CalGames 2012: Info

[Ceal Craig]

Folks, CalGames 2012 will be held October 12-13, 2012 at Woodside High School, hosted by Team #100, The Wildhats.

For more information: write calgames@wrrf.org

INFO: WRRF is planning for 36 teams with a similar competition format to prior years, qualifying matches beginning Friday after school, continued all Saturday morning with finals in afternoon. We have an active judging program as well. The registration flyer is not yet available, but registration will begin earlier than in past years; hoping to get registration fees established and announcement out by late April. Registration typically fills up by mid-August. Registration will have three tiers as in the past, difficult to fill volunteer slots are registered first.

[Steven Sigley]

Just throwing this out as an idea. Any chance that the eliminations could be run like 12 alliances with 4 getting byes? (similar to NFL playoff system)
Just a new idea that I thought could be interesting. :)

[Andrew Lawrence]

YAY! Cal Games! Always my favorite part of each new school year, and the perfect time to train the newbies.

Unlike most off-seasons, Cal Games doesn't usually have rule-changes. I think this year it would be fun to have some rule-changes, TBD later, though ideas could be spread around now.

This is Woodside's second time hosting Cal Games. Interesting.

[Steven Sigley]

YAY! Cal Games! Always my favorite part of each new school year, and the perfect time to train the newbies.

Unlike most off-seasons, Cal Games doesn't usually have rule-changes. I think this year it would be fun to have some rule-changes, TBD later, though ideas could be spread around now.

This is Woodside's second time hosting Cal Games. Interesting.

I really like the time of Cal Games, in that lull between the beginning of school and the start of build season.

[Chinmay]

This is Woodside's second time hosting Cal Games. Interesting.

I'm pretty sure they've done this quite a few times, this isnt just their second time.

Thanks Team 100 for hosting again! 846 looks forward to this awesome event!

[Andrew Lawrence]

I'm pretty sure they've done this quite a few times, this isnt just their second time.

Thanks Team 100 for hosting again! 846 looks forward to this awesome event!

Really? I know 2009, and now.

[Chinmay]

Really? I know 2009, and now.

I think this is how it went... (someone correct me if im wrong, pre 2006 is fuzzy :p, and i couldn't find anything for pre 2002 )

02 game was played at pioneer (668)
03 game was played at woodside (100)
04 game was played at woodside (100)
05 didn't happen
06 game was played at pioneer (668)
07 game was played at woodside (100)
08 game was played at mitty (1351)
09 game was played at woodside (100)
10 game was played at lynbrook (846)
11 game was at mitty (1351)
12 game will be at woodside (100)

[Steven Sigley]

Considering I missed the 2010 Cal Games because of SAT's, I've only seen it at Mitty and Woodside and man they were all excellent competitions!

Side note: anyone got any opinions on the elimination suggestion I posted at the top? Wondering if I have any support or If maybe others think it's not such a good idea.

[R.C.]

Considering I missed the 2010 Cal Games because of SAT's, I've only seen it at Mitty and Woodside and man they were all excellent competitions!

Side note: anyone got any opinions on the elimination suggestion I posted at the top? Wondering if I have any support or If maybe others think it's not such a good idea.

I wouldn't be opposed to it, as it gets more/each team in the eliminations.

-RC

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Just throwing this out as an idea. Any chance that the eliminations could be run like 12 alliances with 4 getting byes? (similar to NFL playoff system)
Just a new idea that I thought could be interesting. :)

Considering we have to play the rest of the qualifications, the eliminations, AND have the awards ceremony, AND clean the place up before 2 AM on Saturday... I would say "sounds fun" but no...


CalGames 2002 was my 1st FRC competition. Man have things changed since then. Some of the robots were built entirely of wood. It was pretty much the only off season on the west coast then, so teams came from all over the state.

And there was something else...

AT HALF TIME, EVERYONE DANCED. EVERYONE.

Like the entire field was filled, and the music was insanely loud. I wanna see that again.

[Mark Sheridan]

CalGames 2002 was my 1st FRC competition. Man have things changed since then. Some of the robots were built entirely of wood. It was pretty much the only off season on the west coast then, so teams came from all over the state.

And there was something else...

AT HALF TIME, EVERYONE DANCED. EVERYONE.

Like the entire field was filled, and the music was insanely loud. I wanna see that again.

That was a pretty epic competition, it was my first FRC event too. I still remember the finals were 254 and 852 versus 100 and 766. I was blown away by 254's two speed gearbox. I don't remember any dancing, I guess I was pretty distracted by all the cool robots.

I always enjoyed Cal games. I might make the trek up to see my old team 766.

[Steven Sigley]

Considering we have to play the rest of the qualifications, the eliminations, AND have the awards ceremony, AND clean the place up before 2 AM on Saturday... I would say "sounds fun" but no...

True we would need to do all qualifications the first day and the second day would start right off with alliance selection and eliminations all day. (though it would make scouting easier)

[Reanna]

Did my first Cotton Eye Joe, earning my true Fembot membership, at Cal Games.
Definitely excited. Being a rookie, I was one of the ones cornered into driving for the first time. I saw a team scouting for my match after, looked at their sheet, "***Driver needs training." Ruined my hopes and dreams for drive team..

Anyway, passing this on to coach. !

[Ceal Craig]

Just throwing this out as an idea. Any chance that the eliminations could be run like 12 alliances with 4 getting byes? (similar to NFL playoff system)
Just a new idea that I thought could be interesting. :)

Steven, I'll write it down, interesting idea!! Not sure what it would do to the schedule overall. We are tighter for CalGames than for a FRC Regional.

First planning mtg will be June 16 in the morning, probably ~10:30 AM at Woodside. I'll be getting the announcement out later this week after I get to St. Louis and inspection calms down. :)

[Ceal Craig]

YAY! Cal Games! Always my favorite part of each new school year, and the perfect time to train the newbies.

Unlike most off-seasons, Cal Games doesn't usually have rule-changes. I think this year it would be fun to have some rule-changes, TBD later, though ideas could be spread around now.

This is Woodside's second time hosting Cal Games. Interesting.


FYI, Woodside has hosted more than twice

2001 (10/6) Evergreen College, Saturday matches only
2002 (9/28) Pioneer HS, Saturday matches only
2003 (9/20) Woodside HS, Saturday matches only
2004 (10/2) Woodside HS, 24 teams, Saturday matches only
2006 (10/28) Pioneer HS (24 teams), Saturday matches only
2007 (10/12) Woodside HS (30 teams), Sat. matches only
2008 (10/25) Archbishop Mitty HS (30 teams), Sat. matches only. Tiered registration implemented for "hard to fill" volunteer slots.
2009 (10/10) Woodside HS (36 teams) Sat matches only
2010 (10/23-10/24) Lynbrook HS (35 teams), Fri. evening & Sat. matches
2011 (10/21-10/22) Archbishop Mitty HS (35 teams). Fri. evening & Sat matches
2012 (10/12-10/13) Woodside HS (36 teams), Tiered registration (opening May 1). Fri. evening & Sat. matches.

NEXT Rule changes, we have changed the FRC rules multiple times, for scoring (WRRF typically awards more points to autonomous scoring, for example) or other items. Teams have the opportunity to input ideas for rules changes over the summer during the planning meetings.

WRite CalGames@WRRF.org for more information. :)
ceal

[Ceal Craig]

Considering we have to play the rest of the qualifications, the eliminations, AND have the awards ceremony, AND clean the place up before 2 AM on Saturday... I would say "sounds fun" but no...


CalGames 2002 was my 1st FRC competition. Man have things changed since then. Some of the robots were built entirely of wood. It was pretty much the only off season on the west coast then, so teams came from all over the state.

And there was something else...

AT HALF TIME, EVERYONE DANCED. EVERYONE.

Like the entire field was filled, and the music was insanely loud. I wanna see that again.

Martin, I made a note of your idea! Sounds like fun!

[Ceal Craig]

I think this is how it went... (someone correct me if im wrong, pre 2006 is fuzzy :p, and i couldn't find anything for pre 2002 )

02 game was played at pioneer (668)
03 game was played at woodside (100)
04 game was played at woodside (100)
05 didn't happen
06 game was played at pioneer (668)
07 game was played at woodside (100)
08 game was played at mitty (1351)
09 game was played at woodside (100)
10 game was played at lynbrook (846)
11 game was at mitty (1351)
12 game will be at woodside (100)

Chinmay, yep, the first two were different per the notes I have the prior BOD. Just did some history digging. Now I have to pack for St. Louis!

[Ceal Craig]

Did my first Cotton Eye Joe, earning my true Fembot membership, at Cal Games.
Definitely excited. Being a rookie, I was one of the ones cornered into driving for the first time. I saw a team scouting for my match after, looked at their sheet, "***Driver needs training." Ruined my hopes and dreams for drive team..

Anyway, passing this on to coach. !


Fembots are a wonderful part of my memories of CalGames since 2003. :) More so, since I've been on the WRRF BOD. You all are such GREAT Volunteers!!! thank you to Fembots for such great WRRF CalGames support.

[ablatner]

Team 100 is excited to host it! Many of our younger team members are worried about the extra work they think hosting entails, but they don't realize how great all the teams and WRRF volunteers are.

Martin, you're not too far away over at Berkeley; you should come!

[Andrew Lawrence]

165 days until CalGames!

[Ultimatum]

Are there any updates on CalGames yet? Or have I missed something? Team 3501 plans on attending this year.

[Andrew Lawrence]

16 days until CalGames! Does anyone know if there will be a webcast?

[DampRobot]

Are there any updates on CalGames yet? Or have I missed something? Team 3501 plans on attending this year.

As far as I know, more volunteers are needed, but everything is proceeding OK. Look forward to seeing you all then.

[MrTechCenter]

16 days until CalGames! Does anyone know if there will be a webcast?

Yes, there will be a webcast.

[StevenB]

I'm looking forward to watching my first west-coast event! I'll have to see if I can drag some other friends into the fray. :)

[MrTechCenter]

FYI, Woodside has hosted more than twice

2001 (10/6) Evergreen College, Saturday matches only
2002 (9/28) Pioneer HS, Saturday matches only
2003 (9/20) Woodside HS, Saturday matches only
2004 (10/2) Woodside HS, 24 teams, Saturday matches only
2006 (10/28) Pioneer HS (24 teams), Saturday matches only
2007 (10/12) Woodside HS (30 teams), Sat. matches only
2008 (10/25) Archbishop Mitty HS (30 teams), Sat. matches only. Tiered registration implemented for "hard to fill" volunteer slots.
2009 (10/10) Woodside HS (36 teams) Sat matches only
2010 (10/23-10/24) Lynbrook HS (35 teams), Fri. evening & Sat. matches
2011 (10/21-10/22) Archbishop Mitty HS (35 teams). Fri. evening & Sat matches
2012 (10/12-10/13) Woodside HS (36 teams)

So CalGames has NEVER been hosted outside of the San Jose area?


Also, here's the list of teams competing this year:

-8
-100
-114
-115
-253
-254
-256
-604
-649
-668
-670
-701
-751
-766
-840
-846
-852
-971
-1072
-1351
-1458
-1671
-1678
-1700
-1868
-1967
-2073
-2489
-2643
-2813
-2854
-3013
-3256
-4159
-4171
-4255


We're less than a week away. This will be my first time coaching. Needless to say, I'm VERY excited.

[Andrew Lawrence]

So CalGames has NEVER been hosted outside of the San Jose area?



Well, Woodside is outside of San Jose, but in this general Silicon Valley area.

On a side note, good luck on your first year of coaching! As driver, I hope to be allianced with 2073 in a few matches. That'd be awesome. 256 is coming back as the best feeder/starver/balancer (proven in Central Valley, and even better here at CalGames). When we're on the field, our alliance will have plenty of basketballs, the opponents nothing to score with, and you can be guaranteed a bridge balance.

[MrTechCenter]

On a side note, good luck on your first year of coaching! As driver, I hope to be allianced with 2073 in a few matches. That'd be awesome. 256 is coming back as the best feeder/starver/balancer (proven in Central Valley, and even better here at CalGames). When we're on the field, our alliance will have plenty of basketballs, the opponents nothing to score with, and you can be guaranteed a bridge balance.

From what I'm reading here, you guys are a great team with a great bot. I can't wait to play with you guys! And you've been awesome to talk to on CD, I can't wait to meet you in person!

[Eugene Fang]

The webcast will be at http://www.thebluealliance.com/gameday.

[Akash Rastogi]

Anyone have the alliances?

[Gregor]

Anyone have the alliances?

971, 254 #1

1868 #2

258 #8

All that I can remember. :(

[Nuttyman54]

#1 seed is a repeat of SVR champions with 971, 254 and 766

[R.C.]

971, 254 #1

1868 #2

258 #8

All that I can remember. :(

#1 is 971/254/766
#2 is 1678/1671
#3 is 846/3256

Can't remember the rest of the teams.

-RC

[Gregor]

Interference announced in QF 4-1 and 1-2. The crowd has been asked to turn their laptops and phones to airplane mode.

[Nuttyman54]

Alliances and final standings:

#1 - 971,254,766 W
#2 - 1678, 1671, 100 F
#3 - 846, 3256, 1351 SF
#4 - 8, 1868, 751 QF
#5 - 2073, 604, 701 SF
#6 - 670, 114, 115 QF
#7 - 1458, 649, 852 QF
#8 - 256, 840, 3013

There's no sound on the webcast, so I don't know the awards

[AdamHeard]

Anyone know if the video is archived?

[Andrew Lawrence]

MAN CalGames 2012 was awesome. Although we didn't make it as far as we have liked (we didn't want to be in the top 8), the competition was awesome. And I believe our friends from 846 are going to post a very....interesting video soon. ;) Keep watch for it. It's awesome.

[brian.axelrod]

And I believe our friends from 846 are going to post a very....interesting video soon. ;) Keep watch for it. It's awesome.

Hey Andrew,

Do you mind informing as to what this very interesting video is?

Thanks
Brian

[hionwind]

As the coach of team 1678, I would like to thank all of the organizers of this year's Cal Games. There are so many positive things that I could say about the event so I'll keep it to a few key points.

First of all, the overall organization of the event was outstanding. Second, we really appreciated your willingness to begin getting robots set up for communication early so that the delays from last year were not repeated. All matches were played and counted! Third, the atmosphere was tremendous. It felt pretty much like a regional competition.

Citrus Circuits was thrilled to have made it to the finals this year, particularly with all of the problems we were having with our robot. A huge thanks to teams 1671 and 100 who did an outstanding job of supporting us throughout the elimination matches. 1671 proved to everyone that they have one of the best hybrid modes in this year's competition and team 100 played great defense on two very strong offensive robots.

It was also a great honor for our team to play in the finals against such a distinguished alliance, including two past world champions, 254 and 971 and a two-time winner of our local Sacramento regional, 766. I have to admit, I would much rather play with 971 (like in the Sacramento regional earlier this year) than against you but it was still a lot of fun. I remember watching teams 254 and 766 competing at the Sacramento regional during our 2005 rookie season. In that year's final, 254 and 766 were on opposing alliances and 766's alliance ended up being victorious. I remember wondering if our team would ever be able to reach that level of competitiveness.

Thank you again to everyone who organized and participated in the event. We look forward to seeing you at next year's Sacramento and Madera regionals.

Steve Harvey

[bhsrobotics1671]

On behalf of team 1671, we would like to thank team 1678 and team 100 for the opportunity to join them in the elimination rounds at CalGames this weekend. Although we didn't quite manage the win, this was our first time in the final rounds at any competition, and it was a great experience for all of our team members. All of the teams present were helpful and inviting to our newer team members, and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend.

This is the fourth competition we've seen 1678 at during the last year, and the third time our pits have been next to each other. Suffice it to say they are awesome neighbors to have, and we look forward to seeing them around during the coming season. Team 100 was a great third bot to have, and their defense was absolutely incredible. It was also nice to be allies with the hosting team!

Also, we want to give special thanks to Austin from 971 and the other mentors who helped us in troubleshooting our CAN and field communication issues. Thanks!

This was our first time at CalGames, and to say we were impressed is an understatement. The teams, volunteers, and facility were awesome, and made it an event to remember. We look forward to coming back next year, and wish the best of luck to everyone during the coming season!

See some of you at the MadTown Throwdown, and go Bird Brains!

[MrTechCenter]

On behalf of 2073, I'd like to say how fantastic CalGames was! We'd like to thank our alliance partners 604 and 701 for getting us so far. We'd also like to thank all the teams we cooperated with (sorry, I don't remember all of them!) and Team 100, the Wildhats, for hosting such a great CalGames. And lastly, the judges for giving us the Autonomous Challenge Award and $1000! I had such a great time, as did the rest of our team. We'll see you all at MadTown and the 2013 Regionals!

[the.miler]

Team 846 would like to thank so many people and teams for making our final competition with our 2012 robot so much fun. We owe a lot to WRRF, our gracious hosts on Team 100, and all the volunteers for once again running a great offseason competition! And our friends on Team 604 for streaming it on GameDay!

We'll start by thanking everyone who played in a match with us, especially those that dealt with our initial communication and joystick issues (fortuitously resolved by elims). Despite it all, we managed to pull 6 wins and 5 coop balances out of it, and that is in no small part due to the concerted efforts of both alliances on the field! I remember in particular 766 and 649 pulling the coop balance during our final qualification round to give us the 4 qualification points we needed to get us 3rd seed. You guys were clutch for us at that critical moment, and we can't thank you enough.

And of course, our alliance partners. Thank you to Team 3256 and Team 1351 for really bringing some firepower to the 3rd seeded alliance. I honestly thought that the Warriorborgs would be gone before we got to them, and we were ecstatic to have the chance to work with Team 3256 for the first time! No hard feelings about your shooter encoder problems during the semifinal rounds; we still put up one hell of a fight. And of course, Team 1351 was another great pick. We've had the chance to work with each other now twice in my time in FRC, and both times it has been a blast working with a team that is so cooperative and plays our alliance strategy so well. We took it to three rounds with the 2nd seeded alliance, and could have taken it home with the uncounted double balance . . . we played hard and we have no regrets. We need to do that again sometime.

Also, a huge thanks to Team 114 for loaning us two batteries after we played two tough quarterfinal matches against each other. We were in bad shape with our limited number of batteries at the event, and I was so thankful that you guys agreed without hesitation to lend us your batteries even though you were packing up to go home. We still have your batteries, and we will cooperate with whatever arrangements you make to have them returned to you as soon as possible!

Finally, thanks to everyone who played us in the elimination rounds! Teams 670, 114, and 115 gave us tight matches in the quarterfinals; all the present Fremont Union High School District teams were on the field at the same time, which was quite exciting. The rivalry shall continue next year? Also, thanks to the 2nd seeded alliance, Teams 1678, 1671, and 100! Going to three rounds with you guys was really a blast, and you guys were very deserving of an appearance in the finals!

Finally, we'd of course like to thank our head coach, Mr. David Giandomenico (affectionately known as Mr. G). At CalGames, he received the Volunteer of the Year Award, which while prestigious is of course only a fraction of what our students feel he deserves! He managed to not only create and maintain the CalGames scoring system that immediately updated rankings and match scores on the CalGames website during the event, but he continued to make time to check on our team to make sure we were still all right. His dedication to WRRF and our team is truly inspiring, and the definite high point of CalGames for our team was being able to cheer him on as he walked onto the field to receive the award. In fact, we'd like the video of that to go up soon so we can cheer him on again . . . and again . . . and again. Team 604, get those videos up fast ;)

Basically, thank you everyone for making CalGames so great! :D

[Chinmay]

And I believe our friends from 846 are going to post a very....interesting video soon. ;) Keep watch for it. It's awesome.

So this song has been pretty popular, and I sincerely hope it does not become a tradition to play this at first events, but...

I proudly present, THE 846 MONKEY DANCING GANGNAM STYLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrHA0uI85ec&feature=youtu.be

[Andrew Lawrence]

I proudly present, THE 846 MONKEY DANCING GANGNAM STYLE


Best part of CalGames 2012. Almost as awesome on the video as it was in real life.

[Quix]

Team 604 has all the videos saved, they will be upload to our website in a matter of days. Just hang tight.

[rahilm]

As an alumni, it's always great going back to CalGames, helping out my team, and enjoying the competition. As always, Woodside put on a great event, and a huge thank you to them.

On a side note, would anyone from 254 mind clarifying what happened during F1? From what we were told, a CIM was blown, but I'd be really interested in knowing the circumstances around this.

[wilful]

From what I saw on the field, 254 lost the tread on one of their wheels and had to replace it. Im fairly sure no one on the winning alliance burned out a motor durring the finals. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Travis Covington]

On a side note, would anyone from 254 mind clarifying what happened during F1? From what we were told, a CIM was blown, but I'd be really interested in knowing the circumstances around this.

Are you referring to the smoking smell? I believe that was a piece of material on 1678's intake roller that was rubbing elsewhere on their robot, causing it to burn/smell.

254's robot had a disconnected pneumatic tube which caused some pneumatic components to only partially work. It was reconnected between matches and was fine for F2.

[Adrian Clark]

Are you referring to the smoking smell? I believe that was a piece of material on 1678's intake roller that was rubbing elsewhere on their robot, causing it to burn/smell.

254's robot had a disconnected pneumatic tube which caused some pneumatic components to only partially work. It was reconnected between matches and was fine for F2.

Any smoke smell in the finials came from us, like you said. There were some problems in our intake system causing excessive friction leading to two of our 550's getting quite hot and smoky, but not fully blown.

[hionwind]

Actually, the burning smell was coming from the motor(s) for our "sweeper" that carries the balls from the intake area up to the shooter wheel. The roller had jammed causing the motors to overheat. That is why we were unable to shoot in the first final match and why we called the time out. We un-jammed the roller and did a systems check which showed the motors to be running but, unfortunately, in the second final match the problem recurred and we were unable to shoot again.

[rahilm]

Are you referring to the smoking smell? I believe that was a piece of material on 1678's intake roller that was rubbing elsewhere on their robot, causing it to burn/smell.

254's robot had a disconnected pneumatic tube which caused some pneumatic components to only partially work. It was reconnected between matches and was fine for F2.

Actually, the burning smell was coming from the motor(s) for our "sweeper" that carries the balls from the intake area up to the shooter wheel. The roller had jammed causing the motors to overheat. That is why we were unable to shoot in the first final match and why we called the time out. We un-jammed the roller and did a systems check which showed the motors to be running but, unfortunately, in the second final match the problem recurred and we were unable to shoot again.

Thanks for clearing that up. There must have been some miscommunication/misunderstanding. This makes much more sense than the impression I was under.

[roystur44]

Check out some pictures that Craig Zarmer took at CalGames 2012

http://www.zarmer2.com/pix/CalGames%202012/index.php