middle school level, DCS earned 31 points to share the Teamwork Champion Award with the 1881 Institute of New Orleans.
The finals were a particularly harrowing matchup between DCS teams 8892B and 8892C, and an alliance formed by DCS team 8892A and St. Pauls team 9553C.  During round one of the finals, DCS team B and C missed their autonomous points, allowing the DCS/St. Paul alliance to score a win of 32 to 30.
  In round two, the DCS B/C alliance came fought back with a vengeance, scoring 42 to 25 over the DCS A/St.Paul C alliance.  This upset was partially due to an axle collar and wheel slipping off of the DCS A robot during the match. 
After a quick repair, the most intense match yet was fought in the final round of the finals, with the DCS B/C alliance winning at the buzzer by a single point with a final score of 38 to 37.
Overall, it was an auspicious start for the 2017-18 robotics season, with DCS taking home both Tournament Champion Awards, the Skills Challenge Award, and the Teamwork Champion award. DCS will now spend the next month designing and constructing new robots before their next match in El Dorado, Arkansas on Nov. 11.