Suffield Shakedown 2016

[Steve Horn]

It's time to register for the annual Suffield Shakedown Scrimmage! We hope that your team will be able to join us this year. If you would like to register for the scrimmage please email lindarhorn4h@gmail.com (the forms will be attached in the email). Here is a quick reference list:

Date - Saturday, February 20, 2016
Place - Suffield High School, Sheldon Street, Suffield CT
Time - Registration begins at 8

Pre Ordering Pizzas has changed a little - check out the flyer.

Aces High is also asking for your assistance with their community outreach project. Last year, Aces donated new, unused T-Shirts to Haiti. Does your team have overstock of team shirts? Consider bringing them along to the Scrimmage to donate. All teams who assist with this will be listed on the donation form that goes to Haiti!

Any questions or help needed, contact Linda Horn at lindarhorn4h@gmail.com.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you again at the Scrimmage this year. Good luck with build season starting tomorrow!!

[Steve Horn]

Hi everyone,

Here are the teams that have signed up for Suffield Shakedown 2016 so far. If you do not see your team information listed below and would like to participate, please send an e-mail to lindarhorn4h@gmail.com for information on how to sign up.

176 – Aces High
178 – Second Law Enforcers
3718 – Junkyard Battalion
2170 – Titanium Tomahawks
181 – Birds of Prey
571 – Team Paragon
2067 – Apple Pi
2836 – Team Beta
2064 – Pomeraug Panther Project
716 – Who’sCTEKS
4055 – NRG (Northwestern Robotics Gearheads)
1124 – Uberbots
1071 – Team Max
230 – Gaelhawks
558 – Elm City Robo Squad
263 – Sachem Robotics
5856 – Bullbots

[MarcD79]

I'm working with Bruce @ FIRST in regards to him agreeing that we can't run the field on FMS Lite. He has told me he will make every effort to get me the complete FMS electronics for the field. At this point I hope to have a full house of robots & pray we have decent weather. As all who have attended in the past you know I had to make hard decisions to shut down the scrimmage early. I really want to have a full day of competition & make it an enjoyable experience. I am also asking earlier than usual for volunteers for both the Friday set-up & reset crews for Saturday. For Friday set-up, I will need able-bodied volunteers as it looks like a logistics nightmare of setting up. I would like the set-up volunteers chosen ahead of time & that they know the game ahead of time. Please visit the Aces High facebook page or website for contact information
But most of all I'm looking forward to seeing all the teams again & having a good time. Remember my motto; Have fun, learn something new, meet new people & smile! :D

[Steve Horn]

Hi everyone,

Here is the updated team list. We only have four more spots left until teams are put on the wait list. If you do not see your team information listed below and would like to participate, please send an e-mail to lindarhorn4h@gmail.com for information on how to sign up.

176 – Aces High
178 – Second Law Enforcers
3718 – Junkyard Battalion
2170 – Titanium Tomahawks
181 – Birds of Prey
571 – Team Paragon
2067 – Apple Pi
2836 – Team Beta
2064 – Pomeraug Panther Project
716 – Who’sCTEKS
4055 – NRG (Northwestern Robotics Gearheads)
1124 – Uberbots
1071 – Team Max
230 – Gaelhawks
558 – Elm City Robo Squad
263 – Sachem Robotics
5856 – Bullbots
839 – Rosie Robotics
1740 – Ledyard Cyber Colonels
3654 – Tech Tigers
177 – Bobcats
5686 – Wirecats
237 – Black Magic
3146 – Granby Grunts
2869 – Regaleagle Robotics
1099 – Disco Techs

[Steve Horn]

Hi everyone,

Here are the teams that have signed up for Suffield Shakedown 2016 so far. There are currently 30 teams signed up for the event. If you would like to still sign up, we will put your team on the waitlist and will contact you if a spot opens up for the scrimmage. If you do not see your team information listed below and would like to participate, please send an e-mail to lindarhorn4h@gmail.com for information on how to sign up.

176 – Aces High
178 – Second Law Enforcers
3718 – Junkyard Battalion
2170 – Titanium Tomahawks
181 – Birds of Prey
571 – Team Paragon
2067 – Apple Pi
2836 – Team Beta
2064 – Pomeraug Panther Project
716 – Who’sCTEKS
4055 – NRG (Northwestern Robotics Gearheads)
1124 – Uberbots
1071 – Team Max
230 – Gaelhawks
558 – Elm City Robo Squad
263 – Sachem Robotics
5856 – Bullbots
839 – Rosie Robotics
1740 – Ledyard Cyber Colonels
3654 – Tech Tigers
177 – Bobcats
5686 – Wirecats
237 – Black Magic
3146 – Granby Grunts
2869 – Regaleagle Robotics
1099 – Disco Techs
3461 – Operation PEACCE
1699 – Robocats
173 – RAGE
4557 – FullMetal Falcons

[Sperkowsky]

I don't know how important this really is but the name of the team is The Regal Eagles. Excited for the event.

[Steve Horn]

I don't know how important this really is but the name of the team is The Regal Eagles. Excited for the event.

No problem, we are correcting that in our list now. It should appear correctly when we update the team list again. Thank you for letting us know.

[Steve Horn]

Hello teams! Just an update about the Suffield Shakedown Scrimmage that will occur on Saturday, February 20th!

We are looking forward to your team being there - here are a few reminders.

If you wish to nominate a team mentor for the Dave Leenhouts Award, the deadline is January 30th. Since that date is a Saturday, the deadline is extended to February 2nd (next Tuesday!)

Any teams wishing to pre-order pizza and sodas for lunch on the day of the scrimmage must complete the attached form and return it with payment to me by Wednesday, February 17th.

A list of available foods at the scrimmage and an updated agenda will be coming out next week.

Thanks!!

Also, here is the updated team list for the event. Teams that are on the wait list will be contacted in the order they signed up if a spot opens up for them to play at the event.

176 – Aces High
178 – Second Law Enforcers
3718 – Junkyard Battalion
2170 – Titanium Tomahawks
181 – Birds of Prey
571 – Team Paragon
2067 – Apple Pi
2836 – Team Beta
2064 – Pomeraug Panther Project
716 – Who’sCTEKS
4055 – NRG (Northwestern Robotics Gearheads)
1124 – Uberbots
1071 – Team Max
230 – Gaelhawks
558 – Elm City Robo Squad
263 – Sachem Robotics
5856 – Bullbots
839 – Rosie Robotics
1740 – Ledyard Cyber Colonels
3654 – Tech Tigers
177 – Bobcats
5686 – Wirecats
237 – Black Magic
3146 – Granby Grunts
2869 – The Regal Eagles
1099 – Disco Techs
3461 – Operation PEACCE
1699 – Robocats
173 – RAGE
4557 – FullMetal Falcons

Wait List:

3525 – The Nuts and Bolts of Fury
2168 – Aluminum Falcons
2084 – Robots by the C
3182 – Athena’s Warriors
3464 – Sim-City
228 – Gus Robotics
4987 – MegaRams

[first3234]

is there going to be a webcast of it

[Steve Horn]

is there going to be a webcast of it

Yes there will be a webcast provided by team 230 the GaelHawks. We will post the specific address of the webcast closer to the day of the event.

[MarcD79]

For those teams attending the Scrimmage, we are still looking for some volunteers for Friday night Set-up at Suffield H.S. Start time is 5pm. Send me a PM to let me know. Food & drink provided.

[Steve Horn]

Hi everyone,

Only two days until Suffield Shakedown. To watch the webcast go to http://www.shsrobotics.org/ and click on the "Watch Now" link. Here is the current team list:

176 – Aces High
178 – Second Law Enforcers
3718 – Junkyard Battalion
2170 – Titanium Tomahawks
181 – Birds of Prey
571 – Team Paragon
2067 – Apple Pi
2836 – Team Beta
716 – Who’sCTEKS
4055 – NRG (Northwestern Robotics Gearheads)
1071 – Team Max
230 – Gaelhawks
558 – Elm City Robo Squad
263 – Sachem Robotics
5856 – Bullbots
839 – Rosie Robotics
1740 – Ledyard Cyber Colonels
3654 – Tech Tigers
177 – Bobcats
5686 – Wirecats
237 – Black Magic
3146 – Granby Grunts
2869 – The Regal Eagles
1099 – Disco Techs
3461 – Operation PEACCE
173 – RAGE
4557 – FullMetal Falcons
3525 – The Nuts and Bolts of Fury
2168 – Aluminum Falcons

Wait List:

2084 – Robots by the C
3182 – Athena’s Warriors
3464 – Sim-City
228 – Gus Robotics
4987 – MegaRams
229 – Division by Zero
999 - MechaRams

[Sperkowsky]

We are pretty excited. Our robot is ready. However we are not excited to wake up at 3:30.

[first3234]

what is time do matches start at

[Chris is me]

GUS will be there for the first time since 2009. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you design a simple robot and stay on schedule.

[Josh Goodman]

What time are you expecting matches to start?

[MarcD79]

To all those who watch or follow online for the Suffield Shakedown Scrimmage I have a question for you all. Who watches the Shakedown from across the country & who would be upset if it didn't continue. Who would be willing to help out with the arrangements & set-up in the coming years to make sure it continues.
Please leave a response for the question above.

[Peyton Yeung]

To all those who watch or follow online for the Suffield Shakedown Scrimmage I have a question for you all. Who watches the Shakedown from across the country & who would be upset if it didn't continue. Who would be willing to help out with the arrangements & set-up in the coming years to make sure it continues.
Please leave a response for the question above.

We usually have it streaming in our build area while we scramble to finish our robot. For a decent number of our students, this is one of the first times they see robots interacting on the field. WE'd definitely by saddened if it didn't continue.

[Akash Rastogi]

To all those who watch or follow online for the Suffield Shakedown Scrimmage I have a question for you all. Who watches the Shakedown from across the country & who would be upset if it didn't continue. Who would be willing to help out with the arrangements & set-up in the coming years to make sure it continues.
Please leave a response for the question above.

I watch every season. Will be watching even closely with 228 there :p

I will gladly help next year.

[ghesla]

we plan to watch it here from brazil :)

[akmess01]

We are looking to use this to test our scouting system. Would it be possible for the match schedule to be posted online?

[MarcD79]

We are looking to use this to test our scouting system. Would it be possible for the match schedule to be posted online?
I don't know. Gaelhawks team 230 are the one who do the streaming. I'll ask in the morning. We aren't sure if we are going to use FMS lite or just do filler line w/ 5 minutes rounds.

[Steve Horn]

Would it be possible for the match schedule to be posted online?

We do not have a match schedule to post online. Since we are not running full FMS at this event, it is easier to just run a filler line and let teams come to the field when they are ready to play.

[RoboTigers1796]

We do not have a match schedule to post online. Since we are not running full FMS at this event, it is easier to just run a filler line and let teams come to the field when they are ready to play.

Last year you guys decided to do extended matches. Will you be doing the same this year?
Look forward to watching!

[Steve Horn]

We did do extended matches this year. The 25 teams that competed had a lot of fun and got to experience the FIRST Stronghold game for the first time this year. The extended matches allowed for teams to test out their robots more on the field and attempt going over various defenses. The top three teams for Suffield Shakedown were determined by their average score - the total number of points they had divided by the total amount of matches they played. Here were the top three teams based on average points:

1: 1099
2: 3461
3: 2067

[alextried]

This was definitely a rough event. There was no hanging bar and quite a few defenses were damaged because they weren't secured, which also made it almost impossible for teams to consistently cross them, instead pushing them all across the field. There was also no holes in the castle wall for boulders, and no way to remove scored boulders, so most HPs were dead in the water. This was definitely an event to look at robots, and not watch performance or practice.

[MarcD79]

For those who didn't help us organize this event, & understand the pitfalls we ran into to even get what we had today, then maybe you can help & volunteer next year. We put a shout-out for help, but nobody stepped forward. It took great effort to get the pieces we had. Don't criticize what you don't know anything about. We graciously do this event to give teams a chance to try their robots before they have to Bag & Tag. We don't make much money for effort we put in. Don't say that other teams pull this off during off-season. They have a lot more time to organize/plan & have ALL the FIRST fields ready. Don't forget, we are building a robot at the same time & have a small team.
Forgive me for ranting, but I just had to get this off my chest. I still love doing the Scrimmage & I don't have to.

[dradel]

My team is beyond grateful for all those that put on the shakedown!! It is an invaluable asset to teams!
We learned a bunch today, and got to reconnect with other teams we haven't seen since last season.
Thank you so much for all you, and you team do to make it happen.

[MarcD79]

My team is beyond grateful for all those that put on the shakedown!! It is an invaluable asset to teams!
We learned a bunch today, and got to reconnect with other teams we haven't seen since last season.
Thank you so much for all you, and you team do to make it happen.

As the Field Supervisor, I had an interesting challenge today as you saw. For those who understood & had a great time I am happy I could provide what we did under the circumstances. I did have a great time watching all those fantastic robots today.
With the growing teams throughout the country & internationally & the fact that there are a lot of Game specific field pieces, FIRST just didn't have the pieces available at this time. They won''t be ready until just before week 1. Anything ready prior to this will be shipped to Israel & Australia as they actually start a couple of days before week 1.

Good luck to all teams in this competition!

[Chi Meson]

It's unfortunate that the official field wasn't ready for week 0. Not just because we could try our robot on the actual game pieces (and so it will remain a mystery whether or not our portcullus lifter will work--however we do know that in a pinch we can just drive right through it); but also in past years this was the opportunity for FIRST to discover issues with the field itself.

Now it will fall to the week 1 events to discover the problems of the field.

Although there were issues, the event was extremely useful and important for us, and we extend our gratitude to our hosts.

[MooreteP]

Don't forget, we are building a robot at the same time & have a small team.
Forgive me for ranting, but I just had to get this off my chest. I still love doing the Scrimmage & I don't have to.

I was concerned on Friday night that it would be a mess. The orphan status that the Shakedown seems to have incurred is difficult to understand.

The event went quite well. Teams got to play on a reasonable facsimile of the Stronghold field. Many local teams contributed ALL of the defenses needed. Sure, they slid around on the floor at times and were ripped apart at others, but that made it fun to talk about "damaging" the Outer Works.

The 5-minute matches allowed teams to repeatedly execute their game plans without watching the clock. This was invaluable.
I wonder how many other scrimmages offered this opportunity?

So many drive teams got substantial experience with their new toys.
Mechanisms went through a Shakedown cruise, drivetrains were punished, alliances began to play well with their partners.

Insights into the game were revealed.

Aces High has put on this event in Suffield for over 15 years. I think the vast majority of teams who have attended feel sincere gratitude for the service that 176 has provided.

Our Lieutenant Governor, Nancy Wyman has attended every year that I can remember. Senator Richard Blumenthal also made another appearance today. They both understand the importance of FIRST and the significance of the Suffield Shakedown as a seminal event for the each and every one of the past 15 seasons.

[thatismytruck]

Thank you Aces High for your hard work. Team 558 only wishes we could have helped more. This event gave us a good idea of how our robot will handle the event and also gave our new drivers a chance to drive in a near real event.

[crazyrobochick]

There is no way that The Nuts & Bolts of Fury were going to miss Suffield. We are so happy we went because it showed us exactly what we had to do before tomorrow. Can't thank Aces High enough for allowing us this opportunity and we're so glad we got off the wait list.

[Steve Horn]

Hi everyone,

Here are some people we want to thank for helping with Suffield Shakedown this year:

New England FIRST for the field perimeter
Team 230 The Gaelhawks for webcasting the event
Steve Massey from Team 3718 Junkyard Battalion for being our DJ
Team 178 The Second Law Enforcers for bringing their Dream FIRST program
Teams that brought field elements:

Team 558 Robo Squad
Team 1071 Team Max
Team 716 Who's CTEKS
Team 263 Sachem Robotics
Any other teams that brought elements the day of (and all the boulders the teams brought)

Also thank to Team 1071 and Team 195 The Cyberknights for bringing towers so teams could have fun storming the castle
And thanks to all the people from various teams who volunteered at the event

Thank you to everyone and all the teams that helped make our event happen this past weekend. If I missed thanking you or your team, please know that we really appreciated your help this past weekend.