Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

WOW! That is one monster of a list! I am even more excited about IRI now!

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

Can you clarify Chris; I assume UOS all 2012 rules apply. 2.2.3 says the the drivers and human player must be pre-college student team members. You don't allow alumni to be members of the team, even as mentors? It seems that it would be still be legal for them to drive if they haven't started college, but it is the individual team's choice as to whether they drive or not, correct?

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

Gary,
In some school districts, graduates are no longer included in the school roster, they cannot participate in school activities and are not covered under insurance, travel or hotel stays. That is the case with our graduates. They can travel on their own, make their own hotel plans and attend post season events strictly on their own. Team policy does not allow them to drive once they graduate. They become adult mentors upon graduation only if they meet some criteria. One of those is "currently attending a college or university with acceptable grades".

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

48's senior drive team will be there and driving. They've earned it, and at IRI, I feel we want to bring the very best to compete against the very best.

We can afford to do this because we attend Ra-Cha-Cha Ruckus in the fall. The new drive team will get their feet wet there. :)

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

It may be different on other teams, but on 1126, off season events like IRI are not school sanctioned events. We pay for admission, we provide our own transportation (parent volunteers for the most part), things like that. When I went to IRI in 2011 as a member of 1126, I had graduated, but was allowed to take part of it.

Also, I can't remember where I read it, but I believe there was an IRI rule that said drive team members had to be pre-college students or students who had graduated in the 2011 school year.

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

When IRI had mentor matches, there were driver rules which limited the youth of the driver. However, we have no added rules for the regular matches. Some teams treat this like their seniors' "last hurrah", while others make their seniors not be part of the team. This is up to the teams, not IRI.

Andy B.

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

This is certainly how 2337 operates. After Championship in 2011, our seniors graduated, and I came in as the driver for the offseason. With that said, we also attended two competitions before IRI last year - The TARDEC Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition and the Monroe Advanced Robotics Competition - so the situation is still slightly different than with teams who may or may not be putting drivers with no actual competition experience on the field for IRI.

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

Is it just me or does the number 2 alliance seem to be more powerful than the number 1?

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

On 341 we treat this as our senior's "last chance to dance". :)

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

Only one way to find out! :p

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

They seem to be VERY comparable. 2056-341 are two top-notch scorers, but 341 may have the edge. 469-118 goes to 469, 25-1023 could go either way, since both are stellar, and I think 340-111 actually goes to 340. Both are killer alliances, and any matches pitting one against the other would be sure to include some incredible fireworks. The disparity between #1 & #2 in my mind is the number of long bots. Where 25 and 1023 are fairly comparable, 25 is long with no stabilization device (at least at CMP) while 1023 is wide and possesses a "stinger" (with that said, their 4-wheel-drive makes it nearly impossible to hang very much of their robot off the end of the bridge. Watch any of quarterfinal 3 at the Michigan State Championship and you'll see the rather painful truth there) I think for pure shooting power, #1 is my favorite, while for balancing potential, I give #2 a slight edge

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

1023 has their "Nessie" sticker from Detroit district -- 4 times if memory serves... :)

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

Having competed with at least 10 of these teams during our 5 tournament stint this year, I personally can't wait to see these qualification matches, let alone eliminations!

I would predict 2056 and 1114 pairing up yet again, and forming an alliance that defeated our teams in both the semifinals and finals at the Waterloo Regional.

I could also see 67 and 469 pairing up once again, forming the two alliance partners that brought us the winners banner at Troy District this year.

This is going to be a great competition, hopefully I can get a ride down!

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

Pre-"Stinger" even... we added that after Detroit. We used it on the practice field in Livonia but didn't feel we needed the triple in the end. Definitely a couple of new options with an extra 5 pounds... we'll see what we can do! Really looking forward to finding out first hand what IRI is all about!

Re: 2012 IRI Predictions
 

Our team's biggest issue was not being able to add an appendage to collect balls, due to weight constraint. With 5lbs more, we definitely plan on adding one that we have already designed............and just got our robot back 1 hr. ago from CMP.
If I had 1st choice, I'd take 118 due to our experience together already and a triple balance threat. We already showed high scoring consistency and worked well together in not interfering with each other during shots taken.

Well actually, just making eliminations at IRI is already a huge accomplishment and hopefully we can be part of a great alliance to go for the 3-peat.