The Challenger Space Center of Arizona was the site of the November 22 Challenger Competition for PAReX. The turnout was great and the action was intense.

History was made as a robot for the first time completed the expert level of maze competition, mapping the maze while searching for the tennis ball, displacing the ball, and returning directly to the start line. Congratulations to MegaMazer and Kelly Small.

The toughest competition was probably mini-Sumo. There were eleven entries. Winner Zorro had great pushing power, and lighting fast recognition of its opponent. Prior winner mini-Spat came in second and newcomer Flipper came in third. There was an increase in the preteen competitors this time with four young roboteers showing their stuff.

The novice maze saw five robots. Advanced and expert category participation were light this time with only two competitors in advanced, and one in expert. Mechanical problems kept a second expert entry from running.

Line following was new this event, being demo’d at last spring’s competition. The addition seemed to be appreciated, with eight robots competing.

We had special competitors come from the San Diego area. Seeing a write-up on the competition in the new Servo magazine, Chaparral high school of Temecula, California, pulled together a team of five students, and showed up to compete. Originally, Bill and Debbie Wooley were coming with their two sons. Debbie is a moderator of the school’s FIRST robotics team, and Bill mentors to the team. Things snowballed as friends found out and wanted to join in. Soon, there was a scramble for permission slips, a rush to complete robots, and arrangements made for lodging. The team went home with first and second place trophies in line following, and 2nd place in novice maze.

High schools were well represented at the competition. Cactus, Mesquite, and Cesar Chavez showed up from the newly formed Phoenix area high school robotics league. Those that didn’t have robots ready to compete came to see how it was done, and what made robots competitive. Chavez robots took 1st place in advanced maze and took 3rd place in the novice maze.

The club wishes to thank the Challenger Space Center of Arizona for again making available its excellent facilities for the competition. The Center is a wonderful resource for Phoenix and the state, providing educational activities for all ages. NASA’s touring Endeavor exhibit will soon be visiting the Center. It will be the site for the McCall Museum of Art, hosting the life collection of Robert McCall’s paintings of space. If you think of a painting of astronauts walking in space, or spacecraft blasting off, odds are that it was painted by Bob McCall. He painted the mural covering the six-story rotunda at the Center. He worked on: 2001, A Space Odyssey; Star Trek: The Motion Picture; and Black Hole.

Visit the Challenger Space Center web site to learn more about the Center, and Robert McCall.