Team 836, The RoboBees attended Rumble in the Roads, an off season event held at Menchville High School in Newport News, Virginia on November 5, 2016. A total of 30 teams competed at the event, and were scheduled for a total of 6 qualifying matches. The RoboBees won 4 and lost 2 of their qualifying matches, leaving them ranked in 3rd place going into alliance selections. They were asked by the number 1 seeded team, Team 384 Sparky 384 from Richmond, Virginia, to join their alliance. Team 5957 CAT 5 CyberCanes, a rookie team from Newport News, Virginia, was asked as the third team to join the alliance. This first seeded alliance won their first two quarter final matches, moving them into the semi finals. After losing the first of their semi final matches, they came back to win their next two, moving them into the finals. Teams Sparky 384, The RoboBees, and CAT 5 CyberCanes alliance went on to win two consecutive matches in the finals, making them the winning alliance for the 2016 Rumble in the Roads.
There was a large diversity of experience among the teams at the event this year; from first year rookie teams to world champions. Competition at times was quite spirited, with robots playing different roles on the field, whether it be playing defense, making high shots, breaching defenses, shooting low, or hanging at the end of the match, all aspects of the STRONGHOLD challenge were demonstrated.
This was a great off season event revisiting the game of STRONGHOLD, allowing The RoboBees’ robot, Warhog one more event before retirement. Congratulations to all the teams that participated, and our thanks go to Team 2363 Triple Helix, and Team 1610 Builders of Tomorrow (BOT), and Menchville High School for hosting the event.