RABID Presents: Immersecon Invasion

Richmond Area Bot Instigated Destruction (RABID) is thrilled to announce our next event: RABID Presents: IMMERSECON INVASION, in partnership with ImmerseCon 2025, a thrilling STEM and gaming convention! Join us for an electrifying weekend of robot combat on August 30-31, 2025, at the Hilton Hotel & Spa/Short Pump.

We’ll be showcasing our 6ft x 6ft antweight arena for combat and our 4ft x 4ft arena for demos, allowing the public to experience robots as part of this immersive convention!

Location: Hilton Hotel & Spa/Short Pump 12042 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23233

Event Schedule:

• Saturday, August 30:

  • 10:00 AM: Doors open to competitors, safety checks begin.

  • 11:00 AM: Mandatory safety meeting, tournament starts shortly after.

  • A standard, smaller-scale tournament featuring Plastic Antweights and Full Combat Antweights in a double-elimination format for a chance at victory and prizes!

  • Note: Competitors, please bring your bots ready (or as close to ready) for safety checks. All bots must failsafe when the radio is turned off. If you’re unsure what this means, reach out to us at rabidrva@gmail.com or on Discord.

• Sunday, August 31:

  • 11:00 AM: Doors open, arenas set up for open testing, grudge matches, and public demonstrations.

  • SUNDAY FUNDAY: Bring your robots to test or battle in front of the ImmerseCon crowd. Share your ideas for Sunday activities on our Discord.

Entry Fees & Tickets:

• Robot Entry Fee: $40 per robot, includes a 2-day ImmerseCon pass! 🎟️ (e.g., enter two robots, get two passes!)

• Spectator/Pit Passes: Up to two additional passes for friends and family at $20 each (a $20 discount off the regular $40 ticket price).

Sign Up: Register your bot on BuildersDB: https://buildersdb.com/Immersecon2025

Classes:

• Plastic Antweights

• Full Combat Antweights

Rules:

• We follow modified SPARC rulesets for all classes. Download the rules here.

• Approved materials for Plastic Antweights: Printed PET, PETG, ABS, ASA, PLA, PLA+, and TPU.

• Motors, wheels, fasteners, and electronics do not need to be printed but must not be significant structural parts.

• Non-printed parts should not be exposed in a way that they can be hit or hit another bot. Bots should be as 3D-printed as possible.

• Prohibited weapons: No heat, fire, smoke, entanglement, or weapons that violate the spirit of the rules.

• Weight Bonuses:

  • Shufflers: 1.25x bonus (568g ant/plant, 188g fairy)

  • Non-traditional locomotion (e.g., gyro walkers, bristle bots): 1.5x bonus (681g ant/plant, 225g fairy)

  • True walkers (no continuous rotational movement, including vibration motors): Full bonus (908g ant/plant, 300g fairy)

• Battery Safety: Batteries must be protected at all times. If a battery becomes exposed during a fight, the match ends, and the bot with the exposed battery loses. Charge batteries in LiPo bags.

• Bots will have at least 20 minutes between fights for repairs. Later in the day, we may enforce this time strictly.

• Unsticks: One attempt at an unstick only if both bots are stuck. If they cannot be unstuck or get stuck again, the match goes to the judges.

Format:

• Double elimination tournament

• 2:30-minute matches

• Judging: Panel of 3 judges (5 points damage, 5 points aggression, 5 points control)

Prizes: TBD

Volunteers: Want to help out? Email us at rabidrva@gmail.com or reach out on Discord. We’re a 501(c)(3) organization and can sign off on volunteer hours.

Sponsors: A huge thank you to our sponsors: Turnabot, Itgresa, SpünSpoon, and CAD Class! Use code RABIDRVA at checkout for 10% off anything in the CAD Class catalog.

Contact: Questions? Check out our website: https://www.rabidrva.com Email us at rabidrva@gmail.com or join our Discord: https://discord.gg/H5wQnJXAVh.

Don’t miss this epic collaboration with ImmerseCon 2025, featuring tabletop gaming, esports, cosplay, and more! https://www.immersecon.com/

Let’s make sparks fly! ⚡ #ImmersecoinInvasion #RobotCombat #BattleBots #RABIDRVA