Scores from last year

[Balsa Man]

. but it was my first tower and I'm proud of it.

You should be. That's quite respectable

[Luo]

I was at a competition in December where the winning C Div. tower won with a score of about 134.

Just wondering, what state are you from?

This score was by Menomonie High School (WI) at the Boyceville Invitational in December.

[sr243]

I was at a competition in December where the winning C Div. tower won with a score of about 134.

Just wondering, what state are you from?

This score was by Menomonie High School (WI) at the Boyceville Invitational in December.

Well, looks like I am screwed. I am doing WI high school SO for the first time and did towers for middle school. 9g held 15kg last year. That got 2nd for division B. However, I can't even hold 25 pounds for division C. Maybe I need to use a square base because the rectangular one is just too wide. That tower is like less than 9 g and 70cm holding the full weight. I don't even know how to compete with that.

[Luo]

This score was by Menomonie High School (WI) at the Boyceville Invitational in December.

Well, looks like I am screwed. I am doing WI high school SO for the first time and did towers for middle school. 9g held 15kg last year. That got 2nd for division B. However, I can't even hold 25 pounds for division C. Maybe I need to use a square base because the rectangular one is just too wide. That tower is like less than 9 g and 70cm holding the full weight. I don't even know how to compete with that.

At nationals in 2011, 9g holding 15 kg (score of 25) would have been 12th place in Division C. That's very good.

[Balsa Man]

[Maybe I need to use a square base because the rectangular one is just too wide. That tower is like less than 9 g and 70cm holding the full weight. I don't even know how to compete with that.

I assume "that tower refers to the 134 score- that's not just less than 9 grams, that's like 7.27 grams; seriously impressive. A 9 gr/70cm tower would score ~108. I agree with Luo; 9 grams holding full last year is very good; don't beat yourself up. You're a good builder, running into two new challenges in the jump from B to C. First is the lower base height and longer chimney (more force in the base legs & greater precision demands in the chimney); second is the height limit up to 70cm, which REALLY ramps up the need for precision- a chimney over 2 1/2 times as long as a B-tower last year. That's a big jump
There's been previous discussion of rectangular vs square bases Some argument over which is/could be lighter; a clear downside is less stability. If a rectangular is narrow in the long direction (like you see a number at 5cm wide, like a short bridge with a chimney sitting on it), and the chimney is not tapered (in from the sides and the ends), you're fighting an uphill battle, IMHO. With parallel sides you have essentially zero margin for error - in your build, and in the levelness of test surface.

Good luck getting your strength up.

[lucwilder42]

I was at a competition in December where the winning C Div. tower won with a score of about 134.

That I would for sure call "good."
At a 70cm height, that would be a hair under 7.3gr, carrying full. At a 50cm height (for comparison to last year) that would mean a 5.05gr tower, carrying full - i.e., second place at Nationals last year.

Balsa Man, what're your predictions for the stats on the first place Nationals tower this year?

[Balsa Man]

I hadn't really thought about it.......
I have a pretty good feel for the range the top few will likely fall into, but The Winner (be it tower, bridge, or boom) is almost always amazing; a significant interval ahead of the pack; one person who puts in a lot of time and really gets it right.
....Something better than 134 (on the Regional scoring basis, which would be ~92.8 on the National basis)
.....Given the score weighting for tall, it'll be 70cm
....There is not all that much left in the realm of the possible above 134... Purely a guess, another half gram. That would mean a Nats score of like 100.7

And now that I've said this, somebody is going to pop out of the woodwork and bump that a bit....

[alecfxl]

I was at a competition in December where the winning C Div. tower won with a score of about 134.

This score was by Menomonie High School (WI) at the Boyceville Invitational in December.

Well, looks like I am screwed. I am doing WI high school SO for the first time and did towers for middle school. 9g held 15kg last year. That got 2nd for division B. However, I can't even hold 25 pounds for division C. Maybe I need to use a square base because the rectangular one is just too wide. That tower is like less than 9 g and 70cm holding the full weight. I don't even know how to compete with that.

Don't worry, the next highest score by a WI team was <50. Menomonie medaled at Nationals in towers last year and also in elevated bridge not long ago so they're obviously well ahead of other teams in the state. 134 is impressive but when comparing to last year you have to realize only the chimney is effectively being extended. So it wouldn't be a linear relationship for mass to height compared to last year. With that said, I can see someone hitting 6.5g although many of the earlier State competitions this year may prevent some from really honing down on a spectacular design.

[Mr Tower]

Hi, states is in a week and since in my state we have no regionals, I have no idea what were up against. The top score for our tower would be 100 almost exactly and I would expect that to win knowing last years tower from our team would have gotten a score of 75ish calculated in this years scoring. For those of you who have had their state competitions already, is this accurate or no? We are an average team at nationals and we placed 25th in towers last year with all different people than this years towers.

[sr243]

Hi, states is in a week and since in my state we have no regionals, I have no idea what were up against. The top score for our tower would be 100 almost exactly and I would expect that to win knowing last years tower from our team would have gotten a score of 75ish calculated in this years scoring. For those of you who have had their state competitions already, is this accurate or no? We are an average team at nationals and we placed 25th in towers last year with all different people than this years towers.

If your score is 100 for states, then you have a 8.3g tower holding the full weight and 70cm. That is pretty impressive. I would say in most states, that would be first. However, there is always a chance that someone builds an amazing tower. I would say, almost 100%, that it would get in the top 3 for states.

I was at a competition in December where the winning C Div. tower won with a score of about 134.

This score was by Menomonie High School (WI) at the Boyceville Invitational in December.

Well, looks like I am screwed. I am doing WI high school SO for the first time and did towers for middle school. 9g held 15kg last year. That got 2nd for division B. However, I can't even hold 25 pounds for division C. Maybe I need to use a square base because the rectangular one is just too wide. That tower is like less than 9 g and 70cm holding the full weight. I don't even know how to compete with that.

Don't worry, the next highest score by a WI team was <50. Menomonie medaled at Nationals in towers last year and also in elevated bridge not long ago so they're obviously well ahead of other teams in the state. 134 is impressive but when comparing to last year you have to realize only the chimney is effectively being extended. So it wouldn't be a linear relationship for mass to height compared to last year. With that said, I can see someone hitting 6.5g although many of the earlier State competitions this year may prevent some from really honing down on a spectacular design.

Yeah, I am not expecting to win first in towers. It is surprising though that WI has a top 3 towers team. If I were to work on tower alot and perfect my deisng and skills, I think I might get around 8.0g holding the full weight. However, I barely have enough time to work on towers. I will probably just aim for 10g holding the full weight. That should medal and possible place in the top 3.