Mecha-Mayhem 2011

Event Description

Mecha-Mayhem will be back in 2011 for our 5th annual event. The CRCA is dedicated to making Mecha-Mayhem the best insect robotic combat event anywhere. To achieve this goal we offer: arguably the best small bot arena anywhere; an incredible venue; awesome awards; and a paid builder dinner. We have also in the past years we have also offered the largest cash prizes of any event in these weight classes, though this years prizes have yet to be determined.

One of our builders had the following to say about the 2008 event:

"Mecha-Mayhem was the best insect event ever, great insect arena; best I have seen any where, great management of the brackets and great bunch of bots to fight against. It was the only event I every come away from with a positive cash flow. So you can add on best prizes of any insect event. "

-Bill Kelly (Team Discover Magnetics)

For 2011 we plan to maintain this level of excellence, to produce an insect event of unmatched quality.

The CRCA is collaborating with the Hobby Manufacturers Associations iHobby Expo to produce Mecha-Mayhem 2011, slated for October 22^nd thru 23^rd. The iHobby Expo is the international showcase for the newest electronic hobbyist technology, models, and valued miniature collectables. Held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, the HMAs iHobby Expo will be in its 27^th year, with a projected attendance of more than 20,000. As the largest event of its kind in the world, the iHobby Expo is the perfect showcase for Mecha-Mayhem for years to come.

Alongside the CRCA, the Chicago Area Robotics Group will be running their annual Chibotica autonomous robotics problem-solving competition. At this annual event, dozens of the brightest amateur and pro robotics engineers will compete in "thinking robot" challenges: escaping mazes, robot combat sumo, and other complex tasks. Showing yet another dimension of this thrilling pursuit.


Schedule:
Thursday Friday October 20th-21st:
Open for demos
Showing Off
Sponsor Hunting
Early Check-in
NOTE: No Competition

Saturday October 22nd:
9am – 10:15am: Check-in Safety
10:15am-10:30am: Drivers Meeting / Prep
10:30am-12:00pm: Combat
12:00pm – 1:30pm: Lunch
1:30pm – 3:00pm: Combat
3:00pm – 3:30pm: Break
3:30pm – 5:00pm: Combat
Evening: Bot Dinner

Sunday October 23rd:
10:00am – 11:30am Combat
11:30am – 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00pm – 2:30pm: Combat
2:30pm – 3:00pm: Break
3:00pm – 3:30pm: Combat (Finals)
4:00pm - 4:30pm: Awards


Each day the building will be open at 8AM and close around 6PM. The expo is open to the public 10AM to 5PM. We will run combat during these hours. We are required by the show to have some down time so they can run other events, so we will likely have two 1 hour breaks during each day.


Rules:
Our rules will be based on the 2011 RFL Tech Regs configured similar to our 2010 event. They will be posted as soon as they are available.


Weight Classes Fees:

Pro Classes:

Class	Wheeled	Non-Wheeled	Fee
150g	150 gram	300 gram	FREE
Ant	1 pound	2 pound	FREE
Beetle	3 pound	6 pound	FREE

Frequencies:
Because this is a hobby show and there are other groups running R/C equipment we will be limited to specific channels in the 75MHz band. They are 62,64,66,68,70,72,74,76,78, and 80. We are also allowed to run 2.4GHz and 900MHz systems.


Lodging and Air Travel:
The iHobby event has generously offered to extend their reduced rates to us. More info can be found at the iHobby website as it becomes available.