As a follow-up to the unaired 2009 Pro, Collegiate and High School Championships, a series of BattleBots Championships was proposed to take place between April 6 and April 11, 2010.
Opened to competitors from various BattleBots and Bots IQ disciplines, the Championships were postponed indefinitely for largely unknown reasons. The official BattleBots website subsequently announced that they had been deferred to align with 'new opportunities' presented to them around this time, though these - and the Championships themselves - ultimately did not materialize.[1]
Event Information[]
Competitions[]
Events proposed included a Pro Championship for 220lb Heavyweights along with Collegiate and High School championships open to 120lb Middleweights, each running to a 'double elimination' tournament format. Alongside these, BotsIQ 15lb combat and 'task oriented' events would also be organized. The Innovative Class - first introduced at the 2009 Championships - would once again be open to builders showcasing more experimental designs.[2]
Rule/Division Changes[]
Archived versions of the official BattleBots website suggest that the 2010 Championships would have introduced an updated ruleset across all competitions. Specific changes highlighted included the introduction of an 'active weapon' rule for the High School Championship, in line with similar requirements already in place for the Pro and Collegiate Championships by this time.[2]
BotsIQ 15lb events were to be separated into two divisions - Red for 'heartier and more damaging bots', and Blue for newcomers and teams choosing not to compete in the Red division. A Tryfecta reward system was to be implemented for High School teams competing in both BotsIQ divisions and the BattleBots 120lb Championship.[2]
BattleBox[]
Information on the BattleBox arena and hazards is very limited, although the official website suggests that the Killsaws and 'contestant-controlled' Pulverizers would have likely returned.[2]
Location and Filming[]
Locations initially considered for the 2010 Championships included Miami, Florida; Buffalo, New York; and the San Francisco Bay Area, California.[3] Archived versions of the BattleBots website confirm that the latter was ultimately chosen as the event's proposed venue.[2]
Alongside this, the BattleBots website confidently suggested that the 2010 Championships could have potentially been televised. Thus, it can be inferred from their statement that BattleBots had intended to film these in a similar approach to that adopted for the 2004 NPC Charity Open and 2009 Championships.[2]
Cancelation[]
Ultimately, following their subsequent postponement, the 2010 BattleBots Championships never took place, suggesting that they had quietly been canceled altogether.[1] Only BotsIQ events would ultimately run during the initially-planned timeframe, taking place at Miami on 8-16 April, 2010 in the form of that year's BotsIQ National Championship.[4]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 BattleBots website, listing details and the indefinite postponement of the 2010 Championships (archived 28 January, 2010)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 BattleBots website, listing details of the proposed 2010 Championships (archived 27 December, 2009)
- ↑ BattleBots Twitter post on possible venues for the 2010 Championships, 10 August, 2009
- ↑ Builders Database page on the 2010 BotsIQ Nationals