The 2012 Beantown Blitz- Save the Date!

[Brandon Holley]

Hi Everyone-

The NUTRONs and our sponsors are proud to announce the dates for the 2012 Beantown Blitz. We know its months away, but planning is already well underway, and we want to make sure teams know exactly when the Blitz is happening this year!

When: June 2nd, 2012
Where: Matthews Arena @ Northeastern University
Boston, MA

We look forward to continuing the tradition of the Blitz and continuously improving the event. It is sure to be another great year in Beantown!

Good luck in the 2012 season!

Registration is not yet open, however if you are interested in more information, please direct all inquiries to beantownblitz@gmail.com


-Brando

[Rosiebotboss]

Put Rosie on the list...:)

[Koko Ed]

Sounds doable.

[Brandon Holley]

We are happy to announce that registration for the 2012 Beantown Blitz is now open!

Please register by having a team mentor email beantownblitz@gmail.com

Any questions regarding the event can be posed here or sent to beantownblitz@gmail.com


We're looking forward to hosting our biggest and best Blitz ever!

Good luck to everyone out at events in the coming weeks!

-Brando

[Chi Meson]

Aluminum Falcons will be there with the Fat Swan.

[Brandon Holley]

Aluminum Falcons will be there with the Fat Swan.

We're stoked to have the Falcons, and our long lost twin robot, the Fat Swan!

-Brando

[arthurlockman]

Why does it always have to be on the same day as the SAT subject tests? :(

[Brandon Holley]

We are aware of unfortunate conflicts with other events and SAT dates. However, the weekend we have chosen is the only one available and is consistent with our past Blitz dates. We apologize in advance for the scheduling conflicts, but will continue to keep the Blitz on its current weekend, which falls on June 2nd this year.

All that being said, the Blitz is shaping up to be another fantastic event this year. Last year teams competed in practice matches, 7 qualification rounds, a mentor tournament and an elimination bracket all in one day. We are hoping to even outdo that this year!

Spots are going fast, so we invite teams to sign up as soon as possible by emailing beantownblitz AT gmail DOT com.

Current team list:
125
1071
1761
2168
78
3280
1991
121
839
176
172
3451
529
1058
348
2871
3236
1100
175
88
1027
1965
2079
133
61
2888
2713
2423

Come join us for one of the country's premiere off-season events!!

-Brando

[grim]

can you post the registration cost and what might be included similar to Battlecry?

[Brandon Holley]

can you post the registration cost and what might be included similar to Battlecry?

Registration cost is $300. The price of registration also includes 2 XL pizzas with beverages for your team.

Last year we sold t-shirts in a unique way with the Amazing Minibot T-Shirt Race! The feedback from that was extremely positive, so we are going to implement a similar type of "game" for t-shirt sales. Details are not yet finalized, but stay tuned!

We will also be making some minor changes to this years game, which again are not yet finalized. Stay tuned for more information on that as well.

We are looking forward to hosting another fantastic Beantown Blitz. We only have a few spots remaining in the event so we ask that anyone looking to join the fun contact us as soon as possible by emailing: beantownblitz AT gmail DOT com.



The current team list stands as:
61 BVT Robotics
69 HYPER Robotics
78 Air Strike
88 TJ Squared
121 Rhode Warriors
125 Nutrons
133 Bonny Eagle Robotics Team
172 Northern Force
175 Buzz
176 Aces High
348 Norwell Robotics
467 the Shrewsbury Colonials
529 Mansfield Hornets
839 Rosie Robotics
999 Crash
1027 Mechatronic Maniacs
1058 PVC Pirates
1071 Team Max
1100 T'Hawks
1124 The UberBots
1474 Tewksbury Titans
1761 Lynn Tech Robotics
1965 MSJA Eagles
1991 The Dragons
2079 Alarm Robotics
2168 Aluminum Falcons
2423 KwarQs
2713 iRaiders
2871 Beantown Botz
2888 Beaver Bots
3236 TriForce
3280 Rhode Rebels
3451 Team Boss
4311 SwampScott


Good luck to every team with the rest of their season!

-Brando

[Nathan Streeter]

Why does it always have to be on the same day as the SAT subject tests? :(

1519 would love to attend (Beantown Blitz has always been one of our favorite off-seasons!), but between the aforementioned SAT subject tests being that day, Mayhem in Merrimack being that day, my wedding the day before (so my father and I will be occupied), and another 1519 graduate's wedding the same day in Ohio (his father is another core coach), I don't see Mechanical MAYHEM being able to make it down for the event!

[Brandon Holley]

1519 would love to attend (Beantown Blitz has always been one of our favorite off-seasons!), but between the aforementioned SAT subject tests being that day, Mayhem in Merrimack being that day, my wedding the day before (so my father and I will be occupied), and another 1519 graduate's wedding the same day in Ohio (his father is another core coach), I don't see Mechanical MAYHEM being able to make it down for the event!

1519 will be missed. We love having you guys in Beantown.



The 2012 Beantown Blitz is currently FULL! 42 teams are registered and ready to compete on June 2nd. We do have a wait list started, and as some teams may drop out, we would strongly encourage anyone who wants to join the fun to put their name in now! Simply email beantownblitz AT gmail DOT com to sign up.

We are also starting to fill volunteer roles. If you have a strong interest in volunteering at the 2012 Beantown Blitz, again email beantownblitz AT gmail DOT com and put "Volunteer" in the subject line.

We look forward to hosting the biggest and best Beantown Blitz ever!

Current team list:

61 BVT Robotics
69 HYPER Robotics
78 Air Strike
88 TJ Squared
121 Rhode Warriors
125 NUTRONs
133 Bonny Eagle Robotics Team
172 Northern Force
175 Buzz Robotics
176 Aces High
177 Bobcat Robotics
348 Norwell Robotics
467 the Shrewsbury Colonials
529 Mansfield Hornets
839 Rosie Robotics
999 Team Crash
1027 Mechatronic Maniacs
1058 PVC Pirates
1071 Team MAX
1073 The Force Team
1100 T'Hawks
1474 Tewksbury Titans
1511 Rolling Thunder
1761 Lynn Tech Robotics
1965 MSJA Eagles
1973 Burning Tigers
1991 The Dragons
2064 Panther Project
2079 Alarm Robotics
2084 Robots by the C
2168 Aluminum Falcons
2423 KwarQs
2713 iRaiders
2871 Beantown Botz
2877 Ligerbots
3236 TriForce
3280 Rhode Rebels
3451 Team Boss
3555 Aluminati
3780 Unicorn Attack
4048 Redshift
4311 Big Blue


-Brando

[Brandon Holley]

Attention Teams! The Beantown Blitz is just over 2 weeks away. We have a full event, and we are looking forward to hosting the biggest Blitz ever!

The Beantown Blitz planning committee wants to bring to the attention of teams attending the event the following information regarding game changes, lunch, tshirt sales and more:


Game Changes @ the 2012 Beantown Blitz:
The Beantown Blitz planning committee has discussed extensively what tweaks to Rebound Rumble we should make. Below are the changes to expect at the 2012 Beantown Blitz:

1. Rule [G25] states: Robots may not contact or otherwise interfere with the opposing Alliance Bridge.
Violation: Technical-Foul. If the act of Balancing is interfered with, also a Red Card and the Bridge will be counted as Balanced with the maximum number of Robots possible for that Match.

The Beantown Blitz committee is going to amend this rule so interfering with another team’s bridge will only result in a regular foul (3 points to the opposing alliance). If a referee feels a team has violated this rule intentionally, a technical foul will still be called. If balancing is interfered with, a Red Card and balanced bridge will still be implemented.

The purpose of this rule change is to avoid excessive penalties for incidental contact with the opposing alliances bridge. If we feel a team is exploiting this rule, the referees reserve the right to still call technical fouls.


2. The “Golden Basketball”
To mix up the game just a bit, the 2012 Beantown Blitz will feature a special game piece known as the Golden Basketball. The Golden Basketball will be awarded to the alliance who scores more points in autonomous mode. The Golden Basketball will be placed into the corral of the higher scoring alliance. In the event of a tie, both alliances will receive a Golden Basketball.

The Golden Basketball when scored by a robot will be worth the same as any other Basketball game piece. However, if scored directly from an inbounders shot, the Golden Basketball will be worth an additional 3 points to whatever hoop is scored on (ie: 4 points total for low, 5 points total for mid, and 6 points total for high).

The Golden Basketball can be entered onto the field at ANY POINT after Hybrid period ends; this includes being thrown over the driver station wall.

We feel the Golden Basketball will add enough flare to the game to be entertaining without affecting the outcome of too many matches. We hope inbounders enjoy being able to take a full field shot at anypoint during the match with the Golden Ball.


The T-shirt Bridge Balancing Challenge:
Last year we implemented a unique way to sell t-shirts at the Blitz known as the Amazing Minibot T-shirt Race. The feedback from that implementation was overwhelmingly positive, so we decided to reincarnate into this years game, which we are calling “The T-Shirt Bridge Balancing Challenge”.
T-shirts will be sold beginning at $5. A series of small scale bridges from the playing field will be on display. Each bridge will display a given price for t-shirts starting at $5 and going up to $13. For a given increment of shirts sold, a bridge will “balance” and the little robot will move onto the next price point. This will continue until the shirts max out in price at $13. Shirts will never exceed $13, but buying earlier will get you a significantly discounted shirt!!
We hope teams continue to enjoy this creative method of t-shirt sales. The early birds will get the worm on this one so make sure you and your team are ready to get shirts as soon as you arrive!


Lunch:
Teams can pre-order lunch by visiting this website, all pertinent information is there: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEpWeGRXa0lFYmhTdmw3c01FZlY2OXc6M A#gid=0
We ask teams try and preorder so we can account for the amount of food that needs to be ordered as early as possible.






The team list assuming no changes in the next 2 weeks:

61 BVT Robotics
69 HYPER Robotics
78 Air Strike
88 TJ Squared
121 Rhode Warriors
125 Nutrons
133 Bonny Eagle Robotics Team
172 Northern Force
175 Buzz
176 Aces High
177 Bobcat Robotics
348 Norwell Robotics
467 the Shrewsbury Colonials
529 Mansfield Hornets
839 Rosie Robotics
999 Crash
1027 Mechatronic Maniacs
1058 PVC Pirates
1071 Team Max
1100 T'Hawks
1474 Tewksbury Titans
1511 Rolling Thunder
1517 The Lumberjacks
1761 Lynn Tech Robotics
1965 MSJA Eagles
1973 Burning Tigers
1991 The Dragons
2064 Panther Project
2079 Alarm Robotics
2168 Aluminum Falcons
2423 KwarQs
2713 iRaiders
2871 Beantown Botz
2877 Ligerbots
3236 TriForce
3280 Rhode Rebels
3451 Team Boss
3499 Oyster River Robotics
3555 Aluminati
3780 Unicorn Attack
4048 Redshift
4311 Big Blue


Of course if you have any questions feel free to ask them here or email us at beantownblitz AT gmail DOT com.

See everyone out there!

-Brando

[KathieK]

A NEMO meeting will be held on Saturday from 10am to noon in the Varsity Club. Open to all adult mentors who deal with non-technical topics such as fundraising, publicity, team organization, teambuilding, travel planning, etc.

[Chi Meson]

Beantown Blitz Bump!

Looking forward to seeing all the teams in Boston this Saturday. Looks like NU-TRONS are putting a class-act together.

Yo teams, don't forget to preorder your extra pizzas.

[Brandon Holley]

Yo teams, don't forget to preorder your extra pizzas.

Thanks Brian. Teams, make sure you order your extra pizzas!


We also ask teams to take note of the rule changes posted above in this thread.

The arena opens at 7am, we'll see everyone there!


-Brando

[dag0620]

Wow I can't believe Beantown is really this weekend. Despite this being my 3rd year in FRC, this is going to be my first Beantown this year, and I am extremely excited! :D I've heard nothing but good things about the event from my team mates so I can't wait!

See everyone up there!

[Akash Rastogi]

Thanks Brian. Teams, make sure you order your extra pizzas!


We also ask teams to take note of the rule changes posted above in this thread.

The arena opens at 7am, we'll see everyone there!


-Brando

Hey Brandon, do you have a link to a webcast?

Thanks!

[Brandon Holley]

Hey Brandon, do you have a link to a webcast?

Thanks!

No webcast link just yet. It will be on Ustream, under the title "Beantown Blitz 2012".

I will post the link tomorrow once we've confirmed the webcast is operational at setup.

-Brando

[esquared]

Scoping out the team list, the Blitz is shaping up to be as competitive as ever! Given the number of rookie drivers we saw 2 weeks ago at Battlecry pulling off 2-3 second balances, I can't imagine what they'll be able to do at their second competition :ahh:

[Bill_B]

So I found Matthews Arena (see google below). It's a city, therefore parking is horrible. But I note a T terminal in the vicinity. Is it practical to visit by riding this old-fashioned transport device?

[Daniel Brim]

So I found Matthews Arena (see google below). It's a city, therefore parking is horrible. But I note a T terminal in the vicinity. Is it practical to visit by riding this old-fashioned transport device?Each team will have one parking space at the arena (free). Parking will also be available at Renaissance Garage (see this PDF (http://www.northeastern.edu/campusmap/printable/campusmap.pdf), item 62).

Parking there is a bit pricey ($20 for 8-12 hours, $28 for 12-16 hours, but those may be weekday rates), so if you're not carpooling the T will probably work well. Matthews arena is near the Mass Ave stop on the Orange Line, or the Symphony stop on the green line. If using the commuter rail, the Ruggles station is also very close to the arena.

[Bill_B]

thank you for the prompt reply, Daniel. I called the Gainsborough garage (number 45 on that PDF campus map) about rates and availability. The guy there quoted $18 as the 8-hr rate. Higher for all day, I'd guess. That garage is a lot closer to the venue, so I hope there isn't a problem with it.

Thanks also for mentioning the symphony stop. I see it on the map now. The green line is trickier to use because there are several branches to it out west. You'd have to get on the S. Huntington st. end to reach the event without doubling back at copley station. Also the orange line has a service advisory that has track work going on tomorrow. Definitely avoid orange tomorrow.

[Brandon Holley]

thank you for the prompt reply, Daniel. I called the Gainsborough garage (number 45 on that PDF campus map) about rates and availability. The guy there quoted $18 as the 8-hr rate. Higher for all day, I'd guess. That garage is a lot closer to the venue, so I hope there isn't a problem with it.

Thanks also for mentioning the symphony stop. I see it on the map now. The green line is trickier to use because there are several branches to it out west. You'd have to get on the S. Huntington st. end to reach the event without doubling back at copley station. Also the orange line has a service advisory that has track work going on tomorrow. Definitely avoid orange tomorrow.


The Renaissance garage weekend rate is $6 for up to 24 hours, a very good deal. Thats the place you want to park.

The walk is a brief 4-5 minute one.

-Brando

[Andrew Bates]

Webcast link http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-2012-beantown-blitz

[smurfgirl]

Nutrons - thanks for hosting a great competition! I enjoyed volunteering at Beantown for the first time. It's too bad the UberBots couldn't make it back with me this year because I'm sure they would have had a lot of fun, too.

Congratulations to the all of the teams who made it into the eliminations - you made those matches very exciting to watch. A huge congratulations to the winning alliance of 175, 177, and 69. You were great :)

[Chi Meson]

Congratulations Buzz, Bobcats and Hyper. Buzz and Bobcats--always tough competition when it's just one of you! Clear, unquestionable winners this time.

NU-TRONS! let's go for one more alliance in the finals this season, right?

[Kims Robot]

Not anywhere near as good as my Battlecry photos, but I took a bunch of photos at Beantown Blitz and they are posted here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimsrobot/sets/72157629995068255/). Enjoy! :)

Thanks to the Beantown committee & all the awesome teams... we had an absolute blast!