  Please refrain from adding match information and results until FaceOffs fights are released on the official BattleBots YouTube channel. |
Team VALKYRIE, formerly known as Questionable Designs, are an active team who have competed in every BattleBots season since World Championship III with their heavyweight entry, Valkyrie.
The team earned a career-best Top 16 finish during their third season, and won the Most Destructive Robot Award following the conclusion of the 2020 season. Originally captained by Leanne Cushing, former Team SawBlaze and Team JACD member Lucy Du took over the reigns from 2022 until 2024.
- "BattleBots has been fun and quite the learning experience for the past five years, and it's time for me to pass the spotlight to another lady in engineering. Lucy is a smart, caring, and talented mechanical engineer who always demonstrates the importance of mentorship - reflecting our values on Team Valkyrie to inspire and enable the next generation of young engineers. I'm excited to see the new version of Valkyrie flourish under her leadership in the coming season."
- — Leanne Cushing on Instagram[1]
Team Members[]
Leanne Cushing[]
Captain of Team VALKYRIE for their first four seasons, Leanne Cushing previously attempted to compete in the 2016 season with Preying Mantis, though the team could not get it to show sufficient mobility. She entered BattleBots as one of the first female captains in the show's history, bringing experience in mechanical, aerospace and computer hardware engineering and two decades of experience with robotics systems.
She stepped down from the team in 2022, handing captaincy to Lucy Du for World Championship VII due to conflicting work schedule.[2] After expressing a desire to return for future events[3], it was revealed in September 2024 that she would return for the BattleBots FaceOffs tournaments beginning later that month.[4]
Outside of BattleBots, she has also judged for the September 2022 National Havoc Robot League events, filling in for Jack Tweedy. She also entered RoboGames 2023 as one of the drivers of middleweight multibot KickFlip, where it lost its first battle to Cornholio and then fell out of the tournament after losing to Max-Q.
Frederick Moore[]
Similarly, Frederick Moore helped form the team behind Valkyrie following an unsuccessful time competing in World Championship II. As part of the Danger 4 team, Road Rash was reduced to a single three-way rumble and was a reserve for the main competition. A mechanical engineer by trade, Moore drove Valkyrie from its BattleBots debut in 2018 until BattleBots: Champions I. Ahead of World Championship VII, he joined Omega Team as they entered both RIPperoni and Starchild into the season.
He also competed in NHRL events with his 30lb robot Marathon, which was ranked #3 in its division ahead of the March 2023 event.
Dr. Lucy Du[]
HaLuCynation reunited at BattleBots in 2016.
Formerly part of Overhaul and SawBlaze, Lucy Du was appointed Valkyrie captain in 2022 in the absence of Leanne Cushing, and also Valkyrie for the seventh reboot season. She held over 12 years of robotics experience ahead of her first BattleBots captaincy role. She also drove the robot for World Championship VII and BattleBots: Champions II, and in preparation, built a 3lb version of Valkyrie to practice driving the design.
Outside of BattleBots, she currently competes with her own 12lb robot HotLeafJuice, which is driven by David Jin of Ribbot. In 2021, HotLeafJuice won the NHRL finals and became the grand champion of its weight class. She fights in various weight classes with undercutters Boomerang and Ka-Blooey Tango, and has previously competed as part of Team HaLuCyNation alongside Cynthia Lu and Hanna Lin with robots such as Destroying Angel and Deathcap. Ka-Blooey Tango placed third in the NHRL 'New Year, New Bots' event, qualifying for the end of year Championship in the process. In the March 2023 NHRL event, Du competed with Ka-Blooey Tango as well as a 3lb robot called Jasmine Dragon. She returned with Ka-Blooey Tango in May 2023, winning the Golden Dumpster in the 30lb division after going unbeaten.[5]
Lucy Du was interviewed by Today in June 2023, discussing combat robotics as well as the National Havoc Robot League on national television. Ka-Blooey Tango registered for RoboGames 2024 in the 30lb division, picking up second place overall in the full combat division.
In mid-2024, she completed her biomechatronic PhD degree having developed a robotic prosthetic ankle over the course of six years. It was confirmed in August 2024 that she would step aside as Valkyrie captain as the team entered BattleBots FaceOffs later in the year.[6]
Alex Crease[]
Alex Crease is a design engineer and the dedicated outreach coordinator for Team VALKYRIE. He remained on the team ahead of World Championship VII, where he took over as weapon operator ahead of their third battle against Malice.
Amanda Fowler[]
Joining the team in 2019, she specializes in design work and fabricating parts for Valkyrie. Like Frederick Moore, she also broke off to compete with Omega Team in 2022.
Lucas Ewing[]
Lucas Ewing joined Team VALKYRIE ahead of the 2020 season, notably machining and also fabricating various parts for each Valkyrie build.
John Mayo[]
Having been present with Team SawBlaze from 2016 until 2021, John Mayo joined Lucy Du and Valkyrie for World Championship VII. By day, he works on various robotics projects and provided hardware for NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.
Morgan Locandro, Lucy Du and Bam Singhasaneh with Valkyrie during World Championship VII.
Esme Abbot[]
Joining the team under Lucy Du's captaincy, Esme Abbot is a mechanical engineering student who assisted with the design, manufacturing and assembly of the World Championship VII Valkyrie build, notably assisting with reworking its weapon system to run off belts rather than chains.[7] In 2023, she began competing in the National Havoc Robot League with a 3lb robot named VLOOKUP().
Regan Tattersfield[]
One of Team VALKYRIE's new recruits for World Championship VII, Regan Tattersfield competed in the National Havoc Robot League with a beetleweight version of Valkyrie, fittingly named Valkitty.
Bam Singhasaneh[]
Another new team member picked up in 2022, Bam Singhasaneh is an MIT student and part-time math teacher. She was credited by the team for redesigning the internal layout of Valkyrie ahead of the team's first season under new captaincy. In March 2023, she made her National Havoc Robot League debut with a 3lb undercutter named Nightlight and returned in May that same year.
She assisted with the development of a drone for the YouTube videos produced by Mark Rober and Dude Perfect in 2024.
George Tan[]
George Tan competed with his first solo-built robot, a 3lb beater bar named Verserker, in the September 2023 NHRL event.
Morgan Locandro[]
Morgan Locandro is a mechatronics engineer who began an all-female FIRST Robotics team ahead of her BattleBots debut. She also joined Team VALKYRIE in 2022.
Robots[]
| Name | Weight Class | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Valkyrie | Heavyweight | World Championship III World Championship IV World Championship V BattleBots: Bounty Hunters World Championship VI BattleBots: Champions I World Championship VII BattleBots: Champions II |
Win/Loss Record[]
- Wins: 18
- Losses: 13
See Also[]
Trivia[]
- Since August 2022, Team VALKYRIE have shared a workspace with Team Ribbot.
- Team VALKYRIE were involved in the first Appeal in BattleBots history, during Valkyrie's fight against Malice in Episode 9 of World Championship VII.
- Team member Bam Singhasaneh caught COVID-19 during filming for World Championship VII, and was therefore only present mid-way through the season.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci-dVHnsoLJ/
- ↑ Valkyrie (Surprise!) on Outside of the Box (Ep. 37)
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=783742312875470&set=pb.100037191266262.-2207520000
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/C_ej4hKBAGN/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr9D7nyszdk/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/C_L74pehyAs
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Coxb2j5uKiQ