House of Robotic Destruction at ColossalCon 2023

Event Description

  ORC is pleased to announce that House of Robotic Destruction will be returning to ColossalCon, a cosplay and gaming convention held at Kalahari Resort & Indoor Water in Sandusky OH.  ColossalCon features many events and actives that draw thousands of convention goers each year.  They are promoting HORD as a feature event and we are expecting that hundreds of spectators will be watching us, which makes this is a great opportunity to promote robotic combat so please help us by demonstrating good sportsmanship and good showmanship.

Schedule
(all times are tentative and subject to change as needed)

Arena Setup: 6:00am - 7:00am
Check & and Safety; 7:00am - 9:30am
Drivers Meeting; 9:30am – 10:00am
Fight Session 1; 10:00am – 12:30pm
Break/Demo; 12:30pm - 1:00pm
Fight Session 2; 1:00pm - 3:30pm
Break/Demo; 3:30pm - 4:00pm
Finials; 4:00pm-5:30pm
Awards; 5:30pm – 6:00pm

Clean Up; 6:00pm – 7:30pm

Please arrive at 7:00am with robots ready to safety and paperwork complete and ready to turn in. We plan on having a small test box so we can safety two robots at a time. Pit space will be limited so teams with only one robot will have to share a table with another team.

We will be in the Cypress room which has a loading dock on the east side of the convention center. When you arrive, please drive directly to the Cypress loading dock to unload your equipment. Map and additional details will be provided to you.

We absolutely must be out of the room by 7:30pm.  Based on the number of robots expected and the time allotted we will need to average about one fight every 5 minutes this will require everyone doing their very best to be ready for their next fight and to load and unload the arena as quickly as possible. Help setting up and tearing down the arena will be greatly appreciated.

Registration, Fees and Paperwork

The following must be completed before May 5th or your team will be dropped.

* Every robot must have a picture of a complete or near complete robot. Uploaded to BDB

* Names for every human on your team must be included on your registration.

* Submit cue card information via google forms (link will be sent to team captain)

* All fee paid.

Registration fees for this event will be $15 per robot.  Fees can be paid via paypal or by personal check via US mail.  To pay by check contact the registration coordinator for instructions. We are now setup to accept credit card payment through the BDB via Stripe.

Teams will need to fill out the ORC Safety Form for each robot attending and all [human] team members that will be in the pit area must complete a Release Form. Participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult who must remain on-site with them throughout the event. If the supervising adult is not a parent or legal guardian, please contact registration for special instructions.  Bring all completed forms with you to the event.

All forms can be found on the event page on the ORC website. 

Participant Passes

All HORD participants over 11 years old are required to have a ColossalCon day pass, ORC will be provided with a limited number of day passes for qualified personnel including; volunteers, robot drivers, pit helpers, and adults supervising participating minors.  Teams will be guaranteed 1-1/2 passes per robot (rounded down, ie 1 robot = 1 pass, 2 robots = 3 passes), additional passes may be granted if there is a reasonable need for them and they are available (some teams may not use all the passes they are entitled to).  To request additional passes please contact the registration coordinator.  If one or more of your robots fails to pass safety some or all of your team’s day passes may be revoked at the discretion of the registration coordinator.

Spectators Passes

Those wishing to watch HORD will need a ColossalCon full event day pass.  If there is sufficient demand, we may be able to provide group rate tickets for friends and family of HORD participants.  Regrettably we are not able to offer HORD only spectator passes.

Arena

Matches will run in the ORC 8’ x 8’ octagonal arena and will be 3 minutes long. 1-1/2 minutes into the match one 14" x 14" pit will open.

Rule set

ORC uses a slightly modified version of the SPARC.tool standard rule set. Please review the rule documents on the ORC website.

Tournament Structure

Classes with 6 or more robots will fight a modified double elimination. Due to time constraints, the final round will be single elimination; if the winner's bracket finalist is beat by the loser's bracket finalist there will not be a rematch. Weight classes with 5 or less robots will fight round robin.

Rumbles and grudge matches will be held if there is sufficient time & interest. Builders’ whose robots have been eliminated are encouraged to stay for rumbles.

Lunch

There are numerous food venders on sight, however lines will be lengthy, and we have limited time for breaks. It is recommended that builders bring a lunch. Coolers are allowed. 

Prizes and awards

ORC has several sponsors that provide a variety of robot related merchandise for prizes. Prizes and trophies will be awarded to the top finishers in each weight class and winners of any rumbles that are held. In addition, prizes may be offered to winners of special award categories at the discretion of the ORC staff. Special awards are typically given to non-finalist and may include;

Big Hitter; robot/driver that demonstrators exceptional weapon hits for its weight class.

Best Death Scene; robot/driver that suffers a spectacular knockout blow.

Excellence in driver; robot/driver that shows exceptional control and/or strategy

Showmanship; driver that show energy and enthusiasm, that plays to the audience, has the best costume and/or battle cry.

Rookie of the Year; Best first time driver in a weight class.

Award winning drivers will be allowed to choose a prize from the prize table in the following order; tournament top finishers largest weight class to smallest weight class, rumble winners largest weight class to smallest weight class, then special awards..

Break Time Entertainment

To help keep the audience engaged during the breaks in the main tournament we are currently seeking for individuals/group who can provide a 15 to 30 minute demonstration of something related to robotics.  If you have a robotics project you would like to demo or know someone who does please contact the registration coordinator.  If you have been on a Battlebots team and would like to be a featured guest please contact the registration coordinator.

About ColossalCon;

ColossalCon is a Japanese animation convention. Each year, they bring out notable voice actors and industry guests to be a part of the convention, with programming which features them throughout the weekend, as well as autograph sessions which are free to attendees.  They offer a wide variety of programming options throughout the course of the weekend which include costume contests, four dances, events and discussions featuring anime industry guests, game shows, and a wealth of panels about not only anime, but manga, video games and aspects of Japanese culture as well. They also have a large and spacious Dealer’s Room for all of your anime shopping, an Artist Alley for hand-crafted goods and art, and their own version of a flea market, for people to swap and sell their unused anime merchandise.

About Kalahari Resort and Convention Center

Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio, is a unique location, which offers a large convention center, plenty of accommodations and dining options, and the largest indoor waterpark in the country. Only minutes away from Cedar Point, Mills Creek Golf Course and historic downtown Sandusky, as well as an easy drive to Put-in-Bay and downtown Cleveland, ColossalCon is a premier beginning of summer destination.

Address; 7000 Kalahari Drive, Sandusky, OH 44870

Alternate; 7106 Milan Rd, Huron, OH 44839 (If your GPS system does not reconize the first adress try this, they are the same location)

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