Storm the Castle B

knightmoves
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Re: Storm the Castle B-Counter weight

Post by knightmoves »

Sppscioly wrote: January 21st, 2022, 3:32 pm Hi All,
Reading through the rule for Storm The Castle and it states that the counter weight cannot be modified. It does not mention anything about it's attachment other than the need to accommodate the eyebolt or J hook. So does that mean that we can through bolt through the hook or eye bolt the counter weight to the arm so that it does not swing or have other attachments on the arm to prevent the counter weight from swinging. maybe even just taping the counterweight so it doesnt swing. Technically we are not modifying the counterweight but just want to be clear that the counterweight does not have to be freely swinging. A swinging Counterweight doesn't work with our fixed fulcrum design. Thanks
You are correct that you aren't required to use the hook bolt to attach the counterweight. I don't think taping is reasonable - that would leave residue on the counterweight - but somehow clamping or strapping it down so it doesn't swing seems perfectly legal, as long as your device with the clamps and straps present, but without the counterweight doesn't have net stored gravitational potential energy.

Just remember that you need to accommodate counterweights of varying sizes.
Last edited by knightmoves on January 24th, 2022, 12:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sppscioly
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by Sppscioly »

Thanks. Since there could be differences in the counter weight build, in that it’s up to the ES to provide the counterweight, should/could the teams bring various hooks, bolts, zip ties, clamps, tools, etc to accommodate the variability of the counterweight build? Will those things have to be impounded?
Some standardization would be nice so that they don’t waste their 8 minutes just trying to attach the counterweight if it’s not a universal fit. Would hope the ES wouldn’t be so diabolical. Haha
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by knightmoves »

Sppscioly wrote: January 24th, 2022, 4:04 pm Thanks. Since there could be differences in the counter weight build, in that it’s up to the ES to provide the counterweight, should/could the teams bring various hooks, bolts, zip ties, clamps, tools, etc to accommodate the variability of the counterweight build? Will those things have to be impounded?
Some standardization would be nice so that they don’t waste their 8 minutes just trying to attach the counterweight if it’s not a universal fit. Would hope the ES wouldn’t be so diabolical. Haha
You are correct that counterweights can (and probably will) vary - rule 6d tells you everything that you can assume about the shape and size of the counterweight.

Anything that is (or might be) fixed to your build (hooks, bolts, clamps, etc.) is part of the build, and must be impounded. Tools (scissors, wrenches, etc.) need not be impounded, unless you're going to use them as part of your catapault.

A picky ES might well interpret rule 3a to mean that all your spare clamps and bolts must fit in the 65cm cube in the ready-to-launch position (eg. piled on the base, in a small box at the base, etc.)

In a typical competition, the ES is on the clock to get all the teams moving through and competing. It's hard to let the schedule slip, because you've got lots of kids who are competing in other events, and can only show up for the build test at certain times. So you'll usually find competition time limits fairly strictly adhered to.

A particularly evil ES would construct a spiky weight that used the whole of the 15cm cube, and hung from the bolt such that the long diagonal of the cube pointed downwards. Whether you are likely to meet that sort of ES might depend on which competitions you go to ...
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by jgrischow1 »

6f says "Target and counterweight must be announced only after impound is over and must be the same for all teams. " But isn't the target chosen by the team? Can't they choose any distance they want? Isn't only the counterweight a "mystery" that's announced after impound? I must be misunderstanding something.
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by drcubbin »

mistee wrote: January 11th, 2022, 4:10 pm hello, my student working on this is having trouble with the part that holds the projectile. they used a toy egg and also some piece of cloth but both didn't work so far. what are some ideas they can try?
It seems the simpler the better. We used a David & Goliath sling and it releases fairly easily. I think it is called a Shephard's Sling.
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by drcubbin »

Umaroth wrote: December 5th, 2021, 10:26 pm Hi everyone,

I ESed Storm the Castle for Troy Invitational this past weekend. Congratulations to Sierra Vista Red for winning the event and all the other teams that competed.

First of all, I would like to apologize for the counterweights. I neglected to read the forums and I wasn't aware of the discrepancy between the rules and the event supervisor guide on SOINC. We constructed the weights using the guide that was on the event supervisor resources page, so it used an eye bolt. Once we found out, we retrieved hooks for teams to use with no penalty to accommodate the counterweights if they chose to use them. While not the ideal solution, it worked out well for teams that chose to use it. For teams that did not use the hooks, they were able to find creative ways to attach the counterweights like cutting a length of string off of the trigger device and tying the counterweights on. This ingenuity under pressure was very impressive. If anyone is running this event and sees this, I believe National's stance is that the rules should take precedence.

The next issue that some teams had was the low ceiling height. The event was run in a wide hallway with an approximately 13ft ceiling height. Needless to say, this was not ideal for teams that could make long shots. Still, teams persevered and were able to adjust their devices on the fly to avoid the ceiling. A total of three shots hit the ceiling out of the ten shots that asked for a target distance of 10m or more. Two of them were from a team that was not able to figure out a way to adjust their device, but the other team that had hit the ceiling made modifications for a successful second shot. This shows that the team has practiced extensively with the device and I was impressed with their quick thinking.

Finally, I have two shoutouts to particular teams. First is for Kraemer Gold, who was the only team to make any shots into the bucket for the +0.3* bonus. In fact, they made it in on both counterweights. they took their time aligning their device and this earned them 2nd place in the event. The second shoutout is to The Meadowbrook School, who was the only team to use their practice logs to calibrate their device. They hit the outside of the bucket on both counterweights, which got them the +0.15* bonus and earned them 4th place. The reason that a practice log is required is to help you as a competitor! The points you earn on the log should be easy because they are things you should already be doing to prepare your device. Document all the testing you do and use that data to improve your devices. This is what separates Science Olympiad from art.

Once again, congratulations to everyone who competed. Even if you did not do as well as you hoped, it is only December! You have plenty of time and possibly more competitions to practice before your Regional tournament. Just having a device this early is an accomplishment in and of itself. Be proud of all you have done and keep working hard.
Here is the score distribution:
Image

Tim Elnitiarta
Another 2 ES Storm the Castle questions:
1. When the team walks up they state the distance they want to achieve. Do they also choose the weight? Do they choose the 2nd shot distance as well?
2. What's the range? I remember Air Trajectory where there are a minimum and a maximum. But I can't find this in Storm the Castle rules.
Much appreciated!
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by Banana2020 »

1. The teams will say what distance they want for the launch after they say which weight they will start with, the team may only change bucket distance if they hit the bucket on the first shot.
2. Not really a range, the target distances have to be in 0.5 meter increments. The team could put the bucket at 0.5 but there is no max distance besides the wall
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drcubbin (February 2nd, 2022, 1:48 am)
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by jgrischow1 »

I think I have been interpreting the rules wrong...the bottom of the bucket bonus doesn't have to be "first contact", does it? It can hit the inside sides first, rattle around, and then hit the bottom, correct?
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by Banana2020 »

Yes it does not have to hit bottom at first contact
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drcubbin (February 2nd, 2022, 1:49 am)
“There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension than reality.” – Seneca
Nats 2022:
3rd EXPD!!
5th Electric Wright Stuff
5th Sounds of Music
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Re: Storm the Castle B

Post by jgrischow1 »

Banana2020 wrote: January 31st, 2022, 7:22 pm Yes it does not have to hit bottom at first contact
thx
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