March 25 - Reminders

11 days to go before Friday night inspection and safety. A few updates and reminders for builders. See March 5th update below for additional information.

First, we wanted to recognize our two sponsors for the event, Prototek Digital Manufacturing and Repeat Robotics!

Prototek (formerly Sac EDM) is returning for its 7th year as one of PART’s platinum sponsors, providing high quality water jetting, CNC and WireEDM services.

Repeat Robotics is our newest sponsor providing prizes for winners: NRL $60/$40/$20 , PLANT Jr Bot $40/$20/$20 and PLANT education (open) $40/$20/$20

The NRL combined prize pool is $310 1st Place, $140 2nd Place, $90 3rd place

1) Hotels
We have arranged discounted hotel rates for you through the Placer Valley Tourism Office. Please book directly through the SBB page on the tourism website to get these great rates. https://www.placertourism.com/events/sacramento-bot-battles/

2) Payments & Team Profile due now!
Payments are due now - please scroll down to make your payment today. $20 per Plastic Ant, $50 per 15lb Robot.

3) Waivers Are Required & Online due date April 2nd
Anyone with pit access or competing must complete the Online Waiver no later than April 2nd so we can cross check against teams prior to Friday. This includes advisors, students, and any parents that need pit access. For large groups/15lb teams, we will send you a list of completed waivers so you can cross check with your team members.

4) All fights begin on Saturday, including Plastic Ants We do want all teams to complete inspection Friday evening if at all possible. We can handle a few exceptions but will not be able to delay the start of fights on Saturday waiting for teams. Reach out to the EO for details. Plastic Ants will fight in the 6x6 PART insect arena (steel floor)

5) Friday Builders Social, Check in & Inspection
Check in and inspection will run from 5-9pm, teams will be allowed to use the arenas when they are not being used. Complementary Pizza dinner Friday should arrive at ~6:30.

6) Full Snack Bar on Saturday!
Coffee, donuts and full snack bar available for purchase on Saturday. Cash or Venmo only

7) NRL Nationals Update
XtremeSTEM has announced that NRL Nationals on May 10th in Springfield, OH will be a HS event only . The top 4 HS teams from SBB will be eligible to register. More details will be posed on the XtremeSTEM website in the next 2 weeks

8) Robot Safe Handling
Reminder to review the NRL Bot Handling Guide and NRL Best Practice Safety Protocols documents. Reminder, Robots may not be powered on at any time unless in an approved test box or arena. We have a a dedicated battery charging area outside of the main 15lb pits the year. Bring your own safety glasses - they are required at all times in the pits or while handling the robot (installing batteries for example) pre and post fight.

March 5 - Builders Update

We’re one month away from 5th Annual Sacramento Bot Battles, pease see the following updates for competition. This year we are running 3 different brackets: the 15lb championship event, an open education Plastic Ant Bracket, and closed Jr Bots bracket for new builders for ages through 9th grade.

As a result, our drivers meeting will be at ~8:30am and fights will begin at 9am. We need all teams to arrive Friday evening for check in and inspection between 5-9pm . Please contact the Event Organizer asap if this represents a hardship. The last couple of years we have had late last minute no shows as well as teams struggling to pass inspection. Please be prepared to pass inspection when you arrive!

1) HOTELS

We have arranged discounted hotel rates for you through the Placer Valley Tourism Office. Book directly through the SBB page on the tourism website to get these great rates. https://www.placertourism.com/events/sacramento-bot-battles/

2) PAYMENTS & TEAM DETAILS

The robot combat event page reserved your space . Please complete team profile google survey so we can get a headcount for Friday dinner. Payment is made via Placer Robotics website.

Cost is $50 for 15lb robots, $20 for PLANT education class. To pay for your enter, select the correct brack and click add to cart on registration product below..

—> LINK TO TEAM PROFILE GOOGLE SURVEY

Sac Bot Battles 2025

from $20.00

Registration for 1 Team

Bracket:

Quantity:

3) REQUIRED WAIVERS ARE NOW ONLINE

We have moved to electronic waivers for the event. Waivers are required for all team members, advisors and any other adult with pit access. Minors (under 18) must be signed by legal guardians. Waiver Link to Sign and share with tour team members

4) TEAM CHECK-IN FRIDAY EVENING

The event is being held at Sierra College, Rocklin CA in Building J. Use Parking Lot B and enter through the front entrance. The team check in desk will be setup in the main cafeteria / arena room. Campus Map

Friday 5-9pm for check in and inspection/safety. Saturday doors open at 7:30, all teams are required to attend the drivers meeting at ~8:30am You will receive your pit wristbands and pit location at check in.

5) ROBOT SAFE HANDLING PRACTICES

Adhere to Best Practice Safety Protocols and the NRL . Be ready to demonstrate your knowledge and follow the safe robot handling/load in procedures as specified in the NRL Bot Handling Guide (fail safe setup, weapon safety, power up procedures, etc). All teams must pass safety and inspection to participate in the competition - visible safety lights, weapon locks to spec, fail safe, and safety disconnects. Reminder - no Lipos. See the full NRL Technical Regulations and other NRL documents

6) TEAM EVENT SCHEDULE

Friday

5-9pm - Pits open. Builders social, check in, inspection and bot functional testing in arena. (Public not permitted Friday evening)

Saturday - tentative, finals start time dependent on repair time, etc.

Doors Open to Builders 7:30AM

Doors Open to Public 8:15 AM

Drivers Meeting 8:30AM

Fights begin ~9:00AM

Finals & Awards ~5:00 PM

VEX Skills/IQ Showcase 10AM - 4PM

7) PIT OPERATIONS

Pits are restricted to teams and designated advisors only - no spectators
Wrist band and safety glasses required at all times during in the pits
Soldering is permitted in the team pits provided the team takes caution and follows safety practices
Grinding, corded power tools not allowed in the team pits. Contact staff for the designated working area
ABSOLUTELY No Powering on of Robots in the Pits - no exceptions. Robots may only be tested in the arena
Dedicated Battery Charging Area - New this year, we will have a dedicated battery charging station outside of the pits

8) AWARDS - for each Bracket

1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
King of the Ring Rumble Winner
Coolest Bot (Voted on by teams)
Most Destructive (Determined by judges)

NRL Nationals is also back , hosted by Xtreme Bots in Ohio on May 10th! The new host will be running separate college and high school tournaments - more details to come soon.

9) COMPETITION FORMAT

Double elimination format - plants will fight in modified double elimination, NRL bracket TBD if standard double or modified
Tap outs are permitted
Teams eliminated early will have the opportunity for additional exhibition “grudge” or friendly matches in addition to the final King of the Ring Rumble/
You are guaranteed 20 minutes between fights (30 if schedule allows), teams will be informed if they are put on the clock
If you are participating in both the PLANT bracket and the 15lb bracket, you MUST prioritize being ready for 15lb fights. You will not received extra time for your 15lb repairs if you are running two robots.
Early matches will go fast! Queue up early and be prepared to fight. As the day progresses, we will do our best to give teams the necessary repair time - we want to see combat action. The smoother the start, the more time for repairs later

The 15lb event uses the NRL Rule Set, the Plastic Ant uses the PART Rule Set (based on the Sparc 1.5 rules) - see the RobotCombatEvents page for links to the Plastic Ant rules, including which materials are allowed. No TPU for Plastic Ants!

10) ARENA DETAILS

15lb: We will be using the same 10-sided arena in the past year. We We will do our best to level the floor and minimize the seams, but play the ground game at your own risk. Make sure to review the “unstick” rule provided in the NRL rule set (section 5.4)
Plastic Ant: We will be using the new PART 6x6 arena.

11) 15lb COMPETITION IS BASED ON 1 “BOT”

The competition format is based on one robot / team - in other words, the bot that passes initial inspection is the one you must compete with throughout the event. Robot design, durability and serviceability are key factors in competing in Bots IQ events. Configuration changes to the original bot are permitted provided the team can complete the changes and re-inspection in the time allotted (20 minutes guaranteed). You may prepare spare parts, pods, etc, but must make repairs based on the original bot that passes safety inspection.