Chief Delphi

Chief Delphi (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/index.php)
-   Off-Season Events (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20)
-   -   2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106916)

George C 28-10-2012 11:46

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
Great event. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves despite the problems we ran into connecting with the field. Well organized.

Grim Tuesday 28-10-2012 15:20

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
Even though we weren't picked for an alliance, that wasn't our goal. We use Ruckus as a way to let everyone who can't drive the robot at competition get a chance to see a fields eye view. The most common comment I hear is

"Wow, I had no idea driving is that hard!"

As such, I would have to say, for us, Ruckus was a huge success. We got to field test a lot of new things (new pit, new scouting system) and introduce rookies to a competition. This is why I love Ruckus. I had a very fun time and the organization was amazing.

I just wanted to especially thank Dante for making the right call in that seminfinal match. For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, there was a match in which an alliance achieved a triple balance. Then, inexplicably, all robots lost communications and the foghorn was sounded. Dante made the right call in choosing to reset the match: That is what the rules say to do.

I was very disappointed when I heard the crowd boo the decision. Not only was it the correct one but booing a decision is never GP, even if you disagree with it.

Overall, the event was organized as well (maybe even better) than an official FIRST one. I loved the way that alliance selection was done efficiently, though I think it would be inappropriate for FIRST to do it this way. Here at Ruckus, it sped up the process but in a real event, I like the formal aspect of collecting all the top 8 on the field.

Herbblood 28-10-2012 19:04

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
Hi!
Great Job everyone yesterday! Everyone did an amazing job, and congrats to 340, 48 and 378, that was amazing yesterday. I also like to thank 3003 and 3015 who we competed with in the elmination matches, we acomplished something so amazing yeseterday. It was crazy that we balenced 3 robots twice.
Congrats to team 340 again for the charity drive, that was awesome!
It was fun seeing everyone, and dancing with lots of others. Hope to see everyone next year!
Bye!:D

Nick Lawrence 28-10-2012 20:05

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
Ruckus 2012 was one of the best events I've ever been to. The event ran pretty smoothly, the venue was awesome and the volunteers were great as usual. I had a blast just being there, let alone all the great things that happened on our team.

This event was the debut of our new operator and drive coach. Both of these fine gentlemen were extremely nervous leading up to this event, but also had their sights set on excellence. Our drive team grew a ton this weekend, driving like seasoned veterans. It was really awesome to watch them fly around the field, scoring baskets like nobodies business. I look forward to seeing what they can do this coming season.

It has been five years since I've been to a Ra Cha Cha Ruckus, and almost four since I've been to the Finger Lakes Regional. It was really nice to see all the Rochester FIRST people that I don't normally see at championships this weekend.

I want to thank Justin Foss, Joshua Miller and the rest of team 2168 for the great run we had yesterday afternoon. Your team is an absolute class act, who always never seems to be satisfied with themselves, even when they're one of the best robots at the event. Finally getting to see the Fat Swan fly, especially during her "swan song" was one heck of a thrill. That thing belongs in a museum. (Maybe a museum for Colson wheels?)

I also want to thank team 1559 for being a pretty awesome alliance partner. Once we got our match strategy figured out and everyone was comfortable, you guys did a good job playing a little defense and feeding us and the Falcons basketballs. Sorry we couldn't triple with you guys, but it was fun to run with you again.

Lastly, I want to thank the volunteers and event planning committee for putting on such a great event. I hope Ruckus stays in the venue it's in now - it's easy to get to and is close to lots of lodging for us out-of-town folks.

On a personal note, this was my second event with 610. In that short time period it's been really cool to watch this team continue to develop into a strong, competitive, and driven team. Thanks guys, for making this fun.

-Nick

rees2001 28-10-2012 20:42

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
I would like to thank all of the volunteers for the best Ruckus yet. This competition felt as close to an actual FIRST competition as possible. It doesn't hurt that most of the backbone operations were run by some of the best people in FIRST. This just reminds me how lucky we are to have you at FLR every year.

I would like to thank 48 for picking us and 378 for joining our alliance in elims. I too would like to extend my gratitude to 3003, 3015 and 3044 for they way they handled the field issues. For the most part everyone was gracious and professional.

I would like to thank 610, 2168, and 1559 for being such good competitors in the finals. Your presence gave the event a feeling that we are that much closer to a Regional Competition. The same can be said for all of the out-of-town teams. Thank you for attending.

Finally, thank you to 1511 and the rest of the Ruckus Planning committee. It was a great event. The trophies looked great, the pits were great, the volunteers were professional. Nice job.

pfreivald 29-10-2012 07:07

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
I'm with Grim Tuesday on success -- we blew the minds of a couple of prospective drivers, had some very interesting technical problems (that we made rookie pit-workers tackle), experienced one match where our robot ran amok not under our control, won a trophy we didn't deserve, and got a PTC Platinum grant that we did!

Thanks to everyone, particularly the Ruckus Committee, 1511, 1126, and all the volunteers!

dsherw00d 29-10-2012 09:40

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
This is my 2nd year involved with FIRST as a mentor. My first ever event was last years Ruckus. Actually, it was the first time I was around any FRC robot. Our team had a great time both years. Of course, this year will be remembered for a long time as it's the first time in many years that we've been in any finals. We want to thank 340 and 48 for selecting us as their 3rd alliance partner. You both are awesome teams. It felt like a regional with all the great teams in attendance. It was very exciting and the triple balances were awesome!!

Our driver was "almost" a rookie driver and he drove every match. We only have a handful of active students this time of year and 11-12 total. He was a backup last year, but didn't drive in any of the competitions and only a couple practice rounds. He's a wrestler and came away from the semi's and finals stating it's more exhausting then a wrestling match!! I think his heart rate was through the roof. The entire drive team handled the pressure great while the rest of the team paced the sidelines:)

I want to thank everyone involved!! I spoke with couple of planning committee members and the amount of work to organize the Ruckus is incredible and takes many months. What a great event and the location was spectacular. My wife did volunteer for the first time as well and had a great experience. I think she will do it again for the regional.

See everyone 2/28/13 at the Finger Lakes Regional!!

Travis Hoffman 30-10-2012 13:51

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
A big thank you to all volunteers, staff, and teams responsible for making this year's Ruckus such a fun and rousing success. The organization and execution of the competition were top-notch as always. The venue was well-suited to host this event - hopefully it can continue to be available in future years. And even with all the tired robots and fresh faces on drive teams, the teams and robots were as competitive as you can find in a fall offseason event.

Having graduated 15 seniors last year, Team 48 brought a new drive team and numerous rookie students to the Ruckus. I think they all received a good taste of the fun and excitement a typical FRC event can deliver.

I'm very proud of our drive team for improving steadily throughout the competition and not letting a few nagging robot and comms issues in qualifying deter them from their goal. Thanks much to our friends on 340 and 378 (Go Delphi!) for being excellent alliance partners. The elimination rounds were competitive all around. I especially thought the 610, 2168, 1559 #1 alliance would be a tough nut to crack, and I was right...but we found a way!

What an excellent capstone to a productive 2012 season, and a great launching pad into 2013. Thanks again to all who made the event a fun success!

Tetraman 30-10-2012 16:58

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
On behalf of team 174, thank you to all of the volunteers and teams that made this event possible. This was our first year at Ruckus, and I can say it won't be our last. A very fun event that clued us into what needs to be worked on and how to improve for the coming year. Thank you to you Rochestarians for making us feel welcome and part of your community.

We would like to thank our alliance partners 2228 and 3181 for being amazing in the elimination matches and great people to work with. Can't wait to play with you again at FLR and may you have a great season ahead.

Our main drive team was actually at home, doing the ACTs, but the students we had as backups played an amazing game and I look forward to seeing them progress.

Congrats to everyone involved. You put on a heck of a show.

Next stop - Finger Lakes Regional!

Chris is me 01-11-2012 14:54

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
I've got a lot to say, but before my post becomes tl;dr, I have to ask - is there any video of the event? In my dreams, someone would have every match. 2791 did a lot of cool things on the field and I'd love to relive some of them.

Anyhow, this was a fantastic event! It was quite well run and we got to play with a variety of teams we don't get to see that often. It was great to see old friends on 2168, 229, and 610 again - it's really unfortunate we didn't get to play with any of you in eliminations. Apparently, you can go from 27th seed to the eighth captain in two excellent matches. I did not know that.

And because I did not know that, we didn't have a very good list prepared. This put my head scout and I under a lot of pressure, especially because I forgot my Simbot-inspired whiteboard for this event. We watched all of our dream picks slip away... 340, 3683, 3044... So we had to make a quick decision. We figured that the #1 alliance would probably not risk winning by triple balance in the quarters, so we took a gamble on a wide robot and picked 145. There were some other choices available, but we had a good match with them. Our data highly emphasized teams that hit the ground running early in quals rather than sleepers that got it together at the end.

Our second pick was nerve wracking, as our head scout was now on the field and had no way of talking to anyone else on the team. In this circumstance, he managed to make an extremely useful pick that gave our alliance a fighting chance - 1334. What you have to understand about picking from the 8th seed is that you need to take risky picks. 1334 was not a pillar of consistency, but they were a long 6wd with a stinger, a potential four ball autonomous, and a great bridge manipulator. They were inconsistent, but powerful. The gamble we needed.

Strategy with these picks was quite interesting. 1334 had some great data on the #1 alliance's third pick that we used to guess what they'd be doing, and we came together with a strategy to try and force a rubber match. Unfortunately, we needed every piece of the puzzle to work on the field to force a win, and it just wasn't in the cards. It was still a great match and I enjoyed working with all of the members of the alliance. If anyone wants me to really dig into the details of the strategy, I'd happily talk about it, but it's too boring for most people. :P

We had a great event overall. We came in executing our defensive elimination oriented strategy from the get go and we did it with a level of consistency and quality that we've never done before. Basically nothing on the robot broke, our driver got better and better, and we continued to crawl up the rankings until the very last match. This was easily one of our best events and our favorite off season performance. I'm very proud of everyone on 2791.

George C 05-11-2012 18:00

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
1 Attachment(s)
Here's an interesting photo

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/at...d=13521563 42

Koko Ed 05-11-2012 18:12

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by George C (Post 1192941)

We had a little Red Devil infestation at the event.
It happens at every event 1334 is at that I have been to.

Kims Robot 06-11-2012 21:06

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
Whew made it through processing the photos in a reasonable time!! (had to get to it before Ramp Riot!)

My photos from the event are posted here (I highly suggest the slideshow on fast if you want to see some good sequence shots!):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimsrob...7631940426093/
As always, photo credit is appreciated if you want to repost them anywhere.

And if teams are looking for additional photos, feel free to contact me. I had close to 2000 photos, so you can see more than 1600 didnt "make the cut". I definitely had some issues with the lighting at the event (mainly I hate using flash if I don't have to, so I avoided it where possible), but I think we got a decent set for the day :)

I definitely had a blast at Ruckus - always great seeing so many old friends, and seeing so many new kids. The event has grown so much from its start back in 2005, and this was definitely an awesome show!

rees2001 07-11-2012 08:10

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kims Robot (Post 1193129)
Whew made it through processing the photos in a reasonable time!! (had to get to it before Ramp Riot!)

My photos from the event are posted here (I highly suggest the slideshow on fast if you want to see some good sequence shots!):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimsrob...7631940426093/
As always, photo credit is appreciated if you want to repost them anywhere.

And if teams are looking for additional photos, feel free to contact me. I had close to 2000 photos, so you can see more than 1600 didnt "make the cut". I definitely had some issues with the lighting at the event (mainly I hate using flash if I don't have to, so I avoided it where possible), but I think we got a decent set for the day :)

I definitely had a blast at Ruckus - always great seeing so many old friends, and seeing so many new kids. The event has grown so much from its start back in 2005, and this was definitely an awesome show!

Those are great Kim, thanks for sorting though what I could only imagine was hours of work. It was awesome seeing you and Eric again. Will you guys be back for FLR?

Justin Montois 07-11-2012 15:00

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimsrob...7631940426093/

What a great shot Kim!

Kims Robot 07-11-2012 16:56

Re: 2012 Rah Cha Cha Ruckus
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by rees2001 (Post 1193146)
Those are great Kim, thanks for sorting though what I could only imagine was hours of work. It was awesome seeing you and Eric again. Will you guys be back for FLR?

Most likely! Eric is tackling quite a schedule this year - he is likely going to MC 5 events (applied for FLR as one of them). If he goes... I go, so we are hoping the stars align :)

As for the hours of work... this batch was a bit better than some... It only took ~5 hours (my typical has been close to 10, but I think I'm getting more efficient, and maybe taking fewer photos & doing less editing as I understand the shots I want & settings I need). Funny thing was I was so incredibly frustrated when I finished, thinking I had soo many crappy shots and was angry with the lighting, but when I looked at my uploaded pics the next morning, I was pretty happy with the set that "passed"... and realized that my frustration was with the 1600... but I still have a long way to go in learning if I am not willing to spend crazy amounts of money on super high end cameras & lenses!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Montois (Post 1193179)

Haha thanks!! I'm fairly certain that is the one I got covered myself for (and only a tiny drop on the camera thank goodness!!). I was relieved when I saw the final shot - it was totally worth getting the backlash of whipped cream!


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 14:45.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © Chief Delphi