The epic robot showdown series BattleBots returned in June 2019 to much fanfare. The longtime series features teams of two or more people constructing their own destructive robots to send in for clashes against the competition.
The Discovery channel show also has fans wondering, who are the BattleBots judges and other personnel including the hosts or announcers?
BattleBots judges include former contenders
For this ninth season of BattleBots, there are three judges who award points for the various battles. The scoring involves a seven-point scale. The teams and their robotic representatives get three points for damage inflicted and two for aggression. There are also two points awarded for control of the robot.
Serving as the Battlebots Season 9 judges are Derek Young, Lisa Winter, and Jason Bardis. All three are former contenders on different teams throughout the history of the show too.
Young (on the left in the Instagram pic below) was the team leader for 2016’s Mission Destruction with their robot competitor Complete Control. Viewers can follow him at Instagram here.
Lisa Winter (center), was on the team Robotic Action League and built their robot Plan X in 2015. That team returned with Mega Tento in 2016, also designed by Winter. Check out more of her pics and videos via her @lisawinterx Instagram page.
Jason Bardis (pictured above on the right), was also part of the 2016 season with The Infernolab. He designed their robot competitor The Disk O’Inferno. His official Instagram is @theinfernolab.
Who are the BattleBots hosts, announcer, and reporters?
Hosting each week’s episode of BattleBots are two personalities some people may know from other sports they cover or were part of. One of them is Chris Rose, who is known for his coverage of MLB and NFL action. Joining him as a host is Kenny Florian, a former UFC fighter.
Very flattering face while going Duck hunting. #BattleBots airing right now on @Discovery #SpoilerAlert Duck somehow survived. pic.twitter.com/EDQwLDSD7p
— Chris Rose (@ChrisRose) June 29, 2019
In addition, there’s an announcer and a sideline/backstage pit reporter.
Faruq Tauheed is the ring announcer. His style of introducing the contenders and their robotic combatants has become something fans love to see and experience with each episode. His official Instagram below shows off a video clip of one such introduction.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Byf3nVaHZ_3/
Providing the pit reports or behind the scenes coverage is 31-year-old Fox Sports reporter Jenny Taft. She started with Fox Sports North before hosting different shows on FS1. Taft has also been in France for Women’s World Cup soccer coverage on Fox. Find out more about Jenny at her official @jennytaft Instagram account.
BattleBots is currently in its ninth season. Viewers can watch the two-hour episodes on the Discovery channel every Friday or repeats on the Science Channel every Wednesday. However, the episodes on Science are now 12 days behind the newer ones that show on Discovery due to programming lineup changes.
Get more information about the show at the official BattleBots website.
BattleBots airs Fridays at 8/7c on Discovery.