Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Here is the answer to your question and concern: Ruckus is a one day off-season event, that is the least expensive of these events and a (typically speaking) local event for most all teams. The purpose is to have some fun with last year's game, train the new recruits to your team and win a few awards with a smaller field than was in FLR, earning you some recognition for your robot and team you otherwise might not have gotten. It's a time for teams to meet and mingle and talk about their design of last year's robot, as well as build little friendships that continue on at FLR. Winners are obviously going to be happy, either award winners or ruckus winners, but guaranteed that everyone will go home happy because NOTHING was truly on the line, other than fame that will last a few weeks and your own experiences which will last for a long time.

If even all teams get is 6 matches - fine by me. Great opportunity for difficult and gutsy scouting practice. Plus it's pretty obvious that no alliance is going to miss out on a great team, as generally speaking, all the teams signed up are pretty competitive.

My hope is 32 teams is a cut off, and every alliance picks their backup, therefore no team is left behind, and the last alliance picked gets an award a-la the NHL all star game draft.

Plus, we are talking about teams that we've been looking over for the past handful of months - No one is going to not pick team 0000 just because team 0000 went 3-3-0 in RCCR, even though they went 6-3-0 in FLR and would go 6-3-0 in RCCR if given enough matches.

It's not going to be a problem.

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

I, personally, am not worried about the number of matches. If it were a purely local event, anyways. What I'm worried about is those traveling quite a distance for the event. This year, we have a large number of out-of-state teams traveling to our humble event. If a team is traveling such a distance, I'd want them to get their money's worth (even if the money is less than most other offseason events), and make the travel worth while.

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Six matches in one morning is a pretty reasonable number for a single day off season. I'd always be in favor of anything that gets us more matches, but six isn't the end of the world.

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Because these teams came from a pretty good distance it is also important to leave them a reasonable getaway time. They do not want to be here til 9pm after a long day of roboting. That are very tired and grumpy by then abd could be prone to not ever coming back.

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Typically, each team gets around 7 matches. Typically, we have not had 24 teams compete. Rebound Rumble allows for faster turnaround times, but we also have a larger number of teams. The committee will keep in mind the concerns mentioned, and we will do our best to create the most enjoyable experience we can! It will still be a great Ruckus, and I am very excited!

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Don't let our travel distance and border wait worry you. We're really looking forward to the competition. A low number of matches isn't a big deal.

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

This is true, in our case. We expect a late arrival home, but we have our limits.

I don't find a smaller number of matches to be a huge deal, such that I'd still prefer to see some form of mentor round instead of using the time for more matches.

Some also have pie residue stuck in their hair, not helping their demeanor on the ride home. ;)

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Hey all,

If there are other thoughts regarding # of matches we'd love to hear them. One of the big comments we've received in the past is that more matches means tighter match-to-match plays (team X has to play again in Y minutes and we don't have the time to check-out/fix the robot/catch our breath). With the increased number of teams this will be less of an issue.

But yeah we'd love to hear thoughts on # matches (or, time dedicated to match play) versus things like:

- Extra "fun" events like mentor matches
- Time the day starts/ends (we won't change this for this year since it is already published, but curious for years to come)
- Match-to-match time (how "rushed" things need to be, maybe gauging versus your experience on a qualification day at a regional - do you want it to move at that pace? faster? slower?)

As always we can't of course incorporate all suggestions but I'm interested in what you think!

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

My personal opinion -- and I'm not speaking for my team, just for myself -- is that more matches is more better!

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Ruckus has always been about not just the matches, but all the fun crazy stuff that happens along with it.

If we manage to get 6 matches each, then that would be plenty. I would be disappointed to see things like mentor tournaments, Pie In The Eye and other Ruckus shenanigans go to the wayside in interest of more matches.

That's just me though.

-Nick

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Second what Nick said...more matches are not as important as the overall experience.

Last year was my first Ruckus, and I had so much fun with 48, I'm bringing another team to join in the festivities! Besides, I still need that chance to smash a pie in Travis's face! :D

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

- Extra "fun" events like mentor matches

Ruckus is very much a "dress-rehearsal" for our new student leadership. We may be more of the exception, as opposed to the norm, but last year our team was very focused on performing well at Ruckus. We were preparing to break an 11 year drought where we went without a win at any kind of event. The fun events weren't on our radar very much, but this year will likely be different. Rumour has it there is a mentor or two that might be interested in piloting the EdgeWalker...

- Time the day starts/ends (we won't change this for this year since it is already published, but curious for years to come)

We are arriving Friday night, and so the early start is great for us. The end time is a factor since we drive home the same night. I don't think we could push it too much later than it is - we also factor in time for a meal on the way home.

- Match-to-match time (how "rushed" things need to be, maybe gauging versus your experience on a qualification day at a regional - do you want it to move at that pace? faster? slower?)

I think it'd be great to run the field as fast as it will go, and let the chips fall where they please. I don't think there is a need to artificially try and slow down the competition to spread out matches. If I needed to miss one match to fix the robot at an off-season event, I wouldn't panic too much. Especially if there were more matches to be played as a result of the quicker pace.

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

Team 2340 has signed up to bring the Ruckus team list to 33!

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

48
73
174
188
191
229
340
378
379
578
610
639
1126
1334
1405
1507
1518
1511
1551
1559
2168
2340
2791
3015
3044
3181
3193
3266
3683
3756
3951
4093
4124

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 

The Ruckus team cap will be 40 teams.