Kassel - Eindhoven

We also only needed a few hours to get to the World Championships in Einhoven. It's practically around the corner. Alarm clock at 5 a.m., start at 6 a.m. in Kaufungen (Ben, Kathrin and I), departure at 7 a.m. after refueling and picking up Moritz and Ludwig, including luggage at the CNG filling station in Kohlenstrasse (yes, this time we met right there, I couldn't forget to refuel, see here). Without any major incidents and a short break, we were already at the (sports) hall where the rescue competition (line and maze) takes place at 11:00 am.

Unpack and get started. Code for all we're worth. Test, test, test.

Meanwhile, Kathrin and I had a look around the "Geneper Parken" area. A large sports hall with grandstands housed the major soccer disciplines in particular. The junior soccer pitches were set up in one corner of the hall. The stage and hands-on activities were located in a very large tent and the major leagues "Industrial", "@Work" and "@Home" were located in the far corner. Next to it were the "Humanoids", the big ones and the "Kid Size". In a gymnasium, where normally there are probably mainly basketball courts, there was a court in the middle, separated by windows from the second floor, which allowed a good view of the court. This is where the big siblings of our robots were housed: "Rescue Major". This allowed a very good view into the arenas, some of which are surrounded by high walls.

The OnStage discipline, like the Rescue discipline, was on the second floor, but in different sports halls. I didn't like the way the juniors were torn apart. The volunteers from all over the world also missed "experiencing something together"...

At 4 p.m., after the opening ceremony, Kathrin and I drove to the vacation home settlement a bit away from Eindhoven to pick up our front door key in time for 5 p.m..

We brought our own food for dinner: Linguine with sauce. Afterwards, Kathrin and I relaxed. The boys were still programming late into the night...

Ben's video from the first day.