In 2013, Miss Daisy traveled to the Las Vegas Regional for the first time. This year, from March 25th to March 30th, we were back to compete and have fun yet again. This trip marked further improvements of our robot and our match performance, opportunities to meet students from across the country, China, and Germany, and to tour exciting places in and near the city of Las Vegas.
Between our two district competitions, we had drastically improved Miss Daisy XIV’s efficiency and scoring capabilities. Our first full day in Las Vegas was filled with practice matches and with adding two container-stabilizing arms to the top of the robot. Although we had some technical issues during that day, we were able to close it out with a fun team social hosted by Team 987, the High Rollers. During our qualification matches the next day we were able to make a stack of four or five totes, often with a container on top. At the end of the first day of qualification matches, we received the Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers Entrepreneurship Award for our sponsorships, community service efforts, and business plan.
By the end of qualification matches, we were ranked in thirty-third place. During alliance selection, the third-ranked team, Team 1251, TechTigers, selected us to form an alliance. Our next pick was Team 4800, Rage Against the Machines. We competed in exciting rounds of quarterfinal matches with an average score of 122.5 points. After three heated semifinal matches, we were defeated.
Despite being quite busy during the day, we had free time during the evenings. We walked the famous Las Vegas Strip and saw the fabulous Bellagio Fountain show, famously known as the “Dancing Fountains”. We went to the AdventureDome, an indoor amusement park complete with roller-coasters and other thrilling rides. After the competition ended, we stayed an extra day in Las Vegas to squeeze in some more fun. We visited one of the greatest engineering achievements in recent history, the Hoover Dam. Then, we went hiking in the Valley of Fire State Park, climbed Elephant Rock, and looked for deep meanings in four-thousand-year-old petroglyphs. Our last activity was attending a Penn & Teller comedic magic show. This was a memorable trip that will never be forgotten by Daisy mentors and students alike!
