2015 Rumble in the Roads

[notmattlythgoe]

Teams 1610 and 2363 are proud to present the second annual:
http://i58.tinypic.com/15y6o1w.png

Website:
www.rumbleintheroads.com

Where:
Menchville High School
275 Menchville Rd.
Newport News, VA 23602

When:
Saturday, November 7th, 2015

Registration:
$300 per team, $250 if you register for another 2015 off-season event, $200 for pre-rookies
Team Registration (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/register/team-registration)
Volunteer Registration (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/register/volunteer-registration)

You can keep up to date with which teams have already registered here (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/teams).

A second round of registrations for "B" teams may be opened at a later date.

We look forward to seeing all of the competitors at the event.
Please direct questions to lythgoe.matthew@gmail.com or use the Contact (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/contact) portion of the website.

[notmattlythgoe]

I am pleased to announce the 2015 Rule Changes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl3vxEudif8) for the Rumble in the Roads. If there are any questions you can direct them to me, Nate, or the contact (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/contact) section of the website.

Currently Registered Teams:
339 Kilroy Robotics
1123 AIM Robotics
1137 Rocket Sauce
1262 STAGS
1610 BOT - Builders of Tomorrow
1629 Garrett Coalition
1793 The Pilots
1829 Carbonauts
1908 Shorebots
2363 Triple Helix
3389 RoboSpectrum
4538 Engenuity
4945 Titanium Wrecks
4969 Iron FeNix
5425 RVA Coder Collective
5520 Duck and Cover
5546 A.R.T.

[pabeekm]

Since yellow totes can now be scored as grey totes, does that mean that as soon as coop is completed both teams will begin fighting over the stack they built together? That is simultaneously awesome and terrible. :D

[scoutitout]

So then it would become Stack and Attack :-)

[wilsonmw04]

These changes are awesome. Too bad we won't be going this year. :(

[notmattlythgoe]

These changes are awesome. Too bad we won't be going this year. :(

We will definitely be missing the cheese heads this year :(

[notmattlythgoe]

We are now up to 23 teams registered! Slots are filling up fast.

We are very excited to have teams from 3 different states(VA, MD, and NC) attending the Rumble this year.

122 NASA Knights
339 Kilroy Robotics
346 RoboHawks
384 Sparky
540 Talon 540
900 Zebracorns
1123 AIM Robotics
1137 Rocket Sauce
1262 STAGS
1610 BOT - Builders of Tomorrow
1629 Garrett Coalition
1793 The Pilots
1829 Carbonauts
1885 ILITE Robotics
1908 Shorebots
2363 Triple Helix
3389 RoboSpectrum
4538 Engenuity
4945 Titanium Wrecks
4969 Iron FeNix
5425 RVA Coder Collective
5520 Duck and Cover
5546 A.R.T.

[mrmummert]

This looks like its gonna be better then last years....so many good teams.

[tim-tim]

The RoboBees are excited to announce that we will be making the journey this year! Looking forward to ending our 2015 campaign with a great group of people.

[Nate Laverdure]

How far are teams planning to travel for the 2015 Rumble in the Roads?

1629 Garrett Coalition, Accident MD, 333 miles (just over 5 hours)
1262 STAGS, Martinsville VA, 253 mi (4:07)
900 Zebracorns, Durham NC, 212 mi (3:08)
1885 ILITE, Haymarket VA, 167 mi (3:06)
836 Robobees, Leonardtown MD, 161 mi (2:43)

The average team is planning to travel 97 miles and spend about 1:40 doing so.

[TDav540]

Still a lot of VA teams missing still. 422, 1522, and 401 just to name a few off the top of my head. It's too bad the event goal is only 30 teams! :D

[Lij2015]

This is going to be one high quality event!

[notmattlythgoe]

There are 26 teams currently registered, meaning only 4 slots left. We've started moving "B" teams to the wait list. If you know of any pre-rookie teams please let us know, there are teams willing to lend robots and pay pre-rookie registration fees.

122 NASA Knights
339 Kilroy Robotics
346 RoboHawks
384 Sparky
540 TALON 540 Godwin Robotics
836 The RoboBees
900 Zebracorns
1123 AIM Robotics
1137 Rocket Sauce
1262 STAGS
1610 BOT - Builders of Tomorrow
1629 Garrett Coalition
1793 The Pilots
1829 Carbonauts
1885 ILITE Robotics
1908 Shorebots
2028 Phantom Mentalists
2363 Triple Helix
3359 Royal Robotics
3389 RoboSpectrum
4538 Engenuity
4945 Titanium Wrecks
4969 Iron FeNix
5425 RVA Coder Collective
5520 Duck and Cover
5546 A.R.T.

Want to volunteer? You can register here (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/register/volunteer-registration).

[Nate Laverdure]

Happy to announce that with a full team list (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/teams), we are now accepting only waitlist registrations (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/register) for the 2015 Rumble in the Roads.

Teams are encouraged to register for IROC at http://www.irocoffseason.org/.

[TDav540]

Will there be a live webcast of the event? I'll unfortunately be in Atlanta that weekend and cannot attend.

[Nate Laverdure]

Will there be a live webcast of the event?
We are certainly going to try to make this happen, but cannot say for sure at this time. The attached document goes into detail about our stated priorities for the show-production side of the event, and it breaks down the components where support is still needed.

[notmattlythgoe]

I am excited to announce that we have met our goal of 30 teams! The 2015 Rumble in the Roads will feature teams from all over the new FIRST Chesapeake, including 23 from VA, 6 from MD, and NC Team 900 Zebracorns, one of our 2014 defending champions. Thank you for helping to make this the largest off-season competition that Virginia has ever had! You can find the list of registered teams here (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/).

Updates:
-Since November 7th is an SAT testing date, please remind your students to get their testing needs done early so they may compete at the event.

-We are seeking robots that may be borrowed by the 2 pre-rookie teams which are registered for the competition. If you have a second robot, or would be willing to piece one together, please let me know.

-If you are looking for another off-season competition, or know of a team looking for an event, the 2015 IROC is still accepting registrations. The registration page is located here (http://www.irocoffseason.org/register.html). Competing at a 2nd off-season FRC competition makes your team eligible for a $50 discount off your registration fee for the 2015 Rumble in the Roads.

[notmattlythgoe]

Pre-Rookie Teams
Thank you to teams 888 and 539 who will be partnering with our two registered pre-rookies. These teams are excited for their first FRC experience and are very grateful for your help. We know you’ll provide a great experience for them.

Event Schedule
The event schedule can be found on our website here (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/rumble-information/schedule/event-schedule). We have an optional early load in Friday starting at 7PM. Also at that time, if the field is ready, we will be running unscheduled practice matches so that you may test connectivity with the field.

Food Trucks
We are very excited that 757 Eat The Streets (http://www.ets757.com/) will be selling food at our event this year. With three different trucks we will have a great variety of options for you to choose from.
Malbon's BBQ "The Flying Pig" (https://www.facebook.com/MalbonsBbqTheFlyingPig)
Sofrito (https://www.facebook.com/Sofritojose)
Poor Boys Burgers (https://www.facebook.com/poorboysburgers)

Local Area Information
The website has dining (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/rumble-information/schedule/event-schedule) and hotel (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/rumble-information/lodging) guides for the area around the venue. If you have any questions or need help with your travel arrangements, please let us know.

Match Schedule
Teams will get a preliminary qualification match schedule during the week leading up to the event. Once all teams are accounted for on Saturday morning, we will finalize the qualification match schedule and notify teams if there are any changes. You can help us ensure there are no last-minute changes by arriving on-time or letting us know if you’re running late.

Rumble in the Roads Expo
We will once again be hosting an expo from 10AM to 2PM in the hallways outside the main gym. Please check out what our great Hampton Roads sponsors and Universities have to offer.

Rule Changes
Don’t forget about the rule changes (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/uploads/2015-Rule-Changes.pdf) we’ll be using. I hope everybody is working on those autonomous modes!

Follow Us
If you have not done so already, please like our page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/rumbleintheroads?fref=ts)!

Check out the trophies that Nate designed for us this year. I think he out did himself!
http://s24.postimg.org/9qscg9pqt/12029653_732924616840847_3614118121658743073_o.jpg

[Nate Laverdure]

Check out the trophies that Nate designed for us this year. I think he out did himself!

With apologies to Chezy Champs (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/40811). :)

[notmattlythgoe]

We have recently had 2 spots open up for this year's Rumble in the Roads. If you are interested in being a last minute registration you can register (http://www.rumbleintheroads.com/register/team-registration) on our website. Remember, you'll receive a $50 discount if you have or will compete at another off-season event this season.

[Noudvanbrunscho]

Will this event be livestreamed? :)

[Nate Laverdure]

Will this event be livestreamed? :)
Perhaps-- stay tuned here to find out!

[marshall]

We will see you folks tomorrow! Can't wait.

[Noudvanbrunscho]

We will see you folks tomorrow! Can't wait.

Are you guys going to play with The Crossbow? :)

[marshall]

Are you guys going to play with The Crossbow? :)

Sadly not but we are bringing it so folks can get a look at it. It's an interesting design. Has definitely taught me that I don't take speed as seriously as I thought I did and that we as a team should strive to make everything as fast as humanly (robotly?) possible.

EDIT: What was this thread about again? Ohh yeah, Go Rumble!!! WOOOO!!!

[notmattlythgoe]

The event will be streamed on our website.

www.rumbleintheroads.com

[Nate Laverdure]

1 346 122 W
2 2363 836 Q
3 1389 1262 5546 F
4 1885 888 5520 S
5 2028 540 3359 Q
6 4969 1599 8888 Q
7 1629 900 3389 S
8 1137 384 339 Q
9 1829 1793 1610 Q

[mrmummert]

The last finals matches were great....the very last one was oh so close.
I liked the screens in the pits too.

[JOClarke]

SPARKY 384 had a great time at the Second annual Rumble in the Roads. The expanded event was fantastic, the food trucks were outstanding even if it was a little wet.
We would like to thank Nate, Matt & Kyle - 2363 & 1610 volunteers and staff for all the hard work that went into an awesome event - we will be back next year.
SPARKY 384 would also like to thank 1137 Rocket Sauce & 339 Kilroy for picking us. If Sparkenstein could have gotten in sync the all orange alliance could have given everybody an exciting run for the eliminations.

[346CADmen]

I couldn't attend the event this year as I was trapped with other refugees at a swim meet. I am very appreciative for the live stream, thank You Triple Helix.
On to Stronghold.

[marshall]

900 had a great time! Special thanks to our alliance partners 1629 and 3389. Just 7 points away from the finals!

It was a great opportunity for some of our new members and they learned a lot... I hope. We have our debrief tonight so we'll find out.

Thank you to Nate and Matt for running a great event and for convincing us we needed to come back!

[PayneTrain]

Glad it went well. We had an FLL tournament this weekend and I don't know what secret monkey paw y'all rub to host an FRC offseason without your soul leaving your body because I'm still tired from setup and teardown.

[wilsonmw04]

Glad it went well. We had an FLL tournament this weekend and I don't know what secret monkey paw y'all rub to host an FRC offseason without your soul leaving your body because I'm still tired from setup and teardown.

Is there appetite for another off season event in VA, Will?

[PayneTrain]

Is there appetite for another off season event in VA, Will?

I don't know. We didn't do any this year because we couldn't justify an aggressive and expensive rebuild for a game we didn't like and a robot that's not worth retrofitting into a demo bot. We found value in running an intramural arduino robot challenge and regrouping the organization this fall so I could focus on school and work in the fall and take a light load in the winter.

I've thought about going around and petitioning some current programs in the metro area to bring a summer event to Richmond (and even looked at another high school to start a team and run an offseason at their place), but people vastly overestimate our mentor depth chart and school support (I guess it was pretty evident when a few minor changes to my availability in 2015 led the team to put out the worst overall product since I joined the team in the fall of 2008, but I digress).

Myself and other alums alongside mentors and students on 422 have had ideas on how to approach the FRC product from a different angle than the conventional methods but I myself am pretty gassed by May at best. I sorta cycle through making a priority/wish list at the end of every season and usually get hung up trying to remedy priorities before I ever get to wishes. There's always a chance windows close and doors open in my time in FIRST, but I don't see that window opening for a long time unless a lot of dominoes fall that are outside of my control.

--

I also wanna say that it's cool that the two teams that won, won. There are a lot of things that motivate me and the rest of the crew in green and black, but seeing some re-emergence of grizzled veterans is a big positive motivation in my well-documented sea of negatives and a feather in the cap of all teams in the region.

[notmattlythgoe]

Glad it went well. We had an FLL tournament this weekend and I don't know what secret monkey paw y'all rub to host an FRC offseason without your soul leaving your body because I'm still tired from setup and teardown.

Pain killers and caffeine in high doses.

[jkelleyrtp]

Is there any match footage available?

[notmattlythgoe]

Is there any match footage available?

The event stream recording can be found here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ajMdUWjDY). Triple Helix will be posting match by match videos using the footage we took at the event.

Congratulations all of our award recipients:

Event Winners: Team 122 - NASA Knights and Team 346 - RoboHawks
Event Finalists: Team 1389 - The Body Electric, Team 1262 - STAGS, and Team 5546 - A.R.T.

USS Monitor Award Sponsored by Canon :Team 2363 - Triple Helix
Shipbuilder Award sponsored by Newport News Shipbuilding: Team 122 - NASA Knights
Ironclad Award sponsored by InSource: Team 1137 - Rocket Sauce
Christopher Newport University Captain Award: Team 339 - Kilroy

[Nate Laverdure]

Celebrating machine robustness in concept and fabrication, the Ironclad Award sponsored by InSource is presented to a team whose robot has shown true resilience in combat. While their robot may come away from this event with battle scars, this team has built their robot to stay afloat. Whether it was an H-frame design, 6 omni-directional wheels for stability, or the ability to quickly lift the robot off the chassis for repair of the control board, this team has the secret sauce for successful competition. Congratulations to Team 1137, Rocket Sauce!

The Shipbuilder Award sponsored by Newport News Shipbuilding celebrates form and function in an efficiently designed machine that effectively achieves the game challenge. This team demonstrates a clear understanding of the rules of the game and their robot has been designed to effectively complete tasks with consistency and accuracy. This team has a simple but efficient design, solid mastery of the game challenge, and their robot performed efficiently in matches. The Shipbuilder Award goes to Team 122, the NASA Knights!

The USS Monitor presented a new concept in ship design and employed a variety of new innovations in ship building that caught the attention of the world. The USS Monitor Award sponsored by Canon celebrates innovation in robot components, design, or strategy of play. This team’s unique ideas stretch beyond the norm and reflect creative thinking to effectively achieve their goals on the field of battle. The judges selected a team that provided an innovative approach to both a barrel-topping and container-stacking strategy and design. Their design allows for their team to perform at the highest level in competition. Their design incorporated a unique arm and grasping device that allows for secure control of their barrel, as well as a unique pneumatics in arranging and stacking containers. It is the unanimous decision of our judges that the USS Monitor Award is awarded to Team 2363 – Triple Helix.

The Captain Award sponsored by Christopher Newport University is presented to a team whose members gain the pride and respect of not only their school and sponsors, but also their competitors. This team truly inspires others with their teamwork, leadership, and gracious professionalism on and off the field. With a 50/50 ratio between male to female members, there is no adversity because you got diversity. Team 339, congratulations on winning the Captain Award!

[Nate Laverdure]

Here's a great NNPS-TV segment on the competition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHyngup7v1Q)!