Circuit Stormers are a

Another day at the tournament, and our last day!

If you missed reading about our first day, you can read about Istanbul Tournament Day 1.

It wasn't quite so early this morning, which was a nice change.  The bus driver didn't know how to get to the tournament site.  The first time we saw the venue, but it was across the river.  The driver didn't just head for the nearest bridge, he turned around and went back to the first bridge.  Then he tried to follow the river to get back to it.  After asking directions a few times, driving up small, winding roads that may never have seen a tour bus before, we finally got back to the venue.  Then the driver missed the turn for the entrance.  He went up a ways, turned around and then finally got us to the tournament.  It was a good thing we started out early!

At 9:30, the kids had the project interview.  The skit went well, and the judges seemed to enjoy it and they asked some good questions.  One of the judges really thought the kids should patent their idea for an innovative solution.

After that, they had some time at the practice table.  We never did find our downloading cable, so we borrowed one from another team.  Michael had been talking with the guitar player from Team Integra (Turkey), so he asked if he could borrow their cable.  They worked on the programs, mostly adjusting turns and light sensor check points.  

Their second robot run was at 10:45.  It went better, but still only 240 points.

One consolation is that lots of teams were having trouble with the light sensors.   There were a large number of teams who had scored 400 at the their tournaments, but their robots were scoring under 150.  The shadows on the tables were terrible.  In the practice area, there were skylights running the length of the room.  Every time the sun came out, it completely changed where the shadows fell and it was nothing like the actual tournament tables.

In the tournament room, the light was all stage lighting with a series of overhead spots.  The bridge managed to cast three shadows on the table, one to the one to the east, one to the west and a third one under the bridge.

There were letting teams test on the actual competition tables.  But each team only got 2 minutes.  Basically, you could identify the first point when the light sensor didn't work, but that was about it.  And, of course, the spot lighting caused different shadows on every table.

Some teams did have robots that were working successfully.  About 4-5 teams had scored 400 points by the end of the second round.  During the coaches' meeting, it seemed like about half the coaches thought their teams would be scoring 400 points!

One of the most interesting was the team from Singapore.  They had very, very large attachments.  There were about 5-6 different items, each one was almost the size of base.  Each one used a variety of different mechanisms.  For example, one had a long arm that reached out behind the truck.  When it hit the far side of the table, it knocked loose an extension that fell at a right angle.  Then they used gears to draw the extension closed to the arm, collecting the four loops around the horseshoe.  The robot and most of the attachment were still in base, so the could just pick up everything and move the loops to base by hand.

Another team had an interesting idea where they went straight down the table, then shot the cannon to the left to down the access marker at the far end of the table.

It was interesting to see all the different ways the teams solved the challenge.

Today felt much different at the tournament.  By lunch time, the interviews were all over, and all the teams only had one robot run left.  Everyone was more relaxed and the the teams had more time to talk, play and make music together.    The team across from us was Integra.  They had everything from guitars to drums and started playing music.   Kids from all different teams would wander over and sit-in for a couple of songs and then wander off.  Lots of kids just gathered around to listen.  You would never know they were all competing against each other in a robot tournament!

Our team was very excited about their final run which was right after lunch.

The first 20 seconds went fine, then something went wrong and the robot got stuck by the ramp.  They had to rescue it and decide if they should re-run the robot, or just move on.  They decided to move on to Fling, but a chunk of time had been used up. Fling worked perfectly and they started Access.  All their changes paid off and the robot turned perfectly and went right under the bridge.  Circuit got over the dynamometer and knocked down the first access marker, and then time ran out.  

The team was disappointed that the robot hadn't scored higher.

We headed back to our pit area, and there was a volunteer waiting for us.  We had a call back for the research project!  

It was the first time any of our teams had ever received a call back so we had no idea what to expect.  But it was a good sign that the judges wanted to see the team again.  Given the level of competition at World events, it's fantastic to even get a call back.

The kids quickly got all their props together, changed into their costumes and headed back to the project room.  For the first round of evaluations, there were 3 different rooms with 4 judges in each.  For the call back, all 12 judges were in the room.  The skit went well, and the judges asked a few questions, but not really a lot which was a bit of surprise.

Now there was only waiting.  It was about 2:30 and the finals were scheduled for 4pm.  The kids went outside and started a game of Capture the flag.

For the Closing Ceremonies, they had all the teams line-up and introduced the teams as they entered similar to Open Ceremonies. 

The finals were fun to watch, but even here there were teams having problems.  One of the top teams in the tournament only scored 85 in the quarter final.  All four teams that made it to the semi-finals had 400 points.  They had talked about how they would handle ties but it wasn't need.  In the final round, one team scored 365 and the other team scored 370!  The team with the highest score was Integra from Turkey.

For each of the awards, they announced the top three teams that were considered, and then announced who won.  Circuit Stormers were nominated for the Against all Odds, and Most Creative Presentation.  Unfortunately, we aren't bringing home a trophy, but we all have some wonderful memories.

The team got to meet other teams from around the World, see lots of new ideas, and have the experience of a big tournament.  

I asked the kids what was their favourite thing at the tournament.  The answers included the noise, the Technical Interview, the lunch, and being nominated for two awards.

When asked what they would do differently, general consensus was to bring noise makers.  Some teams were very effective at getting lots of attention to their team using everything from stomping with wooden clogs to blowing whistles.

Another idea was to be more prepared for different conditions, like the lighting. 

They all had a great time!

Read about Istanbul Tournament Day 1.

See video and pictures on the Smart Moves Istanbul website.

Tournament day has arrived!

We had an early morning, and lots for props to take to the tournament. 
Here's a picture of us as we were heading to the bus.

And no, that's not all our luggage we brought with us.  The suitcases
and boxes hold all the stuff the team will be using at the tournament. 
There's everything from the Circuit Wheel and Unicycle for the presentation, to
the cookies and decorations for the pit area.

As we arrived, they had posters up outside the conference centre.  The white text says,
"The Children of the World Meet in Istanbul".

As we entered the building, we had to go through airport like screening. 
Everything had to go through x-ray machines.  It must have been an
interesting day for the men viewing the screen images!  

Originally there were over 70 teams invited to the tournament.  First, the
tournament had to be rescheduled when the volcano in Iceland erupted in April,
and then there was a political incident involving Turkey during  the first
week of June.  Over 50 teams from all around the world did make it to the tournament. 
We saw teams from Singapore, Korea, all over Europe, South Africa, Brazil,
Mexico, United States, and of course, the Circuit Stormers were representing
Canada. 

Registration was very fast, then we were off to find our pit area.  

The notes said our pit area would be 3m square with 1 meter open space between us
and the other team, and would have 'tables'.  When we got there, it was 3m
long but about 1 m deep. 

The kids did some quick thinking and then came up an idea of how they could
create the space they had planned for.  They could use chairs to block out the extra space and put up their decorations.   We had collapsible tent poles that could be attached to the chairs to hold up our Canada and BC Flags.  The pit turned out pretty well.

At this point, we checked out the electrical plugs to make sure we could
recharge the battery pack for the robot.  Despite having, two energy
converters, a plug adapter, two battery rechargers and a power cord, nothing
seemed to work.  We finally went to talk with a team from the US to see if
they could help.  They were happy to let us recharge our battery packs
using their set-up.  Thank you to The Things from Minnasota.  

The coaches' meeting was long, detailed and surprising controversial. 
We are all suppose to be using the same rules, but it became clear that each
country has their own way of doing things and the same rule can be interpreted very differently around  the world.

The basic format of the tournament will be what we expected.  There will
be an interview for their Research Project where they do their
presentation.  Then there's a Technical Interview about the robot. 
Teamwork will be judged in the pit areas.  Each team will have 3 robot runs
with the top 8 teams advancing to the finals based on their highest
score.  

The first official event was Opening Ceremonies.  The costumes and noise volume was
unbelievable.  The team ahead of us in line had megaphone they they were
using to chant and that was just while we were waiting in the line-up! 
Another team used whistles to create different rhythms.  One team of Boy
Scouts brought their Marching Band.  The team from Germany had everyone in
wooden clogs to do lots of stomping.  It was amazing to see all the
different ways teams showed their spirit.

The actual Opening Ceremonies were a lot of fun.  There was everything
from a large children's choir to all the teams on the stage dancing the Macarena
together!

We had a quick lunch and then our teamwork interview was at 1pm.  We
were their first team.  They came and visited our team in our pit
area.  Unfortunately, the noise level was so loud that the judges had to
cluster around close to the kids to hear them at all.  It was almost like a
football huddle!

Next up was our first robot run.  Poor Circuit had some challenges with
the lighting on the table in the Competition area.  It is a stage area, so
it is lit by spot lights.  They cast shadows in different patterns on every
table.  The table we were assigned today had the worst shadows.  The
light sensor kept finding the shadow instead of the black lines.  The final
score for that run was 140 points.

It was discouraging for the kids since they had scored 400 points at their
last tournament and then again in our practice at home.  But they know it
is only the first robot run and there will be two more tomorrow, both of them on
tables with fewer shadows!

After that, the kids had their technical interview which went much better
than the robot run.  The lighting was better so the light sensors worked!

One of the technical judges had a lot of fun watching some of the ideas the
kids had come up with.  He was laughing when the robot threw the loops back
to base.  Like always, the judges rushed to catch the robot as it went
across the bridge.  It looks like it will drive right off the table. 
At the last minute, it stops in the perfect position to score maximum
points.  That always impresses the judges. 

It was a very good interview and the team should have done well.

The team came up with an idea to put an extra shield around the light sensors
which might help with the shadows.  We'll see if they decide to use it
tomorrow or not. 

After all the events finished, all the teams went on a cruise on the
Bosphorous.  We saw lots of different landmarks.  Michael and Duncan
spent some of the time showing Michael how to pass when juggling.  Then the
other kids joined them and they played a game similar to Monkey in the
Middle.  After a few minutes, to of the officials joined them and they all
played for about 20  minutes. 

At one point, the officials all gathered for a group photo.  There are a
lot of officials at such a large event!  

This group photo doesn't even include the Technical, Project or Teamwork
judges.  It really is just the volunteers who help out with everything from
running practice tables to runners who make sure the teams are at their
interviews and activities.

When we arrived at the tournament, we were surprised to see the volunteers in
red and white T-shirts.  At the BC tournament, our shirts were almost the
same shade of green as the volunteers.  Here we are in Istanbul with our
new red and white shirts, and again, we had chosen the same colours as the
volunteer shirts!

Then we had a visit to the technical museum, dinner and the talent
show.  Duncan and Helen did a great skit that had the audience laughing
throughout it.

Our day started at 6am and it was after 9:30 pm when we got home.  It was a
great day, but very, very long. 

Read about Istanbul Tournament Day 2.

See video and pictures on the Smart Moves Istanbul website.

Helen Leslie, Duncan Silversides Liam Donaldson, Michael Furmek

Thank you to our Sponsors for helping us go to Istanbul.

Race View Bed and Breakfast in Victoria, BC, Canada is where you'll experience the West Coast at its finest.

The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. regulates and governs the professions under the authority of the Engineers and Geoscientists Act by setting and maintaining high academic, experience and professional practice standards for all members.

Firgelli's innovative line of micro linear actuators and Linear Servos will drive a new generation of compact robots, R/C models, and motion-enabled consumer products.  They work with LEGO NXT robots too!

From the deep ocean environment to hazardous waste sites, Roper Resources Ltd. has the product to assist you in your tasks.

At Vecima Networks, we design, manufacture and sell products that enable broadband access to cable, wireless and telephony networks.

On March 20, 2010 the Circuit Stormers and their friends cycled to from "Frankfurt" to "Istanbul" and back. 

They were delighted to be joined by some members of the Hurricanes, another local FIRST LEGO League team.

CIRCUIT CYCLE  is a bike-a-thon to raise funds for their tournament in Istanbul.

Thanks to the Hurricanes who have been collecting pledges too and have raised over $1,500 to help the Circuit Stormers go to Istanbul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Special thanks to Josh who raised over $1,200. and won the draw prize for people who collected pledges from outside our team.

Pledges are still coming in so this is a preliminary estimate.  The current total is over $4,100. 

Thanks to our sponsors!

Cobs Bakery (Oak Bay)

Sports Traders

Utopia Silk Screened T-shirts

Canadian Springs Water

If you can´t participate, but you would still like to help, you can donate online!   Via PayPal with a credit card.

       You don't need a PayPal account to donate.

Find out more about the Circuit Stormers.

The Circuit Stormers are the 2009/10 British Columbia 
FIRST LEGO League Provincial Champions!  

Helen Leslie, Duncan Silversides
Liam Donaldson, Michael Furmek

Teams that win a Championship Tournament are qualified to compete at a World Event.  For 2010, there are three championship events being held around the world  (Istanbul, Atlanta, and Taiwan).

The Circuit Stormers have been invited to compete at the European event in Istanbul Turkey in June 2010!

The Circuit Stormers raised over $11,000 to help pay the costs for the team to compete at the European event in Istanbul Turkey in June 2010!