2009 Philadelphia Regional

[Akash Rastogi]

Can't wait to be there. Looks like 56 and 87 will be joining us. I'm hoping for a really fun time as it will be my first time at Philly.

here's the list of teams attending (https://my.usfirst.org/myarea/index.lasso?page=teamlist&event_type=FRC&event=PA&year=2009&sort=teamnum).

See you all there and good luck!:]

[Akash Rastogi]

Some competition that I can see as of 10/18/08 (these are a bit biased b/c I don't know many of the area teams)

11- MORT- Marauders
56- Robbe Xtreme
304- Robo Griffins
316- LuNaTeCs
341- Miss Daisy
395- 2 Train Robotics
486- Positronic Panthers
834- SparTechs
2234- The Reverend

Just waiting on some regulars like 103, 365, 816, 272.. This regional should be outstanding.

[Roger]

Team 1153 from Walpole Mass is coming to Philly! Any suggestions for hotels close by (walking distance)? And (non-robotic) excitement, of course! Can't wait for a soft pretzel.

[vic burg]

I would love to come up and volunteer for the event!!!!
Except, I am not sure where it is going to be held. Is it still going to be at Drexel this upcoming year?
:) Would someone please let me know? :)

[JudyVandy]

Chuck's coming, but he won't be at Drexel this year. He's heard we're traveling over to Temple. (Construction at Drexel is taking over his parking spot.)

[DUCKIE]

As Judy said, due to construction that will be going on at Drexel this spring the Philadelphia Regional has been relocated. So instead of the D.A.C., the 2009 Philadelphia Regional will be held at the Liacouras Center Arena. (Event is not listed on the Arena's calendar yet though.)

Also, Instead of the fifth week of competition, the Philadelphia Regional will be the fourth week, March 18 - 21th.

---------------------
For those of you who like to research the area... (and find good directions ahead of time so they do not get horribly lost like me) ... the arena website and address are below.

http://www.liacourascenter.com/

Liacouras Center on 1776 N. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19121
---------------------


.

[Roger]

As Judy said, due to construction that will be going on at Drexel this spring the Philadelphia Regional has been relocated. So instead of the D.A.C., the 2009 Philadelphia Regional will be held at the Liacouras Center Arena. (Event is not listed on the Arena's calendar yet though.) Wait -- what??!? And FIRST is planning on telling us when?

The 2009 FRC Regional event info (http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc/regionalevents.aspx?id=430) points to 2008's Drexel University (http://www.philadelphiafirst.org/). No indication of a site change.

[DUCKIE]

The 2009 FRC Regional event info (http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc/regionalevents.aspx?id=430) points to 2008's Drexel University (http://www.philadelphiafirst.org/). No indication of a site change.

An update of the Philadelphia First's Web page with the information for 2009 is in the works.

I noticed the lack of venue-change information myself when checking on teams attending last night, thus my post this morning when I noticed people starting to talk about hotels and the like.

[talltree357]

Hi all,
First of all as a Temple student I am excited that the Philly Regional is returning to the Liacouras Center! Second to give some teams a bit of heads up that have traveled to the Philadelphia Regional in the past but aren't familiar with Temple's area. We are located in farther up north in Philadelphia that University City. Also, there is only a small hotel located on campus named the Conwell Inn. This has 22 rooms available and I am sure they will fill up quickly. However, it is very easy to commute to Temple via the Broad St. Line subway system or Regional Rail. The former being the cheaper, the latter being more accommodating if you need to carry more equipment. Odds are many teams who are traveling to this regional from a distance and can't get a room at the Conwell Inn will stay in center city. It is about a 15 minute commute from city hall. If you have any other questions feel free to p.m. me or ask here.

-Joe

[.:Brianna:.]

the firebirds will be attending this year (when we get money haha oh jeeze)

you could get a hotel around 30th street station and take any of the regional lines to the temple station (ill be taking the train too).

definitely do the whole philadelphia tourism thing...franklin institute, art museum, science museum, mutter museum, independence hall, city hall, constitution center, duck boat.

as for the temple area, there are a lot of good, cheap places to eat. i spent all summer at temple and its easy to navigate.

-brianna

ps. hi joe!!!!

[vic burg]

Wait -- what??!? And FIRST is planning on telling us when?

The 2009 FRC Regional event info (http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc/regionalevents.aspx?id=430) points to 2008's Drexel University (http://www.philadelphiafirst.org/). No indication of a site change.

I agree!!!!
But does that mean that it is going to be there from now on? Because, I know that there are contracts and such.

[Ashley Weed]

I don't understand why it won't be hosted at Drexel, yes parking is currently a pain at Drexel now, but obviously the DAC will be used at the same time for Basketball, and while being in use it is no different if we use it too in March.

Temple is not a very good area of the city, and bringing in thousands of young high school students does not seem to be the brightest idea I have seen FIRST take.

There are plenty of other options in Philadelphia including the convention center and the arena in South Philly that would of been more convenient to things such as hotels, restaurants, parking and activities.

[DUCKIE]

As mentioned in other posts... the D.A.C. will be under construction in March of 2009. That is why it is not being held at Drexel this year.

I know that the Philadelphia Regional Crew looked at a number of arenas, convention centers, and gymnasiums in and around Philadelphia before settling on the Liacouras Center Arena. Keep in mind that they are working within a budget, and venues may already be booked, and not able or not willing to accommodate the requirements of a regional.

I'm going to miss the "snugness" of the D.A.C. myself, (and making runs to the 7-11 for taquitos or whatever they are called) but hopefully the construction will give us additional, and much needed; seating for the 2010 Philadelphia Regional.

[Roger]

To get beyond The Great :eek: Unexpected Change and back to my main question, what area of Philly should we look for hotels? I'm guessing we'll be taking the Broad St Line (or do you guys call it the Orange Line?) to get to the arena. I'm also guessing we'll be doing Amtrak, so a hotel easy to both would be good.

I don't know what time we'll get into town, so maybe Wednesday eve to blow off some steam, and Thursday and Friday eves also. .:Brianna:. put in some good suggestions -- c'mon, make a case for your Phine Phavorite Phoggy Philly* destination!

Hows the subway for herding ~30 high schoolers? We managed Boston's subway with plenty of adults but not at rush hour -- how's rush hour? And probably 40 other teams crushing in?

Temple is not a very good area of the city...I was afraid of something like this. I'm hoping it doesn't mean it's horrible. I've lived in "watch your back" parts of Brooklyn and found for the most part it mostly harmless... if you watched your back.

*Sorry, I didn't do 1776 in high school, so I don't know the exact words!

[Kyle]

Temple is a great area, as long as you are in the area of the school and convention center, where FIRST will be. The Temple security is great and they add more on during large events such as this. It won't be the same as before being able to be out side playing games and such but I think that we can deal with that for a year while the DAC is being rebuilt and made even better for the 2010 regional.

[.:Brianna:.]

Temple itself...like the campus is pretty safe. there are security cameras and/or people on literally every corner. the most unsafe part would be the walk from the train station to campus just because there's section 8 housing in between the two...but with that being said, its only three blocks to walk and if you're with a group of people its not a problem. i walked those three blocks by myself twice everyday this summer and never had a problem.

cheesesteaks-i personally think pats & genos are overrated. if you want the "philly experience" definitely go, but i prefer steaks on south (about 4th & south streets)

food in general-philly food carts are DELICIOUS! they're pretty cheap too. its a good bit of philly culture as well

colleges-philly has a ton of colleges in like a 20 block radius (penn, drexel, temple, university of the sciences, and some others that im forgetting). i know some teams go on college campus visits while in cities, so you may want to consider doing that

hotels-here is a url listing all 237 hotels in the city http://www.hotels.com/processIndexSearch.do?searchType=&destination=usertyped&fromNewSearchPage=true&acDestinationId=77157307-9DB8-4F02-87FE-0A614EB81DFF%7CB7D1A822-FBC4-4FFD-A915-52E9DD145E5C%7CPhiladelphia+area%2C+PA%2C+USA%7CCI TY&acDestinationType=5&lat=&lon=&pointName=&usertypedcity=Philadelphia+area&trackType=PC&userEnteredDestination=Philadelphia+area&checkIn=&checkOut=&CIMonth=-1&CIDay=-1&CIYear=2008&COMonth=-1&CODay=-1&COYear=2008&numrooms=1&adults%5B0%5D=2&child%5B0%5D=0&refined=true

pm me if you need anything else.

-brianna

[Danny McC]

Hmmmm temple ay? there goes the outside frisbee games. I mean im sure it will still be though. Just dont go outside too much.

[Akash Rastogi]

Hmmmm temple ay? there goes the outside frisbee games. I mean im sure it will still be though. Just dont go outside too much.

Danny ur making it sound like another Trenton regional for me :( I'll miss the sunny coast of Chesapeake this year:(

Any good places to eat where I won't get shot? (j/k) I'm sure the regional director knows all about the school and if the area is safe.

[talltree357]

Danny ur making it sound like another Trenton regional for me :( I'll miss the sunny coast of Chesapeake this year:(

Any good places to eat where I won't get shot? (j/k) I'm sure the regional director knows all about the school and if the area is safe.

Plenty of great places to eat on campus! We have a 7-11, maxi's pizza place and Master Wok on Liacouras Walk(center of campus), and if you cross through campus there are a series of places, Fame's and Eddies pizza, a Vietnamese place. Also loads of trucks which are all very good, especially the Crepe truck on around 12th and Norris. And once again, Temple is very safe, just as safe as Drexel really.

[Danny McC]

Imma get a qdoba burito brought to the center.

[Akash Rastogi]

Imma get a qdoba burito brought to the center.

Hook me up bro. Or bring me some Philly cheesesteaks ..mmmmmmm:cool:

[Roger]

For those that know -- how is the Liacouras Center in terms of bringing in outside food? Or contrawise, how are the prices of the concession stands? Any good breakfast places nearby, that are open early? One must think of these important details!

How is the Broad Street subway line for travelling? Especially during rush hours.

I am not too worried about campus safety. I'm rather hoping FIRST has made that perfectly clear, and I'm sure the school doesn't want it's reputation ruined. You have to "watch your surroundings" wherever you go, and this is no different. The incidents that someone wrote above but got removed are things that could happen anywhere, anytime.

We did find some good hotels downtown (or is it called Center Area?) so everything is falling into place for a nice time in Philly. It is kind of strange having everything lined up before Kickoff.

[OZ_341]

Temple safety will be fine. Really! In many ways Temple is a more cloistered environment than Drexel, with a true campus feeling to it. Drexel has more of an open city feeling.

The area surrounding Temple, however, is not great. So as long as you stay on Temple's campus you are safe. Its a fun place, with plenty of places to eat, play, and lounge about.

I have spent a great deal of time at both schools and enjoyed them both for different reasons.

Philly should be a blast in 2009.

[vic burg]

Drexel has more of an open city feeling.


That's one of the reason's I can't wait to start school there!
:D

[OZ_341]

That's one of the reason's I can't wait to start school there!
:D

Yup! I love the city too! (Born and raised Philly Boy) I wish I could get there more often. :)

[Akash Rastogi]

I'm not sure if anyone would know, but are there spots reserved for more rookie teams? I was disappointed by the rookie turn-out for NJ registration and I'm hoping this is not the case for Philly. Same for 103 actually, are our friends going to be in Philly or not?:(

[yodameister]

Rookie team 2791 has waitlisted for Philly. Depending on space availability and funds we'll be there.

[neoshaakti]

2554 is signed up, we're still looking for funding...hopefully we can book some inexpensive hotel rooms and maybe carpool down to Philly

[Dowjonesbotics]

2554 is signed up, we're still looking for funding...hopefully we can book some inexpensive hotel rooms and maybe carpool down to Philly

look for a decent looking motel even. they do save you money. idk about the area thoughl

[RoboMom]

I just spent the weekend at Temple at an athletic event.
We stayed at a Homewood Suites on City Ave, north of the city. It was a 15 minute drive, reasonable rates, a great hot free breakfast, pool, and nice rooms with beds + sofa beds and little kitchens, meeting rooms and restaurants within walking distance.
Your team would need to have transportation to/from the hotel to Temple.

[Akash Rastogi]

Sweeeet. This competition looks tough. MORT will try its best to win this thing. Might have to pull out some fancy new ideas this year. ;) I've updated my list of "Teams to Beat"


11- MORT- Marauders
56- Robbe Xtreme
222- Tigertrons
272- Cyber-Crusaders
293- S.P.I.K.E
304- Robo Griffins
316- LuNaTeCs
341- Miss Daisy
357- Royal Assault
365- Miracle Workerz
378- The Circuit Stompers
395- 2 Train Robotics
486- Positronic Panthers
816- Westech Anomoly
834- SparTechs
1027- Mechatronic Maniacs
1089- Team Mercury
1279- Cold Fusion
2234- The Reverend

Bold means most likely in top 8- the others are the strongest 1st round picks

I'm told not to worry, 103 will still be joining us. =)

[Danny McC]

ALRIGHT LETS DO THIS!!!! Almost time for kickoff which means its kinda almost time for the regional. Which means is kinda sorta almost time for Nationals. But seriously I am bringing the Philly thread back. The regional should be a lot of fun this year. 816 will be playing hacky sack for all those who wish to do battle.

[Akash Rastogi]

The Jersey Crew is taking over Philly. XD

1403 816 and 11 EWCP :cool: Stay tuned...

[popnbrown]

Since you mentioned us, akash...you bet EWCP will rock it out!!

First time at Philly, but it looks like many good teams will be attending, and we're looking forward to a great competition, and a lot of fun!

[Danny McC]

I plan to have the most fun at the Philadelphia regional because its the regional I like most and it is my senior year. So lets all have a good ol' time and do some partying.

[Libby K]

The Jersey Crew is taking over Philly. XD

1403 816 and 11 EWCP :cool: Stay tuned...


Hey, don't forget 1923! Jersey will be well represented.

:)

[Barry Bonzack]

I had a blast last year, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it this year. There are quite a few regionals that I would like to attend this year, and my college budget only stretches so far.

[.:Brianna:.]

not having barry at philly is unacceptable. completely unacceptable. barry you have to come to philly cuz it's my senior year!

[Phalanx]

The Jersey Crew is taking over Philly. XD

1403 816 and 11 EWCP :cool: Stay tuned...

Don't forget Team 1089 from NJ is making there initial appearance at Philly this year. 1403, 816, 11, and 1923, and 1089.

[Akash Rastogi]

Don't forget Team 1089 from NJ is making there initial appearance at Philly this year. 1403, 816, 11, and 1923, and 1089.

hehe sorry guys, I hadn't looked at the updated list of teams. My bad :p

[Danny McC]

Don't forget Team 1089 from NJ is making there initial appearance at Philly this year. 1403, 816, 11, and 1923, and 1089.

I wanna see all the Jersey teams cheering together. ALL OF THEM!!!!!. That is all. And Barry you better there or I will go whereever you are and get you.

[Brandon_L]

We were supposed to go this season but we looked into it like last minuet and it was already filled up, so I guess we'll be there next year. Whens a good time to sign up?

[Libby K]

We were supposed to go this season but we looked into it like last minuet and it was already filled up, so I guess we'll be there next year. Whens a good time to sign up?

I'd say the day regional registration opens for 2010. :)

[Danny McC]

We were supposed to go this season but we looked into it like last minuet and it was already filled up, so I guess we'll be there next year. Whens a good time to sign up?

Yeah Philly is pretty popular, you know because the best teams are there every year, so if you wanna go id suggest being ready to go right away.

[flyingcrayons]

I wanna see all the Jersey teams cheering together. ALL OF THEM!!!!!. That is all. And Barry you better there or I will go whereever you are and get you.

Hahaha.... ohhh yeahhhh... we're gonna out cheer everyone else!!!

just us 5 (?) NJ teams!!!

[Danny McC]

Hahaha.... ohhh yeahhhh... we're gonna out cheer everyone else!!!

just us 5 (?) NJ teams!!!


Pssh. We can do it. We just have to get everyone organized. And maybe some help from MOE. You know. Just saying.

[Akash Rastogi]

Pssh. We can do it. We just have to get everyone organized. And maybe some help from MOE. You know. Just saying.

I want to adopt MOE as a Jersey team for those few days. Green and black is close enough to MORT's yellow and black right?;)

[flyingcrayons]

haha i second that

[nlknauss]

Rookie Team 2729 is from NJ and should have close to 50 students! We will do our best to cheer and represent NJ and FIRST!

[Akash Rastogi]

Rookie Team 2729 is from NJ and should have close to 50 students! We will do our best to cheer and represent NJ and FIRST!

Woot!! That sounds like a friggin MORT in the making XD We're known for our generally large team as well.

50 students is awesome for a rookie team. Keep it up.

[Danny McC]

Rookie Team 2729 is from NJ and should have close to 50 students! We will do our best to cheer and represent NJ and FIRST!

Hang by the rest of the New Jersey teams and cheer along with us.

[Libby K]

Hang by the rest of the New Jersey teams and cheer along with us.

We should definitely have a NJ cheering section. Woohoo!

[Danny McC]

We should definitely have a NJ cheering section. Woohoo!

Well theres only one way to do that someones gotta organize. And I think Libby just volunteered herself. Congrats Libby.

[flyingcrayons]

i second that as well... :)

[Danny McC]

Hmmm me and dustin were talking and I was thinking about getting hacky sacks for competitions because I know that a lot of people play and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if their team was interested or not because I need to know how many to get.

[OZ_341]

Hmmm me and dustin were talking and I was thinking about getting hacky sacks for competitions because I know that a lot of people play and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if their team was interested or not because I need to know how many to get.

Danny:

Just wanted to let you know that our team has already purchased special Hacky Sacks for Philly. Feel free to stick with your plans, because ours will be very different from a standard Hacky Sack. But I just thought I would let you know, in case it helps you plan.

For what its worth, we have many team members that would enjoy another type of Hacky Sack. So if you are planning for our team, we would have at least 12 kids that would like them. :)

Looking forward to seeing your team in Philly!

[Danny McC]

Danny:

Just wanted to let you know that our team has already purchased special Hacky Sacks for Philly. Feel free to stick with your plans, because ours will be very different from a standard Hacky Sack. But I just thought I would let you know, in case it helps you plan.

For what its worth, we have many team members that would enjoy another type of Hacky Sack. So if you are planning for our team, we would have at least 12 kids that would like them. :)

Looking forward to seeing your team in Philly!

Hmmm Frisbees? How about it?

[Akash Rastogi]

Hmmm me and dustin were talking and I was thinking about getting hacky sacks for competitions because I know that a lot of people play and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if their team was interested or not because I need to know how many to get.

Me being the least hand/eye coordinated kid in the Northeast....sure, I'll give it a shot. :p

btw anyone up for lunch with me, Danny, and thefro on thursday?

[Cyberphil]

We'll be there, and hopefully we will have just as much, or even more fun than last year!

[thefro526]

Me being the least hand/eye coordinated kid in the Northeast....sure, I'll give it a shot. :p

btw anyone up for lunch with me, Danny, and thefro on thursday?

Whoa....

When did we plan this lunch...?

But that would definitely be cool to get together and grab a bite to eat before everything gets crazy-er.

[thefro526]

Any teams that would like some extra practice can hit me up here:

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=71782

[flyingcrayons]

btw anyone up for lunch with me, Danny, and thefro on thursday?

if we are leaving the venue, i gotta ask, but otherwise, im up for it...

(if u want me... lol :cool: )

[neoshaakti]

Hey all, we are trying to get our coaches to agree to pursue Philly, but we have a condition to meet...our cost of the trip has to be 200 (or under)/ member.
At this point, we figure that we'll have to spend about $500 to ship the robot
Per member, travel will cost about $32 (unless we get bulk/discounted tickets...)
The registration fee will cost $4000
Lodging is the big ? mark at the moment.

Teams going to Philly, what hotels are you staying at and for what rates? Are any of the hotels giving a FIRST discount (or AAA discount), and if a hotel isnt on drexel's campus do they provide transportation to the competition?
Thank you so much!

[Akash Rastogi]

Hey all, we are trying to get our coaches to agree to pursue Philly, but we have a condition to meet...our cost of the trip has to be 200 (or under)/ member.
At this point, we figure that we'll have to spend about $500 to ship the robot
Per member, travel will cost about $32 (unless we get bulk/discounted tickets...)
The registration fee will cost $4000
Lodging is the big ? mark at the moment.

Teams going to Philly, what hotels are you staying at and for what rates? Are any of the hotels giving a FIRST discount (or AAA discount), and if a hotel isnt on drexel's campus do they provide transportation to the competition?
Thank you so much!


Yo I will ask tomorrow if we're taking a bus there, b/c if so, then if your team can just come to our school then we could take everyone down. As for robot shipping, can't you have someone with a pickup take it there?

I'll get back to you Neel.

[DUCKIE]

Septa, Broad Street Subway, the Trolley, and the Metro have stations on/near Temple University's campus, so as long as you get a hotel on one of their lines, transport to/from campus should be pretty easy and cheap.

[flyingcrayons]

i don't think our team's bothering with lodging, we're just gonna take the trip there and back every day. For you guys, ur like on the border. You could travel every day, but it would be a hassle. If you don't mind leaving super early, and getting back a little later... you don't really need a hotel.. and like akash said, find other teams in your area, and if they are going to philly, ask whether they are staying overnight, or busing... sharing a bus with another team can be a great help, and save a lot of $$$...

[Brad Voracek]

this looks like an awesome regional.. Team 399 went in 07 and I must say it just has so much energy! We loved it, I hope to come back someday. =P

[Cyberphil]

Wait, i thought this regional was being held elsewhere in Philadelphia. It might still be in Drexel, i don't know, but i do not think it was in the same stadium. I saw this somewhere, and the new place were going looks sweet. If i find the place i'l post the link.

[Cyberphil]

As Judy said, due to construction that will be going on at Drexel this spring the Philadelphia Regional has been relocated. So instead of the D.A.C., the 2009 Philadelphia Regional will be held at the Liacouras Center Arena. (Event is not listed on the Arena's calendar yet though.)

Also, Instead of the fifth week of competition, the Philadelphia Regional will be the fourth week, March 18 - 21th.

---------------------
For those of you who like to research the area... (and find good directions ahead of time so they do not get horribly lost like me) ... the arena website and address are below.

http://www.liacourascenter.com/

Liacouras Center on 1776 N. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19121
---------------------


.

UGH!! Why don't i read the whole posts? Thank you very much Ducky, you're on it.

[SammyKay]

Pssh. We can do it. We just have to get everyone organized. And maybe some help from MOE. You know. Just saying.

Haha Danny, did you forget about 316??? :P You remembered our sister team, but not us haha. I can't guarantee that we'll be much help towards the cheering of Jersey teams since we're so small, but seeing as how we have a designated spirit team, maybe we'll work up our own team spirit which will then help with Jersey spirit haha

[SammyKay]

Hmmm me and dustin were talking and I was thinking about getting hacky sacks for competitions because I know that a lot of people play and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if their team was interested or not because I need to know how many to get.

I'm not the best hand/eye coordinated person by any means, and kinda suck at hacky sack, but I'll give it a try. haha. and I'll try to drag some LuNaTeCs into it too. :)

[.:Brianna:.]

the firebirds are going for the chairman's award again this year. any one else doing the same?

[Akash Rastogi]

the firebirds are going for the chairman's award again this year. any one else doing the same?

i'm guessing 341, 357, and 316

[thefro526]

i'm guessing 341, 357, and 316

Stogi, Aren't you guys taking a shot at chairman's too? Or only in Jersey?

[Danny McC]

the firebirds are going for the chairman's award again this year. any one else doing the same?

I think we are going for it this year. :)

[Akash Rastogi]

I think we are going for it this year. :)

Dude you guys better. Let me know if you need help with the submissions.

Stogi, Aren't you guys taking a shot at chairman's too? Or only in Jersey?

Hmm....I don't think we'd ever ditch NJ. But no idea.

[thefro526]

I think we are going for it this year. :)

Lol, and where was I when we made this decision?

[Shelbo]

i'm guessing 341, 357, and 316

We did last year but idk if the final executive decision has been made for this year yet.

"Lol, and where was I when we made this decision?"- Dustin i think your mind was elsewhere =]

and as for the hacky sack thing...i'll most likely pass. last time i played with Danny, Matt, and Dustin i nearly fell off the curb. however i will happily watch if i get the time =D

[Danny McC]

We did last year but idk if the final executive decision has been made for this year yet.

"Lol, and where was I when we made this decision?"- Dustin i think your mind was elsewhere =]

and as for the hacky sack thing...i'll most likely pass. last time i played with Danny, Matt, and Dustin i nearly fell off the curb. however i will happily watch if i get the time =D

lololol yeahhh you were pretty bad.

[flyingcrayons]

Haha Danny, did you forget about 316??? :P You remembered our sister team, but not us haha. I can't guarantee that we'll be much help towards the cheering of Jersey teams since we're so small, but seeing as how we have a designated spirit team, maybe we'll work up our own team spirit which will then help with Jersey spirit haha

Haha, it was probably a slight oversight... any team that has its own spirit team and is in delaware and is sister teams with MOE deserves to cheer with the NJ teams... :D

[Shelbo]

Haha, it was probably a slight oversight... any team that has its own spirit team and is in delaware and is sister teams with MOE deserves to cheer with the NJ teams... :D


NAHHH South Jersey Robotics Team!!! 316 is definately from Jersey the last time i checked. MOE is just closest to us. :D And everyone on the team is spirited!

[flyingcrayons]

ahhhhhh..................... woopss... that was a big mistake... hey, im only human,and plus, i only have 1 yr of robotics experience (im not trying to make excuses, just sayin, nah mean?)

but yeah, im really sorry bout that, hope your not offended by my egreigious error (workin on that SAT vocab.. ;))

in the end, all that really matters is that all us jersey teams (and MOE) show up cheering louder than everyone else out there...

[Danny McC]

We did last year but idk if the final executive decision has been made for this year yet.

"Lol, and where was I when we made this decision?"- Dustin i think your mind was elsewhere =]

and as for the hacky sack thing...i'll most likely pass. last time i played with Danny, Matt, and Dustin i nearly fell off the curb. however i will happily watch if i get the time =D

Actually on second thought the entertainment value this would bring is great so you have to play.

[SammyKay]

NAHHH South Jersey Robotics Team!!! 316 is definately from Jersey the last time i checked. MOE is just closest to us. :D And everyone on the team is spirited!

Hahah Shelby, we're like, almost in Delaware....lol cuz ya know, the bridge is really close...haha =]

[SammyKay]

Actually on second thought the entertainment value this would bring is great so you have to play.

Haha Danny, you're so nice lol tho, I might do the same thing Shelby did last year. I missed seeing her play hacky sack with ya tho. lol

[Danny McC]

Haha Danny, you're so nice lol tho, I might do the same thing Shelby did last year. I missed seeing her play hacky sack with ya tho. lol

Wellll thats because it was not at the competition. But if she does do it at the competition please have ready your cameras to take pictures.

[SammyKay]

Wellll thats because it was not at the competition. But if she does do it at the competition please have ready your cameras to take pictures.

Haha I'll try to have it ready. either that or somebody on the team will take pics

[Shelbo]

ahhhhhh..................... woopss... that was a big mistake... hey, im only human,and plus, i only have 1 yr of robotics experience (im not trying to make excuses, just sayin, nah mean?)

but yeah, im really sorry bout that, hope your not offended by my egreigious error (workin on that SAT vocab.. ;))

in the end, all that really matters is that all us jersey teams (and MOE) show up cheering louder than everyone else out there...



No offense taken... you'll learn eventually =] keep workin on those SAT words.


and Danny you've gotta give me some props... i was in flip flops... i'll have to sharpen my hacky sack skills and show you up....

[SammyKay]

and Danny you've gotta give me some props... i was in flip flops... i'll have to sharpen my hacky sack skills and show you up....

Hahah you better show him up Shelby!!! :) haha

[Shelbo]

Haha I'll try to have it ready. either that or somebody on the team will take pics


jeez...the city of brotherly love huh??? and hey if not being able to play hacky sack is my major flaw.... i think i'm doin pretty good in life XD

[SammyKay]

jeez...the city of brotherly love huh??? and hey if not being able to play hacky sack is my major flaw.... i think i'm doin pretty good in life XD

Haha our team is full of love!! :D
and yea, if that's you're major flaw, you ARE doing pretty good in life

[thefro526]

Wow, this discussion of hacky sack has become serious business.... Might have to start working on my skillz...

Btw, I <3 driving the robot with the severe loss of traction... It's rather fun... and easy ;)

[Shelbo]

Wow, this discussion of hacky sack has become serious business.... Might have to start working on my skillz...

Btw, I <3 driving the robot with the severe loss of traction... It's rather fun... and easy ;)

way to be random^^:p

and u better hone those skillz. im gonna pwn. lol:D

[thefro526]

way to be random^^:p

and u better hone those skillz. im gonna pwn. lol:D

Me random? Never...

To continue the randomess.... Any teams that would like to get together and scrimmage before ship shoot me a PM. (Yes, I know ship date is rather far off but it can't hurt to plan)

[thelittlesister]

Anybody have the information on pre-ordering team lunches? And anything about a team social? I know they didn't have it last year but were wondering if they were bringing it back.

[Danny McC]

Welllll know that Jersey is over it is time for the long wait until Philly. And from what I have heard about team's going to Philly this year it should be a tough competition with a lot of good matches. I am really looking forward to seeing what 357, 365, and 341 put out on the field this year. It is always fun to watch matches with you guys included. And I want a rematch from last year.

[DUCKIE]

Last I heard, there will be no team social this year.

[Danny McC]

There has not been one the past two years right? I am kinda sad. I remember when they used to be at the Franklin Institute that was always really fun.

[OZ_341]

Welllll know that Jersey is over it is time for the long wait until Philly. And from what I have heard about team's going to Philly this year it should be a tough competition with a lot of good matches. I am really looking forward to seeing what 357, 365, and 341 put out on the field this year. It is always fun to watch matches with you guys included. And I want a rematch from last year.

We watched your machine in Jersey and we are verrrry afraid. (seriously) You have an awesome bot. It will do well everywhere it plays this year. (Rematch? Gulp!!) :)

[Danny McC]

We watched your machine in Jersey and we are verrrry afraid. (seriously) You have an awesome bot. It will do well everywhere it plays this year. (Rematch? Gulp!!) :)

I dont know about the doing well everywhere but the drive team and the rest of the seniors are just trying to go out in style.

[SammyKay]

I dont know about the doing well everywhere but the drive team and the rest of the seniors are just trying to go out in style.

Wait, Danny it's your last year this year?? That stinks! I'll have nobody to avoid seeing then! haha just kidding Danny. I don't avoid you. :)

[Akash Rastogi]

Are the pits at Philly in numerical order?

If so, we get to be next to 56 ^_^

Photos of our robot are on Flikr http://www.flickr.com/photos/34830140@N06/

We were semifinalists while doing our best in NJ so idk how Philly will end up. We'll bring it all though.

[acdcfan259]

So excited, one week away for us (have to leave on Wednesday to get there on time). Going to be VERY busy with redesigns on Thursday. Does anyone know if there will be places to go outside and throw a Frisbee around?

[Lil' Lavery]

So excited, one week away for us (have to leave on Wednesday to get there on time). Going to be VERY busy with redesigns on Thursday. Does anyone know if there will be places to go outside and throw a Frisbee around?

There are some of Temple University's athletic fields across the street, but I'm not sure about their policy regarding use of these. You might have to wait until the regional returns to the DAC next year. :rolleyes:

[thefro526]

Are the pits at Philly in numerical order?

If so, we get to be next to 56 ^_^

I think so, or at least as numerical as NJ.

We were semifinalists while doing our best in NJ so idk how Philly will end up. We'll bring it all though.

Winners. The MORT Anomaly Ftw.

Btw, For the Record, MORT was the only team to score more than one ball in our trailer with a Robot in New Jersey. They were also on the alliance that Eliminated us the Last two years in New Jersey. Also in the Semi's of NJ in 2008 MORT was on the alliance that dealt us our first Lose of 2008 (We were 10-0 up to that point). Needless to say, I'm not going to let them eliminate us here.

[Akash Rastogi]

I'm not going to let them eliminate us here.

You're going down Dustin. :) Thanks so much for the kind words man. You were nothing short of spectacular yourself these past 2 years.

Our team is looking forward to presenting at Philly for chairmans for the first time ever. We've never presented outside of NJ before and it'll be awesome competing against teams like 433, 316 and especially 341, we're just glad 103 and 365 can't win it anymore ^_^

P.S= If 341 wins the national chairmans this year, which I personally think they will, they'll be the THIRD out of the PA/DE area. Good stuff.

[thefro526]

You're going down Dustin. :) Thanks so much for the kind words man. You were nothing short of spectacular yourself these past 2 years.



Way to edit that Stogi.

Seriously though, this'll be my last Philadelphia Regional as a Student. This is where it all began and you better not end it early. 816 + 11 > 1114....From 2008.

[Shelbo]

[QUOTE=Akash Rastogi;834890]

Our team is looking forward to presenting at Philly for chairmans for the first time ever. We've never presented outside of NJ before and it'll be awesome competing against teams like 433, 316 and especially 341, we're just glad 103 and 365 can't win it anymore ^_^QUOTE]


sorry... you won't have 316's competition. We decided not to run for chairmans this year. but good luck with it!

[The Lucas]

You're going down Dustin. :) Thanks so much for the kind words man. You were nothing short of spectacular yourself these past 2 years.

Our team is looking forward to presenting at Philly for chairmans for the first time ever. We've never presented outside of NJ before and it'll be awesome competing against teams like 433, 316 and especially 341, we're just glad 103 and 365 can't win it anymore ^_^

P.S= If 341 wins the national chairmans this year, which I personally think they will, they'll be the THIRD out of the PA/DE area. Good stuff.

Can we still win Imagery? :D (won that at Champs last year and in '04)

Philly will be great this year with a nice mix of old friends and fresh faces in the Chairman's and of course robot competition. With 9 more teams right now this should be the most competitive Philly regional all around in recent memory.

It would be mildly surprising for anyone besides a 300-level team to win the RCA. Since 2002 (when the award was introduced), the only teams to win the RCA at Philly have been 341 (3), 357 (1), & 365 (3) (and each team has a RCA at another regional). They also grabbed a few Philly EIs: 341 (1) & 357 (2). Of course 433 has won 2 EI in the last 3 years so they have a good shot. Still, it seems like 341's to lose. Everything seems to be coming up Daisies since 07 with 3 regional championships, an RCA and last year's Champ Entrepreneurship (their second).

See you all there!

[George A.]

I think so, or at least as numerical as NJ.



Winners. The MORT Anomaly Ftw.

Btw, For the Record, MORT was the only team to score more than one ball in our trailer with a Robot in New Jersey. They were also on the alliance that Eliminated us the Last two years in New Jersey. Also in the Semi's of NJ in 2008 MORT was on the alliance that dealt us our first Lose of 2008 (We were 10-0 up to that point). Needless to say, I'm not going to let them eliminate us here.

You know Dustin, the best way to insure you don't get eliminated BY them is to align WITH them ;-)

[Mr MOE]

George:

Will you be announcing Philly again this year? You did an amazing job at Drexel last year. I can still hear your voice-over in the Philly finals matches for FIRST Overdrive. You really inspired the crowd to get totally into what was going down on the field.

[robonunez]

Team 56 (ROBBE XTREME) is looking forward to catch up with old friends and make new ones in Philly. 1 week to practice day..WOOHOO!!!

[George A.]

George:

Will you be announcing Philly again this year? You did an amazing job at Drexel last year. I can still hear your voice-over in the Philly finals matches for FIRST Overdrive. You really inspired to crowd to get totally into what was going down on the field.

Yup, I'll be there. I wouldn't miss this for the world. Even though I've only been volunteering at Philly since 2006, It's quickly becoming the one regional I look forward to year after year. This regional truly exemplifies what FIRST is all about.

I can't wait!

[Josh Goodman]

I am going to greatly miss Philly this year. 1511 had a great time last year but wanted to try out Chesapeake this year. Good luck to all the teams! And George I hope your announcing! :)

[.:Brianna:.]

It seems as though the Philadelphia teams want a team social, so here it is!!!!!

Who: Hosted by the Firebirds Team 433 and CHASS Team 1218

What: Robotics team social!!!!!!!!!!

When: Friday, March 20 from 7:30 to 10:30 PM

Where: Mount Saint Joseph Academy
120 West Wissahickon Avenue
Flourtown, PA 19031

Why: To connect and socialize wih people from other teams in order to make a stronger FIRST community

Features: Food, fun, dancing, DJ, video games, team socializing

Request: Please wear your team shirt!

Price: $7 per person. However, if your team brings more than 15 members, the price drops to $5 per person!! Proceeds will go to cover the shipping costs to send robots to Ghana!

The Firebirds and CHASS Robotics teams will be handing out flyers and directions from Temple to Mount Saint Joseph Academy on Thursday and Friday of the Philadelphia Regional.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at bdevenny09@msjastudent.org or stop by 433's pit during the regional.

GET EXCITED FOR LUNACY!!!!!

[thefro526]

So in less than one week we'll be battling at the Liacouras Center for some hardware. Needless to say I'm excited so, I think we need to get this thread moving!

As far as 816 goes, be prepared to see an even stronger performance than what we showed in New Jersey. We've got some surprises in store... (Nothing too special - but you'll notice it.)

[acdcfan259]

Needless to say, I'm about as excited as you can get. I wish i could just fast forward through these two days of school and just get on with it. Going to be making some upgrades to make our robot a little more competitive, and hopefully elimination worthy. Gunning for another safety award, but it looks like 250 could give us a run for our money.

[Akash Rastogi]

Did anyone realize how many regional finalists, winners, and just overall BIG teams will be there?!?!?:ahh:

So psyched. Honestly, I just want to have a good time at Philly. Hardware or no hardware, this regional should be fun. =D

[Jared Russell]

Did anyone realize how many regional finalists, winners, and just overall BIG teams will be there?!?!?:ahh:

So psyched. Honestly, I just want to have a good time at Philly. Hardware or no hardware, this regional should be fun. =D

That's usually the case in Philly. Lots of old northeastern teams with plenty of trophies in their cases all packed together in a loud, sweaty gym.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

[vic burg]

The line-up looks good!
I can't wait to see what's going to happen! Even though I won't be there this year, you can bet I will be next year. :)

[thefro526]

Needless to say, I'm about as excited as you can get. I wish i could just fast forward through these two days of school and just get on with it. Going to be making some upgrades to make our robot a little more competitive, and hopefully elimination worthy. Gunning for another safety award, but it looks like 250 could give us a run for our money.

Hmmm.... Safety Award, eh? 816's won the Safety Award in '05 and '07 in Philly, and we also won the Safety Award in NJ this year too. Needless to say we're going to give you a bit of a challenge for the award. (or should I say you're going to give us a bit of a challenge?)

Did anyone realize how many regional finalists, winners, and just overall BIG teams will be there?!?!?:ahh:

Stogi, Philly is one of those Regionals that has always had quite a few High Caliber teams year after year. It's just it never really got noticed by a lot of people as one of the "Stacked" regionals like Midwest. Regardless, I haven't even looked at the team list yet. I've decided that the only thing that determines how well a team will do is performance, not lineage or hype. If you want to Debate that, remember 2 out of 3 World Champions were eliminated in their First Regional. That being said, I heard some Rumors of a "MORT Anomaly".....;)

[Danny McC]

I can honestly say this is the most excited I have ever been for a competition. We had a pretty good showing in Jersey we just got to take it even further here in Philly. It seems like it will be a very competitive competition this year. The Elims this year should be even better then last years. Can't wait to see some old friends and meet some new people. See you all in 4 days.

[Akash Rastogi]

Hmmm.... Safety Award, eh? 816's won the Safety Award in '05 and '07 in Philly, and we also won the Safety Award in NJ this year too. Needless to say we're going to give you a bit of a challenge for the award. (or should I say you're going to give us a bit of a challenge?)



Stogi, Philly is one of those Regionals that has always had quite a few High Caliber teams year after year. It's just it never really got noticed by a lot of people as one of the "Stacked" regionals like Midwest. Regardless, I haven't even looked at the team list yet. I've decided that the only thing that determines how well a team will do is performance, not lineage or hype. If you want to Debate that, remember 2 out of 3 World Champions were eliminated in their First Regional. That being said, I heard some Rumors of a "MORT Anomaly".....;)

I counted 15 big names and good robots based on this year's performance alone. I don't look at team history when walking into late week regionals. Only week 1 regionals.

[Koko Ed]

Does anyone know if the regional gives out parking passes for volunteers?

[thefro526]

I counted 15 big names and good robots based on this year's performance alone. I don't look at team history when walking into late week regionals. Only week 1 regionals.

Touché.

We've seen robots go from being on Fire one regional to being a dud in the next though. But maybe, just to get a leg up I should look into the teams going...

[The Lucas]

Does anyone know if the regional gives out parking passes for volunteers?

Parking at 15th and Cecil B Moore should be free for volunteers and the public as well.

[Jared Russell]

Does anyone know if the regional gives out parking passes for volunteers?

Also depending on where you are staying, SEPTA's regional rail service could be a viable alternative.

[Akash Rastogi]

Will anyone be webcasting/archiving mathces for TBA? Upset that NJ hasn't even been archived on TBA yet.

[Waynep]

Does anyone know if the regional gives out parking passes for volunteers?

WOOOO!!! Philly Regional just got better with Koko Ed gracing us with his presence!!!

[Koko Ed]

WOOOO!!! Philly Regional just got better with Koko Ed gracing us with his presence!!!

Yeah! I get to yell at you and Libby to hurry up and get your robot on the field and move it or lose it when the match is over.
Good times await!:D

[.:Brianna:.]

Only 3 days until the regional and 4 days until the social! I'm starting to get superduper excited!!!!!!

[acdcfan259]

Will anyone be webcasting/archiving mathces for TBA? Upset that NJ hasn't even been archived on TBA yet.

I second this notion, archiving would be fantastic.

[Roger]

Parking at 15th and Cecil B Moore should be free for volunteers and the public as well.

Free is a good price! Is that the parking garage what looks like to the west one block of the Liacouras Center? See here (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=N+15th+St+%26+Cecil+B+Moore+Ave,+Philadelphia,+P A&sll=39.979471,-75.157052&sspn=0.004785,0.007532&ie=UTF8&ll=39.979603,-75.159338&spn=0.004785,0.011609&t=h&z=17) at google maps. We've got a couple of 15-seat vans to find parking spots for.

Any places nearby that serve early breakfasts? We had an excellent sub shop near Boston's regional that had good, fast, and cheap breakfasts -- something you don't find too often.

Also -- so many questions! -- we've got a couple hours Sunday morning before we have to drive back home. Any Philly sights to go to on a Sunday morning or is everything closed then?

[Jared Russell]

Free is a good price! Is that the parking garage what looks like to the west one block of the Liacouras Center? See here (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=N+15th+St+%26+Cecil+B+Moore+Ave,+Philadelphia,+P A&sll=39.979471,-75.157052&sspn=0.004785,0.007532&ie=UTF8&ll=39.979603,-75.159338&spn=0.004785,0.011609&t=h&z=17) at google maps. We've got a couple of 15-seat vans to find parking spots for.

Any places nearby that serve early breakfasts? We had an excellent sub shop near Boston's regional that had good, fast, and cheap breakfasts -- something you don't find too often.

Also -- so many questions! -- we've got a couple hours Sunday morning before we have to drive back home. Any Philly sights to go to on a Sunday morning or is everything closed then?

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (complete with those famous Rocky steps) is free on Sundays and opens at 10AM. Other typical Philly sites include the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (right next to each other), which open at 9AM (though you need to pre-book your tour if that's what you want to do).

Lastly, both Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks in South Philly are open 24/7. Stop by for an authentic cheesesteak for Sunday brunch.

[Lil' Lavery]

Also -- so many questions! -- we've got a couple hours Sunday morning before we have to drive back home. Any Philly sights to go to on a Sunday morning or is everything closed then?

Jared nailed most of them. I'd definitely suggest Geno's (and Pat's, but mainly Geno's) as a must-visit for anyone coming to Philly. There's a number of good cheesesteak places, but none are like Geno's.

[Dancin103]

There's a number of good cheesesteak places, but none are like Geno's.

This will always be the debate around Philly, but Pat's is the original creator of the steak sandwich and nothing is better than Pat's, but a true Philadelphian usually won't eat either. :)

Cass

[Jared Russell]

This will always be the debate around Philly, but Pat's is the original creator of the steak sandwich and nothing is better than Pat's, but a true Philadelphian usually won't eat either. :)

Cass

A true Philadelphian eats whatever is made by the shop on their street corner.

And the true Philadelphian then argues to anyone who will listen that his cheesesteak is the best one, and all others are imitators.

[Dancin103]

A true Philadelphian eats whatever is made by the shop on their street corner.

And the true Philadelphian then argues to anyone who will listen that his cheesesteak is the best one, and all others are imitators.

Haha. This is true. :)

Cass

[Roger]

Lastly, both Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks in South Philly are open 24/7.I think I've heard of these two on a PBS "Sandwich tour" on tv -- they're like across the street from each other? After having the rest it would be nice to try the "original" -- whichever one it may be.Stop by for an authentic cheesesteak for Sunday brunch.Oy! Cheesesteak right before a 6 hour drive? Not sure that would quite agree with my interior. :) Maybe just a pretzel with mustard...

However, I was asking about early breakfast places near the Liacouras Center -- one to fill me up at the beginning of the day and not as $$$ as inside the Center.

[Dancin103]

I think I've heard of these two on a PBS "Sandwich tour" on tv -- they're like across the street from each other? After having the rest it would be nice to try the "original" -- whichever one it may be.Oy! Cheesesteak right before a 6 hour drive? Not sure that would quite agree with my interior. :) Maybe just a pretzel with mustard...

However, I was asking about early breakfast places near the Liacouras Center -- one to fill me up at the beginning of the day and not as $$$ as inside the Center.


Pat's is the original, and yes they are across the street from each other, causing the much heated debate as to which one is better.

I would be careful around the Liacouras center at all hours, it is a very risky place sometimes. It is right on Temple's campus so I'm sure there are a handful of places to eat that aren't expensive. :)

Cass

[Roger]

So, to be strictly scientific about this, I should go to all the steak-and-cheese shops in the greater Philadelphia area and try them all? Maybe I should go start now...




But Jimmy's in East Walpole really is the best!

[DUCKIE]

Google maps says there is a Dunkin' Donuts on Cecil B Moore between 15th and N. Broad.... I'm not finding anything else especially close... but I've not been to the Temple area of Philadelphia before.

You might have better luck finding something closer to your hotel and bringing it with you though.

[.:Brianna:.]

There's a place on Temple's campus called Saxby's that's a coffee shop that serves breakfast as well. It's pretty much a low-cost version of Starbucks.

Pat's is the original, and yes they are across the street from each other, causing the much heated debate as to which one is better.

I would be careful around the Liacouras center at all hours, it is a very risky place sometimes. It is right on Temple's campus so I'm sure there are a handful of places to eat that aren't expensive. :)

Cass

[Jared Russell]

I think I've heard of these two on a PBS "Sandwich tour" on tv -- they're like across the street from each other? After having the rest it would be nice to try the "original" -- whichever one it may be.Oy! Cheesesteak right before a 6 hour drive? Not sure that would quite agree with my interior. :) Maybe just a pretzel with mustard...

However, I was asking about early breakfast places near the Liacouras Center -- one to fill me up at the beginning of the day and not as $$$ as inside the Center.

Where are you staying? You might have better luck with breakfast in that area.

[Roger]

I'm sure there's a restaurant at our hotel, and we might end up there anyway for breakfast, but if it gets pricy I'd like an alternate. Plus there is the "early crew" that likes to get to the place early. Splitting us up into smaller groups might get better service than one huge group.

[JudyVandy]

Re: Food near Licourias...(hope I spelled it right)

There are usually plenty of the infamous 'grease wagons' on and about most Philly area campuses. Most of them are cheap and relatively good...some better than others.

[Lil' Lavery]

The Lunch Trucks/Roach Coach/Grease Wagons/Whatevers may be a good option for breakfast or lunch, but I'm not familiar with the ones around Temple so I wouldn't be able to suggest any in particular. Several will likely be open for breakfast on Thursday and Friday, but it might be harder to find one open on Saturday.

[Jared Russell]

And if the locals affectionately call them Grease Wagons and Roach Coaches, they can't be bad!

[talltree357]

Ok so you want to know which are the best trucks for food. I'll give you my top 5 at temple.

1) Crepe Truck-basically all kinds of meat, fruits and veggies, in any combination in a crepe for a good price(less than 6 dollars) On norris near 12th
2) Unsure of name, but its a big truck on 12th with a 5 dollar foot long sign- really really good footlongs(I recommend the chicken they use really good chicken, like 3/4" thick)
3) Fame's Pizza truck- Also on 12th, right past bell tower, 2 pieces of pizza with topping and a drink for 4.50
4) Sushi Truck- I haven't eaten there but I have heard good things, it is on 13th and montgomery
5) Ritchies- On 12th next to fames, good prices for good breakfast food

Coffee-
We have multiple places to get coffee
Dunkin as previously mention on Cecil B. Moore
Starbucks on Broad St. its mixed in the series of shops on the Avenue North( Big blue cluster of stores and restaurants)
Starbucks-Yes we have 2, this one is in the tech center on 12th, no id necessary to get in
Saxby's- this is on Liacouras walk in the middle of campus
Also assorted trucks and stands have coffee

[Jared Russell]

Ok so you want to know which are the best trucks for food. I'll give you my top 5 at temple.

1) Crepe Truck-basically all kinds of meat, fruits and veggies, in any combination in a crepe for a good price(less than 6 dollars) On norris near 12th
2) Unsure of name, but its a big truck on 12th with a 5 dollar foot long sign- really really good footlongs(I recommend the chicken they use really good chicken, like 3/4" thick)
3) Fame's Pizza truck- Also on 12th, right past bell tower, 2 pieces of pizza with topping and a drink for 4.50
4) Sushi Truck- I haven't eaten there but I have heard good things, it is on 13th and montgomery
5) Ritchies- On 12th next to fames, good prices for good breakfast food

Coffee-
We have multiple places to get coffee
Dunkin as previously mention on Cecil B. Moore
Starbucks on Broad St. its mixed in the series of shops on the Avenue North( Big blue cluster of stores and restaurants)
Starbucks-Yes we have 2, this one is in the tech center on 12th, no id necessary to get in
Saxby's- this is on Liacouras walk in the middle of campus
Also assorted trucks and stands have coffee

Awesome info, thanks! Though even with a recommendation I'm not sure I would ever have the guts to order sushi from a truck.

[Barry Bonzack]

Although "unacceptable," I unfortunately will not be able to attend the Philly regional this year. I will be at the UCF Relay for Life all night long, however. Best of luck to everyone, perhaps I will be able to come again next year.

[thefro526]

It sounds like My HP and I are going to go scout out the area tomorrow as long as nothing else comes up. If I find anything cool I'll definitely post it up here.

[coalhot]

My brother David works at Temple, and set up everything for archiving the Philly Regional.

GO 304!!!!!

--Philip

[Akash Rastogi]

My brother David works at Temple, and set up everything for archiving the Philly Regional.

GO 304!!!!!

--Philip

Awesome! Tell him thanks!:)

[acdcfan259]

Leaving tomorrow morning. Can't wait. Hope to see everyone there.

[Mark1153]

First time at the Philadelphi Regional - looking forward to meeting all the teams and seeing all the robots.

Quick Question - On which side of the building will we be loading in all our tools and bins on a cart?

Thanks

[talltree357]

First time at the Philadelphi Regional - looking forward to meeting all the teams and seeing all the robots.

Quick Question - On which side of the building will we be loading in all our tools and bins on a cart?

Thanks

From what I have heard, teams will be loading in carts through the loading dock which is to the left of the main entrance to the building.

[Roger]

It took a little digging at www.liacourascenter.com (http://www.liacourascenter.com) but the load-in entrance is on Briad Street at the southeast corner of the Liacouras Center -- so it is to the left of the Main Entrance. Some other info:

220’ heater graded ramp before entering the dock area.
Internal dock: Turnaround capabilities for large transport trailers
Internal space: 15,250 sq. ft.

Load-in/out capabilities:
(3) Dock levelers in a 50’ w space
80’ from main freight elevator
Loading Dock - 120’ from SW corner of arena floor
Bus/truck parking available in dock area
Access to arena floor is limited to smaller vehicles

And, not that I'm expecting it or anything, the Center is capable of doing pyrotechnics, with a pyro permit. Just goes to show what you can find out if you dig deep enough. ;)

[camtunkpa]

222 will be leaving 4:30 AM tomorrow and is looking forward to having a great time competing in Philly!

[thefro526]

I checked out the area that surrounds The Liacouras Center and I was pretty impressed. I didn't think it was in a bad area or anything, maybe if you walked about 5 blocks in any direction and got off campus you might walk into some shady characters but usually they'll have better things to worry about than you.

I also saw quite a few places to eat within like 5 minutes walking distance but I didn't check any out because I was far too lazy to get out of my car and walk.

See you all in the AM.

[Shelbo]

Although "unacceptable," I unfortunately will not be able to attend the Philly regional this year. I will be at the UCF Relay for Life all night long, however. Best of luck to everyone, perhaps I will be able to come again next year.

Good Luck at Relay for Life!!! =]

[Akash Rastogi]

Alright so we had a final prep meeting and all is set. We leave at like 5:45 tomorrow morning...

Excited as anything about this regional! See you all tomorrow, meet the new face of MORT in the morning. :cool:

[thefro526]

Good Luck to Everyone today. It looks like we've got one heck of a weekend ahead of us. I guess no one's heard of a webcast yet?

800th Post!

[oddjob]

... webcast ... please ..... someone .....

[Jared Russell]

The pit admin said that the schedule would not be distributed in paper form until tomorrow morning, but the FIRST website has one listed:

http://www2.usfirst.org/2009comp/events/PA/schedulequal.html

Can anyone confirm or deny that this is the correct schedule for qualifications?

(If so, an 80 match schedule with inspection running pretty far behind will be...interesting)

[darkember]

Can someone post a link to the webcast if there even is any.

[Akash Rastogi]

The pit admin said that the schedule would not be distributed in paper form until tomorrow morning, but the FIRST website has one listed:

http://www2.usfirst.org/2009comp/events/PA/schedulequal.html

Can anyone confirm or deny that this is the correct schedule for qualifications?

(If so, an 80 match schedule with inspection running pretty far behind will be...interesting)

Match 30 is going to be epic.

[petek]

The pit admin said that the schedule would not be distributed in paper form until tomorrow morning, but the FIRST website has one listed:

http://www2.usfirst.org/2009comp/events/PA/schedulequal.html

Can anyone confirm or deny that this is the correct schedule for qualifications?

(If so, an 80 match schedule with inspection running pretty far behind will be...interesting)Yup, that's the one. We are prioritizing the inspection of robots according to the match schedule.

I think Wayne will like match 44.

[Akash Rastogi]

From what I saw today...teams to look out for.

816 - based on what we saw them do today in practice matches and me trying not to be biased.

834- Very strong offense, however I hate to say it but poor driving hinders their offensive abilities.

708- they got a LOT better since NJ

The rest are obvious.

We are pumped for the start of qualifications tomorrow, VERY tough match schedule for us. I look forward to stratgizing with many of you.:D

[Phil Ross]

from what I noticed today during queuing, team 1507 is not only going to be an offensive force to watch out for but they are also a fabulous group of people that I am glad I got to know today. Look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

[thefro526]

From what I saw today...teams to look out for.

816 - based on what we saw them do today in practice matches and me trying not to be biased.


816? They were ok.... They should be better tomorrow.

Actually those practice matches were more or less of an experimentation period for us. We played with a lot of different things and found out what was going to work and what didn't. We finally got to play with defensive maneuvers and offensive ramming and pinning and we found what gave us an advantage. Also we found out from a lot of people that we have excellent traction control and looked like we have almost complete control over the robot. (We have no traction control... At all.)

But thanks for the kind words Stogi, it looks like we're getting noticed out there.

See you all in the AM.

[Akash Rastogi]

Good luck today everyone, I'm heading out. Peace.

[MissDaisyGirl]

Hello Philadelphia Regional fans, friends, and family!

Team 341 is *attempting* to webcast. We have a hookup and everything is working great. Unfortunately, sometimes our school computer crashes so I apologize in advance for any intermittent viewing. Here is the link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/philadelphia-regional-2009

We'll try our best to keep it up!

[Elgin Clock]

Hello Philadelphia Regional fans, friends, and family!
Team 341 (http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/team.php?team=341) is *attempting* to webcast. We have a hookup and everything is working great. Unfortunately, sometimes our school computer crashes so I apologize in advance for any intermittent viewing. Here is the link:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/philadelphia-regional-2009
We'll try our best to keep it up!

I missed the webcast of the awards ceremony, but I see that you won the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award in Philadelphia!!
Congratulations Kirsten, & thanks again for the webcast! :)

[Phil Ross]

From what I saw today on the field things went SO much smoother than yesterday. By 10:30 we had every team through inspection and there were only three matches that had any missing robots. Congratulations to all the teams that participated today and to all of those who won awards today. A special congrats to Kirsten from 341 on her WFFA.

Okay, so here are my predictions (in no specific order)...the teams who are going to have a major impact on tomorrows matches are; 365, 103, 1923, 708, 816, 1507, 378, 222, 11, 809, 87, and 272.

There are other teams who have been excluded from this list...don't worry I haven't forgotten about you.

357 has been doing a fantastic job playing the "empty cell" game and if they can get their turret code to function they will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.

Team 1279 has made changes to their robot since the DC regional. They have added two rollers on the top to of their manipulator to give the orbit balls an extra "umph." Unfortunately, for some of the time orbit balls are getting stuck JUST below that top roller. Due to the incredible amount of orbit balls being scored by them I'm not sure if this is a consistent thing that happens OR if it is only when I am looking. I'm sure that they will be able to figure something out and they will continue to impress me throughout the rest of this regional.

Don't let the rankings for team 341 fool you. Miss Daisy still has three matches left and being the champions from the San Diego regional still have a chance at playing tomorrow afternoon.

Team 484 played around yesterday trying to decide if their side dumping manipulator was effective enough to keep. After gathering their data from yesterday they showed up today excited and ready to redesign and rebuild their manipulator. Now it can be top loaded and bottom loaded directly into the original conveyor. This team (now ranked 15) could make it into an alliance captain or become an early-mid first round pick.

As far as human players (payload specialist) go I have seen a number of ones that have completely amazed me. Payload Specialists from teams 56, 2229, 365, 56, and 486 have been extremely consistent and a valuable part of their alliance.

Thanks again everyone for being so responsive today while queuing and getting onto the field. Please continue to make the lives easier for all of the volunteers and make sure you all have a blast. Good luck and see you all bright an early tomorrow.

[thefro526]

I think today was one of the most exhausting days in my FIRST Career. I don't ever being so mentally and physically drained after a Friday of competition. I can't thank the Volunteers and Event Organizers Enough for having the regional run so smoothly. The match turn around can get crazy sometimes but then again it's awesome that we have 9 qualifying matches.

The level of Competition here is excellent. Every Match seems to be more tiring than the last and it's nice to see that almost everyone was moving by their second or third match. Needless to say, Tomorrow is going to be pretty epic. (We FINALLY have a match with MORT!!!!!!!!!!!)

[MissDaisyGirl]

Thanks Teams 237 and 1712! I wasn't expecting it but it was a great honor!

I also have more great news for all of you watching the webcast. Apparently Ustream has selected our show for their iPhone app. I'm not entirely sure what that means but for those of you who have iPhones you might want to check it out tomorrow. All seemed to go well today without a hiccup so I'm very glad. Stay tuned for tomorrow - we'll have it up again!

[phanofrobotics]

I'm new to this but I was just curious on what you guys thought about team 486, the Positronic Panthers. We have three wins and losses and one tie and I think were around 20th in the standings.

Thanks and best of luck to all.

[coldfusion1279]

Team 1279 has made changes to their robot since the DC regional. They have added two rollers on the top to of their manipulator to give the orbit balls an extra "umph." Unfortunately, for some of the time orbit balls are getting stuck JUST below that top roller. Due to the incredible amount of orbit balls being scored by them I'm not sure if this is a consistent thing that happens OR if it is only when I am looking. I'm sure that they will be able to figure something out and they will continue to impress me throughout the rest of this regional.


Thanks for the kind words. One of the students tried to fix that jamming issue. It's been working in matches and tests ever since so I think that is that...

Good luck to everyone tomorrow.

[Phil Ross]

I'm new to this but I was just curious on what you guys thought about team 486, the Positronic Panthers. We have three wins and losses and one tie and I think were around 20th in the standings.

Thanks and best of luck to all.

you might want to read some of the other posts that people have made. *hint* one that I posted included information on your team*

[phanofrobotics]

Thanks Phil, I did come across that. Unfortunately I'm not sure which payload specialist we were using because lately we have been switching off.

[pacoliketaco]

Hooray for 56, 365, 395!!! 56, you guys did it again! i was watching your last few matches, cheering for you. those last matches were so intense. 2 for 2 regionals aint bad...:D

[Barry Bonzack]

HUGE congrats to 433 the FIREBIRDS! Way to win Chairman's, I knew you had it in you. See you all in Atlanta.

[Danny McC]

Another year of Philly down. Another year of me wondering how some teams look so bad in the Quals and then look so amazingly awesome in Elims. hmmm. All in all it was an amazing weekend. We had a lot of fun matches and played with a lot of good teams. I am very proud of my team because it was the most energy I have ever seen them have in the stands when it came time for cheering us on. It made me feel really good inside to know we had so much support.

[Kyle]

HUGE congrats to 433 the FIREBIRDS! Way to win Chairman's, I knew you had it in you. See you all in Atlanta.

433 Won Chairmans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WhoooooooHoooooooooooooooooo way to go.
433, I always knew you were going to walk away with chairmans from Philly one year and I am surprised that you haven't until now.
Great Job wish I could have been their to congratulate all of you in Person.

[Jared Russell]

Frustrating event for us. We had a tough-as-nails schedule that wasn't helped by a few unfortunately timed mishaps (including such highlights as an orbit ball getting jammed in an opening not 2" across, getting all of the "fingers" of our intake roller taken off at once, and my personal favorite...the match where we got two empty cells back to one of our payload specialists only to watch him then grab the empty cells rather than the super cells at the 20 second mark).

Congratulations to MOE, 2 Train, and Robbe on a well deserved win. On Thursday I was extremely impressed by how effectively MOE threw their weight around; sure enough, they pulled off the repeat in a typical Philadelphia Regional (defense, defense, and more defense). The three "blue alliance" bots simply played through the defense they faced better than anyone else.

1923 and 272 - we gave it a good fight. I think that we had the robots and the strategy to make it all work. We nearly 968'd 103 and 1153 in round 1, but that one dump in the final 5 seconds did us in. And then round 2 brought even more bad luck with the machine for Daisy...

Thanks to the FTA, event coordinator, and staff for another well-run event. The troubles of Trenton are now a distant memory for many of us.

[SammyKay]

Congrats to teams 56, 395, 365 on winning the regional!!!!!!!!! You guys were amazing today. :)

Congrats to team 433 on winning Chairman's award!!!!! Good luck at Nationals!!!

[Akash Rastogi]

First of all thank you to 222 for inviting us to the 4th alliance, it was a pleasure working with one of the Northeast's oldest teams. Things were looking up for us when 222 snagged 316 as the second pick. Things were so close in the first two matches and then all hell broke loose in that third match in favor of the powerful combination of 1391, 1279, and 834. We are truly sorry if we let you down.

The quarterfinals is definitely not where we wanted to end it all but unfortunately that's what happened and we walked home empty handed, but not without full hearts and spirits. In qualifications MORT proved what we came to Philly to prove, that we could compete and be strong in a field with the best of the best. I am EXTREMELY proud of my entire team for showing spirit, determination, and true teamwork. The improvements in both driver skill and strategy were awesome even in our first qualification match when we went 1 vs 3 and scored half the points of the other alliance with a third of the robots (44 to 86). I cannot express how proud I am of all of you. 7-2-0 earned us the 7th seed and we fought hard for it, never forget that.

There are a few teams I really want to thank out there who either helped us out a lot this weekend via parts and sincere friendship.

365- MOE, you really are the shining example FIRST has of GP. We repeatedly came to your pit asking for critical parts for our robot and you never disappointed us. Match 30 was exhilarating as we paired up with 103 to put up a nice showing. Glad you kept that MOEmentum going and won the regional once again. Sincere congrats with a heartfelt thank you.

1089- Chris, your team was awesome to talk to and it was a wonderful opportunity getting to know them better. Our mentors enjoyed talking to you as well. We look forward to building a relationship with your team. Congrats on both awards and a greatly improved performance! Not sure if you know what I mean, but you are one of those teams that makes others really proud when you succeed without even knowing your team very well, its just something about you guys...Can't wait to see you in Atlanta!

1403- Its something about our teams that just clicks when we're around each other. Your students are very committed to the team not only on the robot aspect, but the relationship aspect. We've found a new friend in FIRST and I thank you for that. Congrats on your well deserved team spirit award.

And finally, 816- What can I say guys, this regional just wasn't in the cards for us no matter how strong both of our robots were. We make an amazing team on and off the field. We truly know how you feel right now and I hope you can find your way to Atlanta. Your friendship is priceless.

Everyone who staffed, volunteered, and competed at Philly really made this a great regional. It was full of intense competition, energy, and many many strong friends. We hope to return to Philly to compete with you all again. It was a blast.

Hope to see many of you in Atlanta.

P.S.- Thank you to the many people who complimented our drivers and robot, it means more than you'll know whenever our robots get complimented. We put our hearts and souls into them. Good luck with the rest of your seasons.:)

btw 222, we will not be missing PARC. ^_^

I am disappointed in the outcome, but proud as hell of my team. We're glad we came to Philly.

[Shelbo]

Awww...Philly is over and so is my last "official" robotics season. :( . Congratulations to ALL the teams that participated in the Philly Regional.
Thanks to teams 222 and 11. It was nice working with you guys.
And congrats to 433 on their Chairmans Award and Kirsten on her Woodie Flowers.

[coldfusion1279]

1279 had a great time competing in Philly. We enjoyed it a lot and will likely return in the future.

Thank you to our partners, 1391 and 834. Really there wasn't anything we could do better. The semi's were close matches and we don't regret any part of our alliances match play. Good job to both of you and I hope you succeed throughout the remainder of the season.

Congrats to 395, 365, and 56 on a regional win.

Congrats to 433 on Chairman's Award.

See you all next year. :)

[robonunez]

On behalf of Team 56 , ROBBE Xtreme, we would like to thank 395 and 365 for picking us and forming an awesome alliance. We had tough qualification rounds but were able to come together and have a series of tremendous elimination matches.

We are looking forward to many old friends in Atlanta.

Congrats to team 433 on your chairman's award.

[Phil Ross]

Okay, so FIRST thing is first. Everyone who put their best foot forward today both in qualifications and eliminations did an absolutely fantastic job. The queuing went smoothly today and we have you all to thank...if you guys didn't show up we would have no one to que.

A HUGE congratulations to team 433 on your regional chairmans. I can't wait to see you guys again in Atlanta and good luck next week in Connecticut.

Another congratulations to team 341 on your regional Engineering Inspiration award. Although your team did not walk away with a fancy banner you sure do have a lot to be proud of this weekend. A WFFA (perceived to be an individual award, but really shows how good the team is), and an EI...not too shabby in my opinion. Congrats again.

So, here is my bystander opinion on what went down in the elimination matches.

Alliance #1: 103, 1153, and 708. Between the three of them I don't believe there were enough orbit balls on the field to share with their own alliance let alone alliance #8. 103 used the strategy of runner around the perimeter of the field gathering as many orbit balls as they could and then eventually took a huge hit on an opposing alliance. 1153 used their fantastic shooter to sneak up on unsuspecting robots and score an enormous about of points all at once. 708 was a great 2nd round pick and I was surprised they were still there for 103 to nab. They were a human loaded slow dumper but when it scored, it scored. Between the three of them, they were an almost unstoppable alliance.

Alliance #2: 378, 1507, and 250. Firstly, you guys were a pleasure to hang out with in the queuing area. 1507, although you were not the alliance captain you put on a fabulous show and really shined when your alliance needed you. Although your manipulator was somewhat slow it stored ALOT of balls. 378, your solution to the game this year was something that I never thought I would see a team do so effectively. Congratulations on making it this far. Team 250, congratulations on the safety award...So, my question to you is; "What do you do at the Philadelphia Regional in case of battery leakage?"

Alliance #3: 223, 816, and 87. Although individually each of your teams played well individually you seemed to have a hard time getting a working strategy together. In your first match you certainly had no idea how the number 6 alliance was going to play together and it was a complete surprise to all of us how they came right out of the pits and played liked champions. Your second match against them went much better than the first but it was still not enough. Congratulations to all of your teams on a job well done.

Alliance #4: 222, 11, and 316. You guys were awesome. Individually each of your teams showed great ability to carry an alliance. When you were put together I thought you guys were going to be unstoppable. Unfortunately, alliance number 5 had other plans. After emerging victorious in match 1 Cold Fusion, Spartechs, and Metal Moose were not going to let you guys go any further. 222, you showed a consistent promise of racking up tons of orbits balls each match. Also, congratulations on the Industrial Design award, truly deserved. Team 11, I am glad you guys traveled from Jersey to compete with us here in Philly. 316, as the weekend progressed, so did your abilities on the field. The drive team you sent to the field had an exceptionable ability to control that robot and every match I saw there was improvement.

Alliance #5: 1279, 834, and 1391. Each one of these teams had competed at least once before this event. After seeing Cold Fusion go all the way to the finals in DC I knew they were going to play a huge role in this weekends event. By their first match on Saturday morning they were set and ready to go with their new and improved dumper. Once they fixed the jamming, that thing was lethal. 834, finalist in NJ had a lot to live up to and they were sure not to disappoint. 1391 was one of the biggest improvements I have seen so far this year. Coming into Philly with a 1-6-0 record left over from NJ they managed to make it all the way up to the 8th seed and found their way into the 5th alliance. You guys came and really tore up the place. Congrats to your entire alliance.

Alliance #6: 395, 365, and 56. Another huge congrats to all of you on becoming the 2009 Philadelphia Regional Champions. Team 395, fantastic choice of teammates. As a NY team I didn't know much about you guys until this weekend. All throughout the matches your robot continued to catch my attention and impress me. Team 365, you never cease to amaze me. Coming from losing in the quarter final in DC to Regional Champions...thats quite impressive. I was honestly surprised that you weren't picked sooner. You worked well with all of your teammates and really pulled this alliance through a lot. Also, your human player was fantastic...he's a keeper. Team 56, this is regional #2 for you guys. This is a huge accomplishment. If the the title of two regional champions wasn't enough for you then its a good thing you were also awarded the Quality Award. Your robot and human player were both consistent and of a high caliber. Congratulations again and I look forward to seeing all of you in Atlanta.

Alliance #7: 204, 1089, and 224. Although the scores don't show it, you guys put up one hell of a fight in the quarter finals. Even though you walked away without a win in the elimination matches you need to realize that there were 30+ other teams that didn't get the chance to even play Saturday afternoon and you were part of Philly's 2009 creme de la creme. Once again, Congratulations to all of you.

Alliance #8: 272, 1923, 341. Although this 8th seeded alliance had two Regional Champions (341 San Diego, and 1923 New Jersey) it was not enough to beat out the #1 seed. Under the conditions you guys did a fantastic job. Congratulations again to 341 and 1923 and see you in Atlanta. 272 you guys did a great job and each year you guys come up with another solution to the game that continues to amaze me.

To sum all of this up, every team out there this weekend has something to be proud of. Whether it is an award or trophy or something less tangible you all competed like crazy while remembering the spirit of first. I am glad that I was apart of that this year an the incredible Philadelphia Regional. See you all in Atlanta.

-Phil

[Akash Rastogi]

Alliance #4: 222, 11, and 316. You guys were awesome. Individually each of your teams showed great ability to carry an alliance. When you were put together I thought you guys were going to be unstoppable. Unfortunately, alliance number 5 had other plans. After emerging victorious in match 1 Cold Fusion, Spartechs, and Metal Moose were not going to let you guys go any further. 222, you showed a consistent promise of racking up tons of orbits balls each match. Also, congratulations on the Industrial Design award, truly deserved. Team 11, I am glad you guys traveled from Jersey to compete with us here in Philly. 316, as the weekend progressed, so did your abilities on the field. The drive team you sent to the field had an exceptionable ability to control that robot and every match I saw there was improvement.

Haha, thanks man, that means a lot.

[OZ_341]

On behalf of Team 341 I would like to thank all of the volunteers, sponsors and FIRST folks that made the Philly Regional possible. I know the change of venue put a lot of strain on the planning and coordination of the event. But you would never know it by how smoothly it ran. Awesome Job!

A special thank you to our alliance partners 272 and 1923. We gave it our best shot and all most had them. It was almost 10 years ago that 272 LC picked an untested rookie team as their alliance partner. I never forget how amazing you guys really are. In so many ways, our team still looks up to Lansdale Catholic.

Congratulations to the winners 365, 56, and 395. A truly impressive showing from three amazing teams.

Congratulations to Team 433 for winning the Chairman's Award. You are very desrving and have been for many years. The problem in Philly is that their are about 6 teams that deserve the award each year. Its probably one of the toughest regionals in FIRST in terms of Chairmans competition. It was truly your year.

and finally... I wanted to thank our amazing media coach and 341 alum Kirsten Jahn for winning the WFFA. Since she joined our team as a kid back in 2000, she has truly been the "Face" of Miss Daisy. All of the incredible graphics, web pages, posters and videos that you see produced by our team are due to her guidance of a small band of kids that do a ton of work. "MissDaisyGirl" often says she has been "slaving" for the Daisy since 2000. We would not be who we are without her tireless efforts and the way she inspires her students. Congratulations Kir!

Good luck to everyone in their remaining regionals and to everyone heading to Atlanta.

[Dillon Compton]

The Philadelphia regional is always a fantastic experience for us, but this year was particularily exciting. Going in I was unsure about the (temporary) venue change, the lack of some familiar teams, and our spotty record in NJ.

None of these things, luckily, made the tiniest amount of difference this weekend.

Going 6-0 on Friday was fantastic - going into Saturday undefeated is a brilliant feeling that I hope I have at all FIRST events in the future... This is a nice change of pace for our team and I think we really showed what our robot and especially our driver are capable of. We expected to do far better than we did in NJ, but it was gratifying to show everyone else that we weren't just crazy.

1279 and 834 thank you for a fantastic run in eliminations. With a little more luck (loosing by 2 points one match and 6 points the next is very close) we'd have taken it to the finals and put some heat on the winning alliance. I hope we managed to make 103, 1153 and 708 sweat a little during the semis and I really think that if we did it again it might go either direction. Very evenly matched alliances. We got shut down by 708 in that last match and coulden't pull through for you guys.


222, 316, and 11 - you guys were tough. Our first-round loss had us worried and we barely squeaked by in the second round. Good defense, especially from 316. 11 and 222 you stepped up the scoring and slammed our trailers more than any of our qualifying match opponents. Something clicked on our alliance between our 2nd and 3rd matches and it definitiely showed - without that luck on our part you could easily have taken it to the semis or finals.

103, 1153, and 708 - well fought. You guys were a powerhouse of an alliance and (rightfully so) the 103-1153 team-up worried us from the moment it happened. You both showed fantastically this weekend. 708, you did a fantastic job shutting us down in the second semi-final match. It was frustrating to watch from the stands as we sat there with a full hopper, unable to get even a few moon rocks into a trailer. You did what you needed to defend against us and took the match because of it. As I said before, a fantastic, powerhouse alliance. I was frankly surprised you did not take the regional.

The rest of the alliances (from what few matches I saw) solid games and great strategy. Very impressed all around.


Fantastic regional, fantastic teams, and fantastic people. As usual the Philadelphia Regional was incredibly competitive with a deep field, had good, vibrant energy about it (somewhat dissapated due to the size of the liacouras center when compared with the Drexel Atheletic Center), and was overall one of my best FIRST experiences to date.

[ChristinaR]

This was my first visit to not only the regional but Philly all together! I came in Thursday, but spent most of my FIRST time Saturday. It looks to be a very strong regional, so kudos to the people that make it run.

I was glad to see 103, 1153 and 708 making it to the finals - I hadn't expected some fellow MA residents to be joining me there (1153 is 4 towns away).

BIG congrats goes out to 56, 395, 365! These are three teams that I've always loved. In fact, to any MOE member I encountered I think I said, "I love you guys!" :p

And of course, congrats to 433!! Another deserving team makes it on the RCA list.

Some other shoutouts go to 1089, 11, 222, 1923, 341 (congrats for EI!), 834, and every other team there. :)

The energy here in Philly was great - the crowd had a super spirit to it. Everyone was so nice, I think I may have to come back next year (without peer pressure :D )
If they stay at the Liacouras though, I'm hoping for more pit lighting, not only is it tough for teams, but tough for those trying to photograph them!

[galewind]

I can't speak for the rest of my team (but I think they share similar sentiment), but I have to say that I absolutely loved this regional. It was nice to have a different mix of teams around, but at the same time feel similar enough that it did feel like home. I can't compare it to Drexel since this was our first time competing here, but I really liked the venue, and the volunteer staff were all top-notch.

As far as matches were concerned, I really thought that the depth of field was a bit better than in NJ, and the eliminations were much more exciting to watch. I have to say that alliance #1 vs alliance #8 in the quarterfinals was the most EXCITING Lunacy I have seen played yet. 1923, 341, and 272 made it so that I was literally on the edge of my seat. Those matches were both within their reach, but an awesome #1 alliance scraped by. I was bummed for 103 that they were unable to get a win this season, but, as we all know, things "just work out like that".

I had a great chance to speak with a lot of great mentors, including those from 11, 103, 293, 1403, 341, 357, 365, 1267, 1923, 2729, and more. FIRST is in really good hands in this area, I really have to say.

I also got some amazing impressions from some teams I never personally met with before, like 223, 224, 816, 1143, and 1267. Each of those teams were a class act, and I felt very welcomed at the event.

Now onto congrats:

To 341, congrats on WFFA and EI! With all of the work that you guys do for other teams and community, it is great to see you recognized.

To 433, congrats on Chairman's! I got chills down my spine watching you guys get all excited sitting in the stands before you won, knowing what it felt like doing the same thing 3 weeks ago. What an honor! Congratulations for the recognition for all of your work!

To 365, 395, and 56 -- Congrats on the win! You guys put up a heck of a fight out there against the #1 seed!

Lastly, a point of business: Our team found a black insulated hoodie (with like grey flannel print on it) that I took home with me. If anyone knows that they lost it, please PM me and I'll ship it to you.

[Shelbo]

Alliance #4: 222, 11, and 316. You guys were awesome. Individually each of your teams showed great ability to carry an alliance. When you were put together I thought you guys were going to be unstoppable. Unfortunately, alliance number 5 had other plans. After emerging victorious in match 1 Cold Fusion, Spartechs, and Metal Moose were not going to let you guys go any further. 222, you showed a consistent promise of racking up tons of orbits balls each match. Also, congratulations on the Industrial Design award, truly deserved. Team 11, I am glad you guys traveled from Jersey to compete with us here in Philly. 316, as the weekend progressed, so did your abilities on the field. The drive team you sent to the field had an exceptionable ability to control that robot and every match I saw there was improvement.



Thanks Phil. Everything you said means a lot to me. The respect of other people is something that our team strives for and your acknowledgment is appreciated.

[Akash Rastogi]

The respect of other people is something that our team strives for and your acknowledgment is appreciated.

Same goes for us, I couldn't have said it better myself.

One thing that was awesome about Philly was how stacked each alliance was (atleast I would call them stacked)

We're thinking of coming back next year but only if its at Drexel and still in the same week =)

Hopefully Boston, DC, and Philly won't conflict with each other. Anyone know if there will be venue/date changes for Philly next year? This was also a really fun and affordable regional for us. Only thing I'd complain about would be the pit lighting. But not a big deal.

[Josh Goodman]

Well 316, looks like you guys had the same fate as us. We got taken out by number 1 in MD. We miss you guys! Hope to see you next year! (May be volunteering, may be coaching haven't decided yet.:p )

[rcmolloy]

Congrats to all teams that participated. I was extremely surpised with the competition and how it played out. Us at 1647 are young but most of the members know what were facing next year and we will be back.

Congrats again everyone!!

[nlknauss]

Excellent job to all the teams in who participated at this regional. Team 2729 would really like to thank everyone for openly welcoming our Team into the Philadelphia region through the many forms of GP demonstrated by countless numbers of teams (365, 272, 103, 87, 1647, 433, and 1089 to only name a few). We are looking forward to returning to this regional as our "home regional" and look forward to working with you all in the future.

From a Philly Alumni perspective, the Philadelphia Regional still rocks! Since I was in high school so many teams in our area (87, 103, 365, 272, 341, 433, 816) have grown in ways that make this regional one to remain exciting and competitive.

And, as an alumni let not forget Dean's homework! Get this link out and let's get in touch with the alumni that helped make this region what it is! http://firstcommunity.usfirst.org/

[Mr MOE]

Thanks to everyone who made the 2009 Philadelphia Regional another special and memorable experience.

Event Organizers - even though every had to get used to a new venue, from a participant's standpoint, everything seemed to flow extremely well.

Event Volunteers - part of the charm of Philly regionals are the solid group of veteran volunteers who know how to get things done effectively. 2009 is no different. Thanks for all your energy and enthusiasm throughout the whole event!

Teams - It was great to see old friends (316, 1495, 1370, 357, 222, 272, 84, 87 etc.) and, at the same time, see some friendly new faces at this year's event. It was great interacting with teams like 1507, 1153, 1089, and 395 (I'm sure I am forgetting some of you). Thank you for joining us "locals" in the City of Brotherly Love.

Drexel University and Temple University Without either of you, this regional would not have been as successful as it was. Thank you!

433 - Firebirds, congratulations on your well-deserved Chairman's Award. I was extremely impressed by the set-up you all organized for the Girl Scout activity. I also know about all the hard work you have put in over the years to spread the message of FIRST locally and globally. Keep it up!

341 - Miss Daisy, congratulations on your well-deserved Engineering Inspiration Award. We are fortunate in the local Philly area to see first-hand all your team does to inspire others. Great job! [also, thanks to the Daisies that joined in cheering for our eliminations alliance!]

103, 1153, 708 - Alliance #1, you were a tough opponent in the finals and played hard the whole time. Also, thanks to all the eliminations alliances. Matches were hard-fought, regardless of who was playing who.

395 and 56 - 2Train and Robbe Xtreme. Thanks to 2Train for selecting us for eliminations. You have a fantastic team and robot. Robbe - MOE loves being alliance partners with you guys! We are so glad you have come back to Philly! It was really neat seeing students from all of our teams standing along the balcony with MOE wobblies cheering our alliance. We also had spirited groups of team members on the floor and behind our alliance station. We worked extremely well together. You guys were great.

For those teams going on to other regionals or the Championship, good luck. For those of you whose official seasons are finished, see you during the off-season!

[thefro526]

Well, Philly '09 is in the record books.

The weekend was a rough one for us, things just didn't fall into our favor. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who came up to our pits and complimented us on our design or on our driving. It's true, we really don't have traction control of any sorts, there are no joystick filters, it's just completely open loop. (Some people refused to believe us.)

Some other Thanks and Congrats are in order though.

11- What can I say? I love you guys to death and it was great to finally play with you guys and I wish you the best of luck in Atlanta. Thanks for all of the kind words and moral support (Both on CD and in Philly) over the weekend, it means a lot.

222- You were by far my favorite team to play with all weekend. We worked so well together and it broke my heart that we couldn't ally together in the Elims. Oh well, there's always Atlanta ;)

316- You were awesome through out the weekend, even though you were plagued with drive train issues you still managed to get out and do well. Thanks for the support on and off the field and also thanks for the Driving advice. You guys are an awesome team, Maybe we'll see you at PARC.

365,395 and 56- Losing to you guys was rough but I'd have to say you were the best alliance through the Elims. No one expected you guys to come out and play as well as you did but you definitely deserved the win.

816- We did what we came to do, we got out there and played as well as we could with what we had. I'm so proud to call you guys my teammates, We built a Strong machine so don't let losing get you down. We'll get our wins where they matter the most, In Atlanta.

There's so much more I could say but I've spent too much time writing this post. See some of you in Atlanta.

[Libby K]

I just wanted to thank everyone involved with the Philly Regional for putting on a great event. My team had a lot of fun, and we can't wait for the Championship

Our alliance partners- 272 and 341- thank you for being you. We played well, and it was fun working with you guys. :)

For a team that had never been in an elimination round -EVER- in their first three years, a strong showing at both NJ and Philly was a dream come true for us.

See y'all in Atlanta! :)

[George A.]

I'm back from Philly, and every year I'm falling more and more in love with this event.

Some regionals give off the feeling that it's too professional and distant from the volunteers/students, but every time I go to Philly it feels like I'm coming home to an extended family reunion.

To all the volunteers that worked with me: THANK YOU.

The people who were in charge of getting robots to the field did so with expertise, we never had to wait for a team that ran late.

Pit Admin: It's not easy being behind the curtain, but somehow you work your magic year after year.

The ref crew was outstanding, they made my job a lot easier explaining penalties to the crowd. I felt their calls were fair and justified all around.

The scoring table: Andrea, and Mike, it was a pleasure working with both of you again.

The field reset crew: You guys kept were awesome at your job, every time i turned around after a match the field would be cleared in seconds! I am still amazed at your speed and efficiency.

Pete and DeAnn: You kept this regional running. The work you do is so undervalued it's really criminal.

Maureen and Anne: As volunteer coordinators, it's a thankless job trying to fill in all the positions, but you two pull it off with flying colors!

Carol: Thank you for letting me continue to work the event year after year, your generosity goes above and beyond anything that I deserve.

Chiniqua: What can I say? We've been doing this for 5 years, you've given my best friend a nickname that precedes him, and we've got the rhythm down to a science. I can't wait to work with you again.

Finally, to the teams: Thank you for doing what you do. The energy that all of you put out over the three days really makes my job easier. You all are one of the main reasons I keep coming back year after year.


Sorry this post was so long, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some people. But I can't wait for Philly next year!

[Chuck Glick]

We're thinking of coming back next year but only if its at Drexel and still in the same week =)

Hopefully Boston, DC, and Philly won't conflict with each other. Anyone know if there will be venue/date changes for Philly next year? This was also a really fun and affordable regional for us. Only thing I'd complain about would be the pit lighting. But not a big deal.

Philadelphia will once again be a week 5 regional next year. The regional is traditionally held during our spring break as the DAC is constantly booked until that week. However once the Armory is done, the regional may be moved to another week, but only time will tell.

[Big Kid]

Philly was even more exciting for me this year then the last. I'd like to thank team 1791 for the Personal Recog. Award they gave me.

I'd also like to thank teams 87 (RV Diablos) and 223 (Extreme Heat) for being great alliance partners. things just didn't go as planed unfortunately.

Great job getting the victory 365, 56, 395

See you all in Atlanta, I'll be the only underclassman there for Team 816.

[ezygmont708]

TEAM 708 would like to extend an enormous thank you to Teams 103 and 1153. For the first time in our team's history we made it to the finals!!! :yikes: As always you both fought exceptionally well, I just hope that we were able to live up to expectations.

Congratulations to Teams 56, 365, and 395!!! You all fought valiantly... and it was an honor to go down against teams of your caliber!

1391 - You were a formidable opponent!!! We enjoyed dancing with you through the semi-Finals

816 - You guys gave me a deep butterfly feeling in the pit of my stomach every time you got near our trailer... I am reviewing our video reels, I'll have to forward you along some of it...

341 - As always you are a great opponent!!! Look forward to seeing you at the Championship!!!

1712 - We look forward to seeing you at the National Championship. Hopefully we can avoid getting tipped by you this year!

If any team would like a copy of the awards presentation I will be making it available (minus Dean's Speech) later this week. I was unfortunately in the pits for the majority of his speech!!!

Good Luck to everyone going to the championship, hopefully we'll see you there!!!

[Phil Ross]

1712 - We look forward to seeing you at the National Championship. Hopefully we can avoid getting tipped by you this year!

Yea...about that. I definitely look forward to seeing you guys in ATL. Hopefully we wont tip you guys again this year.

[Chuck Glick]

[B]1712 - We look forward to seeing you at the National Championship. Hopefully we can avoid getting tipped by you this year!


Being as I was the driver who unfortunately tipped you guys a few time last year, I would like to make sure that my apologies are heard. I hope that our team can work with you guys sometime in the near future. Hopefully on the same side of the glass to prevent any tangles!

[Akash Rastogi]

I wanted to shout out to MOE for giving us their camera color values. Really appreciate it guys. :) We didn't have any other time to calibrate properly.

[ezygmont708]

Being as I was the driver who unfortunately tipped you guys a few time last year, I would like to make sure that my apologies are heard. I hope that our team can work with you guys sometime in the near future. Hopefully on the same side of the glass to prevent any tangles!

It's all part of the competition... but a perfect demonstration of GP was everytime you knocked us over, there was a post match visit to our pit, to see if we needed any help!!! DAWGMA's got it going on!!!:D :D :D

We would love to work with you guys, a great team with great mentors and students!!! Hopefully we'll get to see you guys at the championship, and if not hopefully at either the Duel or Ramp Riot.

[ezygmont708]

I wanted to shout out to MOE for giving us their camera color values. Really appreciate it guys. :) We didn't have any other time to calibrate properly.

MOE is one of the teams we should aspire to be!!! They've got a great organization, great mentors, and most importantly a great attitude...

[camtunkpa]

Wow where to begin.....Philly was a great regional comprised of a bunch of amazing teams! As always thank you so much to the volunteers for keeping the event running smooth.

Thanks to all the teams we played with throughout the competition. We got to play with some old friends and some new friends. We were hoping to play with 816 in the elims. but the got picked before we could get to em.....however our alliance with 11 and 316 was awesome! I really wish we could have taken it further. 1279, 1391 & 834 you guys played great! 272, 341 & 1923 you guys played great against the #1 alliance and those were some great rounds to watch! Also congrats to 395, 365 & 56 on their regional victory!

Thanks to everyone for the kind compliments.

We'll see everyone in Atlanta!

[camtunkpa]

First of all thank you to 222 for inviting us to the 4th alliance, it was a pleasure working with one of the Northeast's oldest teams. Things were looking up for us when 222 snagged 316 as the second pick. Things were so close in the first two matches and then all hell broke loose in that third match in favor of the powerful combination of 1391, 1279, and 834. We are truly sorry if we let you down.


I am disappointed in the outcome, but proud as hell of my team. We're glad we came to Philly.

There no way anyone can be disappointed about the quarter finals we all played hard and were bested by a powerful alliance. 11 and 316 both played their heart out for this alliance. All three of our teams should be holding our heads up high! Best of luck to 11 and 316!

On another side note sorry to 223 for the decline. Also sorry our representative on the field only said "we decline". We heard the boos....unfortunately Dave is a man of few words. :o

[Mark1153]

THANK YOU PHILADELPHIA

Team 1153 Robo-Rebels from Walpole, MA would like to thank everyone for a great regional in Philadelphia and a great experience for our team. This was our first time at the Philadelphia Regional. We came because we heard that the people were great, the teams were great, and the competition was great, and all of this was true. We really enjoyed meeting all the teams, playing with and against some really great robots, competing hard, and having fun.

Regional Staff & Volunteers – Thanks for running a great regional, we appreciate all the hard work you put in to give the kids a great experience.

Team 103 – Cybersonics and Team 708 – Hardwired Fusion. We had a great time playing with you and competing hard in the playoffs and making it all the way to the Finals. While we came up just a bit short of our goal – we are proud to have had the chance to compete with two great alliance partners.

Teams 56 [Robbe Extreme], 365 [MOE] , 395 [2 Train]- Congratulations to the winning alliance. When we saw you win your semi-final, we knew it would be a battle all the way to the end and it was, lots of great action.

We wish all the teams going to Atlanta – good luck. We hope to meet you all again at some point in the future at a regional event.

[Akash Rastogi]

There no way anyone can be disappointed about the quarter finals we all played hard and were bested by a powerful alliance. 11 and 316 both played their heart out for this alliance. All three of our teams should be holding our heads up high! Best of luck to 11 and 316!

On another side note sorry to 223 for the decline. Also sorry our representative on the field only said "we decline". We heard the boos....unfortunately Dave is a man of few words. :o

Thanks man, it was awesome to be a part of your alliance, just sorry we couldn't help get you that second regional win all in one year. :cool:

I remember hearing "ohhhh" of surprise when you guys denied, not "booo". I don't think anyone should hold declines against others anyway.

[Danny McC]

Thanks man, it was awesome to be a part of your alliance, just sorry we couldn't help get you that second regional win all in one year. :cool:

I remember hearing "ohhhh" of surprise when you guys denied, not "booo". I don't think anyone should hold declines against others anyway.

Btw I guess everyone wanted 816. We'd been planning that alliance to happen since last summer lol. I <3 816

Awww we love you too. But you still aren't getting a shirt. Yeah it seemed that we were pretty popular for the Elims I don't know why.

[thefro526]

Thanks man, it was awesome to be a part of your alliance, just sorry we couldn't help get you that second regional win all in one year. :cool:

I remember hearing "ohhhh" of surprise when you guys denied, not "booo". I don't think anyone should hold declines against others anyway.

Btw I guess everyone wanted 816. We'd been planning that alliance to happen since last summer lol. I <3 816

It's all about "The MORT Anomaly Featuring The Tigertrons".

Yeah. It'll happen, and you'll be scared when it does.

Upon Further Thought these alliance names would also be acceptable:
The Tigertron Anomaly Featuring MORT
The Westech Tigertron MORT Experience
The Alliance of Orange (And Mort)
The Tigertron Marauder Anomaly

etc....

[sundancekid92]

PHilly was great i enjoyed every part of it. thanks to all the teams there.
I was wondering if any one knew where i could see pictures of the event any thing will do.

[Lucretius]

I'll be posting a gallery later in the week, probably on Picasa.

[coalhot]

I just wanted to say that the Philly regional was great, even though our team (304) just missed the elims being 23'rd.

Shoutouts go to all the teams that let us borrow tools and game pieces, gave us advice, etc...

Special thanks goes out to 321 (for letting us hang around when we weren't doing anything, and letting us tether two bots at once on the practice field), and 316 (for being great pit neighbors).

Again, thanks to EVERYONE who helped make Philly great, and make it such fun for all of us!!

--Philip, and all of Team 304

P.S. no complains with the randomizer like i had last year. the problem was fixed well....:D

[scotty321]

I just wanted to say that the Philly regional was great, even though our team (304) just missed the elims being 23'rd.

Shoutouts go to all the teams that let us borrow tools and game pieces, gave us advice, etc...

Special thanks goes out to 321 (for letting us hang around when we weren't doing anything, and letting us tether two bots at once on the practice field), and 316 (for being great pit neighbors).

Again, thanks to EVERYONE who helped make Philly great, and make it such fun for all of us!!

--Philip, and all of Team 304

P.S. no complains with the randomizer like i had last year. the problem was fixed well....:D

No problem, 304. We here at 321 appreciate you guys staying with FIRST this year, as we were the only two Philly school district schools that were competing. I look forward to working with you guys in the future!

[kazzykaty]

On another side note sorry to 223 for the decline. Also sorry our representative on the field only said "we decline". We heard the boos....unfortunately Dave is a man of few words. :o

It's all good. We understand. Though, you have to admit that the boos were somewhat entertaining. I got it on camera and it's fun to watch the ENTIRE stadium boo in unison.
Thanks to team 816 and 87. You guys were great. <3

[SammyKay]

Special thanks goes out to 321 (for letting us hang around when we weren't doing anything, and letting us tether two bots at once on the practice field), and 316 (for being great pit neighbors).

Aww, thanks :) You guys were fun pit neighbors and we loved every second of it. Also, thanks for the muffin on Thursday before they opened the doors hehe :D I know my friend is thankful for his as well.

[Freddy Schurr]

Congrats to all the teams and especially to my friends of Team 204 for being in the Top 10. I wished I could have been there.

[Lucretius]

Here are my 1,454 photos from Philly. (http://picasaweb.google.com/hans.hyttinen)

[DUCKIE]

whoa that's a lot of pictures!

thanks for posting them for everyone!!!

[Carol]

More pictures - only 140 this time. These were taken by the MOE mentor who took the ones I previously posted, but he also took a lot of pics of other teams, so check them out.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mikejpeo/20090321MOEAtTemple?authkey=Gv1sRgCJaf0c33w_SpkQE&feat=directlink

P.S. Particularly nice shots of a team member from Cougar Robotics and another from Team Mercury. And one of the teams numbers spelled out on empty seats.

[ChristinaR]

I'll add to the photos, too -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17957598@N05/sets/72157615785730411/

I may add more come the weekend, but I didn't take as many photos as I usually do at events (only ~800 and I wasn't pleased with them). They're almost all from Saturday.

[Akash Rastogi]

Wow these are awesome! Thanks everyone! :D

[George A.]

Hehe, 2 regionals down and i barely got photographed....I call that a success

:cool:

But the pictures that were taken of the events were amazing, kudos to all of you

[Freddy Schurr]

Is there any video of matches?

[coalhot]

Yeah, there is video. I've been quite busy recently, but i'll be splitting it up this summer. I'll post on here when I start uploading.

Again, can't wait for offseasons and next year....

--Philip