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RBears6 wrote:Any ideas of what distances Nationals will have in store. A lot of people that I have talked to think both are going to be in the upper half like 6.3 and 7.6. Any thoughts or ideas of what might come?

See lines 2 and 3 of rule 4.e.: "A distance of at least 2.00 m must separate the targets." The farthest both targets can be is 6.00 and 8.00 m, but the bucket can still be anywhere.

We are in final preparations for nationals. Since FAQs are closed, at any competition this year has anyone seen the distance for the bucket shot not be measured to the center of the bucket? In other words has anyone seen the stated distance be to the front edge or other part of the bucket of the bucket? Thanks!

sci_guy wrote:We are in final preparations for nationals. Since FAQs are closed, at any competition this year has anyone seen the distance for the bucket shot not be measured to the center of the bucket? In other words has anyone seen the stated distance be to the front edge or other part of the bucket of the bucket? Thanks!

I've never bothered checking with the event supervisors at our tournaments since I've always assumed that the distances are to the center of the bucket. The Wright State Invitational provided a diagram of the device testing area setup, and their measurements were to the center of the bucket.

Anyone know what the winning score was for nats?

Anyone using an arm instead of shooting the ball out of PVC? Can you post pics of what it should look like? What type of ball are you using?

windu34 wrote:Anyone using an arm instead of shooting the ball out of PVC? Can you post pics of what it should look like? What type of ball are you using?

North Carolina Science Olympiad has a picture of one on their Facebook page.

bernard wrote:

windu34 wrote:Anyone using an arm instead of shooting the ball out of PVC? Can you post pics of what it should look like? What type of ball are you using?

North Carolina Science Olympiad has a picture of one on their Facebook page.

Anything a bit more...legit?

windu34 wrote:

bernard wrote:

windu34 wrote:Anyone using an arm instead of shooting the ball out of PVC? Can you post pics of what it should look like? What type of ball are you using?

North Carolina Science Olympiad has a picture of one on their Facebook page.

Anything a bit more...legit?

Was that kind of what you were looking for? I don't have any other pictures, but we could discuss possible improvements to this design.

Anything a bit more...legit?[/quote]
Was that kind of what you were looking for? I don't have any other pictures, but we could discuss possible improvements to this design.[/quote]

I was pondering a design that utilized a piston that is capped of so when pulled by the mass, it would create slack in a string attached to the arm and when the mass released, the piston would spring back due to the reverse pressure created and propel the arm and throw the ball.

windu34 wrote:

bernard wrote:Was that kind of what you were looking for? I don't have any other pictures, but we could discuss possible improvements to this design.

I was pondering a design that utilized a piston that is capped of so when pulled by the mass, it would create slack in a string attached to the arm and when the mass released, the piston would spring back due to the reverse pressure created and propel the arm and throw the ball.

After reading that once and not understanding it entirely the first time through, I think what you're describing might be rather complex, not that I doubt your ability to do it, but because I've seen very simple designs work very well, and it's usually much easier to troubleshoot when issues arise. Did you do this event this season, and if so, what approach did you use?