From Charles Sent Thu, Aug 5th 1999, 20:43
From Charles Sent Thu, Aug 5th 1999, 20:43
Attn: SoCal Freaks,
The mechanical carnage known as BattleBots is only 10 days away. Although
it isn't a music event, I think it will appeal to many of you in the SoCal
scene. Here's the official press release, check it out and who knows,
maybe
I'll see ya there! - Charles
--------------------------------------
Blast-Off With BattleBots: Robotic Combat At The Long Beach Pyramid
Saturday, August 14th and Sunday August 15th
Long Beach, CA - The first ever competition of BattleBots(tm), the emerging
sport of robotic combat, comes to life Saturday, August 14th and Sunday,
August 15th, 1999 at the Long Beach Pyramid on the California State
University Long Beach campus at 1250 Bellflower Blvd. There will be two
sessions each day: a 9:00am morning and a 3:00pm afternoon program, each
approximately 4 - 5 hours. See the BattleBots website at www.battlebots.com
<http://www.battlebots.com> for all the details. Tickets for each day or
individual sessions can be purchased separately starting at $25 or other
various package and pricing options are available. Call the Long Beach box
office for all ticket options at 562-985-4949. Or for single session tickets
only call Entertainment Network at 888-ETM-TIXS or go to www.etm.com
<http://www.etm.com>. The BattleBots infoline is 415-558-8385.
Over 70 of the worlds finest robots from as far away as Israel and the UK
will participate in this inaugural BattleBots competition. Following this
California competition, there will be four BattleBots events this year and
further opportunity to compete for cash, prizes and glory in the world's
fastest growing competitive sport.
Part SRL (Survival Research Laboratories), part Burning Man, BattleBots
celebrate the burgeoning sport of robotic combat through a contest of
battling machines. Utilizing destructive weapons such as saws, drills,
hammers and spikes, competitors design and build "BattleBots". This is the
ultimate contest of engineering, strategy and creativity, and the goal is
survival. BattleBots is great entertainment for the entire family and an
exhilarating experience you'll never forget.
The remote-controlled gladiators, with their malicious weapons of mass
destruction fight their way through various opponents while spectators are
protected by the "BattleBox(tm)," a cleverly engineered, menacing 2500
square foot arena equipped with obstacles like saws and spikes. Each robot
must survive not only the attacks by the other Bots, but also the hazards
provided by the contest organizers.
Three classes of robots, sorted by weight, and reaching up to three hundred
pounds, will make the event a marvel for the fans and the ultimate challenge
for the participants.
"This new and exciting event is a way to capture the minds of young
scientists and engineers all over the world and to show people the amazing
technology that can be accomplished by putting your mind to the test," said
BattleBot's founder Trey Roski.
These robotic machines are separated into three weight classes of robots.
Lightweight Kilobots range from 25 - 83 pounds, Megabots weigh between
84 -164 pounds and in the heavyweight division, Gigabots minimum weight
requirement is 165 pounds and can reach up to 300 pounds.
There are two match-type events that the BattleBots may enter. The first
event is the Robot Duel. This is a five-minute, action-packed one-on-one
battle between contestants from the same weight division. The second match
that a BattleBot may enter is the Robot Rumble. This is a free-for-all
combat between all BattleBots of the same weight division. Robot Rumble
is a no holds barred contest to try to eliminate enough BattleBots to
advance to the next round.
BattleBots Inc. will award over $25,000 in cash and prizes to various
winners from both the Robot Duel and the Robot Rumble in each of the three
weight categories. Top prize in the heavyweight GigaBot class is $5,000 and
$4,000 respectively.
The complete BattleBot tournament will be televised on Ziff-Davis' ZDTV
cable channel as well as cybercasted on their website http://www.zdtv.com.
The diversity of Bot makers is as wide and varied as the names they
dream up for their precious Robots. Everything from the painful
(Deathtrap,
Dr. Inferno, Executioner and Vlad The Impaler) to the playful (Harvey Wall
Banger, Ginsu, Killerhurtz, Son of Smashy and Ronin) are scheduled
participants this year. Lisa Winter, a 12 year old girl from Wisconsin wins
the "youngest competitor" award for her Bot Tentoumushi who will battle it
out in the KiloBot division.
Fans will be amazed by the imagination and ingenuity of each BattleBot, and
will walk away with a thirst for more. Lucky for the fans, there will be
more BattleBots challenges in the months to come.
# # #
For more information please contact Lynn Hasty at 323-466-5141 or
xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx <mailto:xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>. Please let me know
if you would like an extensive "Robot Information Links List" that I've
compiled for your research and entertainment pleasure.