Mock GART is an annual internal competition organized by GreenAms 6520 Robotics Team. Even though the event has only been held in the last 3 years, it became a traditional event of the club, receiving lots of anticipation. The event was attended by the head teacher of the club, Mr. Nguyen Van Bac and parents of active club members.

Mock is an event simulating FIRST Robotics Competition - the international high school robotics tournament with the largest attendance on the entire globe. The event aims to create the most complete robot building and design for the club members, and it is also a great opportunity for them to be exposed to the rules and tasks close to the ones in international tournaments and for them to be prepared mentally before entering huge competitions. According to the organizers, this is a special Mock because it was highly affected by Covid-19, preparation and practice time has been shortened from two months to only half a month. The members had only half a month to design, build and practice with their bots. However, with enthusiasm and passion, everyone has fully prepared for the competition in a short period. This is undeniably a great effort of every member. 

The field is divided into 2 halves, separated by 3 podiums, one of which is called a stage. In both halves are yellow, blue and red boxes arranged alternately in 2 horizontal lines. Members of the club are divided into 2 teams: blue team and red team. Before each match, 2 teams will have to draw a color then use their bot to travel through 2 halves of the field to pick up boxes in the color which they have drawn and drop them in the storage area. After moving all boxes to the storage area, the 2 bots will have to go up to the stage to end the match - a difficult task for heavy robots. The tournament comprised of 2 parts, including 5 matches: the 1st part is 25 seconds long with bots operated automatically and the 2nd part is 3 minutes long with bots operated under control.

Red team’s members “take care” of the team’s bot before the competition

The competing field of Mock GART 2021

The competition kicked off with the flag ceremony and national anthem singing as in international tournaments.

Flag ceremony and national anthem singing before the competition

A match full of excitement and engagement between 2 teams

After the flag ceremony, 2 teams started to draw their team’s color. In this year’s competition, all 5 blue teams drew red and red teams drew blue. The kick-off was dramatic with skillful drifts, breath-taking clashes between the bots. Finally, the competition ended with a score of 03 - 02 and the winning team is the blue team: they convincingly won 3 out of 5 matches. Though the red team did not win, they made spectacular comebacks in the competition. This is also the first time the blue team has won the championship in this annual Mock.

The final part is the closing and awarding ceremony for the victorious team. There are 5 awards altogether: Quality Award, Engineering Excellence Award, Industrial Design Award, Automatic Running award and the ultimate championship for the winning team. The red team excellently got the Quality and Industrial Design Awards while the blue team received Engineering Excellence, Automatic Running and the grand award for the winning team.

The competition ended in the delight of the winning team and a little regret of the other. Above all, after this match, club members gained precious lessons and experience to prepare for bigger tournaments and this is also a good memory for all members of the club.

Reporter: Nguyen Dieu Ly - Chinese - English 2023

Translator: Nguyen Minh Anh -  Russian - English 1821