On March 19, 2011, the Green Egg Robotics Team took one step closer to Orlando, Florida and the World Championship by way of the 2011 New England VRC Championship. 43 teams representing high schools from throughout New England were in attendance at the event held in Worcester, Massachusetts at QCC. GER was competing in their first "home" competition of the year having traveled as far North as Bangor, ME and as far South as Maryland in their previous competitions this season.
Fred IV (version 4) had a fine day at home on this day. Changes made to improve speed and power in the drive system proved effective, as did tweaks for increasing efficiency in gathering goals. Fred IV went through the Qualifying rounds undefeated although did run in a snag (literally) during a qualifier against team 817, Sparticles during the autonomous period which had them intertwined for nearly half the match. One spectator in reaction to the incident said, "It reminds me of when 2 teenagers with braces try to kiss." That match ended with a tie score once robots were able to free themselves.
GER finished qualifiers as the 3rd seed. The first and second seeds made their selections leaving GER free to pick old friends the Sparticles, Team 817 as their first pick. Light Speed Robotics, Team 3010A filled out the alliance with their unique mobile goal scoring design that impressed spectators during the qualifiers.
The GER alliance moved through quarters and semis undefeated despite mechanical problems that troubled team 3010A in the quarters. The finals series pitted the GER alliance against a team captained by a determined team from South High School, 2606B. Their alliance included a strong defensive robot which had an eerie resemblance to Fred IV from Vermont's team 4886A, and a low hanger from Holden's team 998. Match 1 went to the GER alliance but match 2 went to the South High alliance as team 3010A's robot suffered from mechanical issues after the autonomous period. 2606B and 998 proved too much for team 44's robot in the 2 v 1 match. The final match saw intense defensive work from team 4886 on Fred IV. Despite the efforts of 4886, Fred IV managed to load 4 goals under the ladder. 817 worked their magic on the outer walls and the GER alliance ended up winning the final match 40-18.
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| NE Champs! Teams 44, 817 and 3010 |
The win marked the second year in a row that GER has teamed up with 817 to win the New England Championship title. Also, the win capped the 4th consecutive tournament championship win in as many entered this season. Team 817 was the recipient of the prestigious Excellence award.
Next up for GER is the 2011 VRC World Championship to be held in Orlando, FL on April 14-16, 2011.
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