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[NE FIRST] Connecticut Shoreline District (Groton)
Soon there will be a New England Forum, I just know it! And when that happens this thread will be moved there! I can see it now...
[wavy lines, harp music] The Aluminum Falcons are stoked and running as hard as they can to make sure that the Groton event is going to be more than slightly Fantastic! The school building has never hosted anything like it before, of course, and who knows what's going to happen. On the roster so far: 178 2nd Law Enforcers, 1124 Uberbots, 175 Buzz 2067 Apple pi, 181 Birds of Prey, 278 GUS 558 Robosquad, 236 Techno-Ticks, 230 Gaelhawks 195 Cyberknights, 571 Paragon, 78 Air Strike 125 NU-TRONs, 155 Technonuts, 2170 Titanium Tomahawks 1099 DiscoTechs, 1991 Dragons, 1699 Robocats 237 Black Magic, 3718 Junkyard Battalion, 3182 Athena's Warriors 2836 Team Beta, 4055 NRG, 3719 STEM Whalers 3634 Hard Botties, 3654 Tech Tigers, 4557 Full Metal Falcons |
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I too am looking forward to this event!
I'm anxious to see how these smaller event turn out here in CT. Don't get me wrong, the Convention Center is nice and all, but I feel that the competition will now get more intense. Obviously you can't fit 80+ teams into a single school, so it will be significantly smaller; meaning, if teams do their scouting right they'll be able to know everything about all the other teams and the matches will be amazing! |
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Glad to see the CyberKnights in the line-up. 195 is one of the teams that will guarantee a 1st-rate competition.
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Well, I'm no longer affiliated with the team, ergo I can't tell you what events they will or will not be attending simply because I do not know.
However, from my past experiences with them I can agree that they do bring some competition to these events. But it all comes down to the game, design, (a little bit of luck), skill, and of course...proper scouting. |
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Completing the first 30 spaces are:
3555 Aluminati and 2064 Panther Project. Let's see what happens when the wait-list opens. Here's an early draft of the main pit area, pending Fire Marshall approval. The "One Way" is specifically for robots going to and from competition. |
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I reported it on a different thread. |
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We will have breakfast and lunch available, but no Spam.
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Ooh, stakes just went up!
Welcome to the fray Rhode Warriors,121. Plus rookies in the house:Robo Dominators 5142 So 32 out of 30 slots are taken before open season starts tomorrow. Full list so far: 178 2nd Law Enforcers...1124 Uberbots........175 Buzz 2067 Apple pi................181 Birds of Prey.....278 GUS 558 Robosquad..............236 Techno-Ticks....230 Gaelhawks 195 Cyberknights...........571 Paragon...........78 Air Strike 125 NU-TRONs...............155 Technonuts......2170 Titanium Tomahawks 1099 DiscoTechs............1991 Dragons........3718 Junkyard Battalion 237 Black Magic.............1699 Robocats.......3182 Athena's Warriors 2836 Team Beta.............4055 NRG.............3719 STEM Whalers 3634 Hard Botties...........3654 Tech Tigers....4557 Full Metal Falcons 3555 Aluminati ..............2064 Panther Project..121 Rhode Warriors 5142 Robo Dominators ................ and some other team..... This competition is going to be a learning session for many! We're planing the food for you. What do you think of pancakes? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grWflZwh1Mc |
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2 more rookie sign-ups:
5112 Skunkworks, and 5294 Industrial Revolution Welcome aboard. Food Update: There shall be Chowdah! |
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Does anyone have a contact for the new Skunkworks team 5112? Thanks
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Thanks. We are quite the distance from their area so I thought they may not of heard of us.. If you do find out could you let me know? I have and will be out of the loop for awhile. I had surgery to replace a defective hip this week. Not online much
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Parking Layout for the Groton Event
1st Draft |
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Parking, 2nd Draft, with locations for trailer parking (Right next to the police station!)
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Up to 36 teams:
178 2nd Law Enforcers...1124 Uberbots........175 Buzz 2067 Apple pi................181 Birds of Prey.....228 GUS 558 Robosquad..............236 Techno-Ticks....230 Gaelhawks 195 Cyberknights...........571 Paragon...........78 Air Strike 125 NU-TRONs...............155 Technonuts......2170 Titanium Tomahawks 1099 DiscoTechs............1991 Dragons........3718 Junkyard Battalion 237 Black Magic.............1699 Robocats.......3182 Athena's Warriors 2836 Team Beta.............4055 NRG.............3719 STEM Whalers 3634 Hard Botties...........3654 Tech Tigers....4557 Full Metal Falcons 3555 Aluminati ..............2064 Panther Project..121 Rhode Warriors 3280 Rhode Rebels And welcome to the rookie teams: 5112 Skunkworks 5142 Robo Dominators......5294 Industrial Revolution......5347 Gryphons |
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Parking:
3rd & Final Draft! This one has minor changes for clarity & includes the bus unloading path. The photo is also lower rez so the file won't be 3 Mb! |
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I saw that three-column list and wondered if the poster were sub-consciously making alliance suggestions at this early date. ;) I agree about the fledgling strategy status of the event though. Anyone thinking about a playbook approach as was suggested elsewhere in CD?
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:eek: A lot of familiar teams on this list, and this is only 1 of 3 events in the state! I've been confirmed for the Field Repair/Reset team so I'll (hopefully) get a front row seat to the action. Just one question, do volunteers really need to be there at 6am?
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I like the 6am time frame. Then he can make me some smoked Gouda Omelette with Italian herb hash browns & Bacon. Don't forget the real buttered English muffins.
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Volunteers!
We need Volunteers! And Judges! Sign up! Sign UP! SIGN! ^^^^^UPP^^^^^^^^ https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/L...IMS_Login.aspx |
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Wassum! Thanks. We're still short of volunteers,
by dozens! Evidently, not uncommon among the new districts. Please allow us committee people to sleep, and volunteer to get some of that wonderful catered food! |
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I volunteer for FLL, but VIMS is stonewalling me at login. Is there an external list of positions available?
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Other than that, I can't find a list of available volunteer slots. I might be able to get you the contact infor for our VC. I'll need to check before I hand out this info. |
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I just coached our school-rep mentor through the VIMS. She selected two days of low-tech positions as part of the team's (all teams) obligation to provide volunteer support for the district events. She selected four likely choices and got the canned reply from the system. I expect her eventual assignment will be made once all folks have dialed in their volunteering offers.
It is beginning to look like the regional obligation requirements may not supply enough manpower for the tasks. There evidently should also be a deadline for getting the VIMS updated with information so the various tournament directors and vol.coordinators will have enough time to panic that their event isn't staffed yet. ;) I'm not sure about how intense the regional events will be for our team. This means I don't want to commit to a volunteer position before getting some exposure to the context. That is, I don't want to let either the team or the event suffer because I've bitten off more than I can chew. It does make me think that perhaps I should consider your suggestion for the Southington event, even though it doesn't help Groton. Maybe the other mentors for that event should and will consider helping at Groton. Getting late though. How's the Maalox supply holding up? :D |
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FOOD!
We will have the food-thing finalized this week. Teams will be permitted to bring a cooler into the school cafeteria, but just 1 cooler per team (and I promised the Superintendent that we will do a quick check of the coolers to verify that they contain food, and not....I dunno..."not food"). Each team will be assigned a 12-seater cafeteria table, but this is not intended for total exclusive use by each team: share please, and be shared with! We will have a menu to send to all team main and alt contacts with discounted pre-purchase meal-tickets. Info will also be posted here. You will have 3 weeks to decide and get your pre-purchases in, coz there's not much time left (o jeez). HOTELS: There are 3 hotels set up through FIRST Housing, but many more hotels in the area with competitive rates. The trick is to search for "Mystic Hotels," not "Groton Hotels." We have everything from the Marriott and Hilton down to the Super 8. Two main clusters of hotel/motels are 5 miles from the school in either direction (Exits 86 and 90). The Mystic Marriott is all by itself at exit 88 and is the closest to the school (1.7 miles). The Marriott is one of the hotels that is available through FIRST housing, and compared to the rates at Boston, it's a steal! |
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The confirmation email I got told me 6am (for Friday through Sunday) so to be safe I'll show up then but thank you for responding. |
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Well OK, see you at 6 on Sat and Sun.
But Friday, certainly not before Noon! We can't start with the competition field until about 12:20. Some staging can begin outside before that. We can't get started on the Pits until about 2:15 . On Saturday and Sunday, the building will open at 6AM, so if vols are there at 6, we can get started right away. |
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Here are all the latest informational attachments for all teams attending the Groton District Competition:
1: Building Layout for Competition 2:Instructions and rules for teams 3: Parking Photo-Schematic 4: Food Menu and Ordering Three weeks to go. I am not panicked, although I think I ought to be. Best of luck this final, snowy weekend. Remember your "Out-of-Bag" day! |
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Out of bag day(s) totaling 6 hours can happen on or after March 1st (7 days before competition). Newest update shows that minimum open time is changed to 30 minutes from 2 hours previously.
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Hey Brian, the Instructions for teams file seems to be corrupted. It's not opening up for me.
Looking forward to Groton. It's going to be fun! |
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It's 3 weeks out, and the"Long Range Weather" forecast is for temperatures in the 40s and 50s for that week. Fingers crossed. I love snow, but I think we've had enough. |
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The one you mailed out as an attachment opened OK, Brian. Is the Kingdom of North Dumpling sending a team?
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Latest Update: Groton District will be simulcast on Livestream. We are working now on having 2 or even 3 cameras on the field. Stay tuned for details.
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Looking back through the posts, I see that I should never have said anything about "pancakes." We'd love to do pancakes, it just proved too...too... what's the word?
"Impossible!" That's the word. Still, please notice the food menu, and notice our pre-order deadline for Saturday Pizzas. The best deal going is $20 for a 25 pack of food coupons. Counting down with a week left to get those pre-buy orders in. |
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The Groton District Competition is a remote Drop-off location for the New England Championship Charity Drive. See the attached flyer for items to bring. Lisa from Athena's Warriors will be taking your donations from that point.
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Any teams coming to the Groton event need a spool of ABS filament?
I accidentally purchased a spool of ABS (we need PLA) earlier this build season and have no use for it. I'll eat the shipping costs for my mistake. $25 gets you a new vacuum sealed 1kg spool of red 1.75mm filament. Perfect for the MakerBot Replicator 2X. Stop by the 2168 pit and ask for James if you are interested. Specs and reviews: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=107&cp_id=10724&cs_id=1072401&p_id=10 547&seq=1&format=2 |
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Only a few days away, and SO many lessons learned from week 1.
I'm hoping to see far fewer G40 penalties, and a bit more recognition of when to give up on a high goal and just take the quick assist points to get the score moving. Then again, this will be the first district event for many of the southern New England teams, so it's possible we'll have a slight rehash of week 1 until things start to sink in. Hopefully the more experienced competitors will help to educate those who weren't watching the week 1 webcasts. See you all this weekend and good luck! -AE PS Brian, no pancakes, no submarine rides...very disappointing ;) |
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You're gonna be happy with your grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast, lunch AND dinner, OK?! ALL WEEKEND! And we're making ALL OF THEM ON FRIDAY! to drink? Your choice: tomato juice or Yoo-Hoo. |
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Ew, I just made myself sick.
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Heading now into perhaps the last full-night's sleep for several days.
G'nite! |
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Instead of sheep, count exercise balls over a truss?
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Start the Party.
Secret endgame. |
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Hey Mike, What day is it?
C'mon, what DAY is it? DAY ZERO! |
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Great job getting things set up. Besides of few glitches because of the new district model, you guys are making it a pleasant experience.
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Thanks for that.
Get ready, you're next! |
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Some interesting results in the eliminations.
1. 195, 78, 3719 (QF) 2. 228, 558, 4055 (QF) 3. 2067, 175, 121 (SF) 4. 236, 237, 2064 (F) 5. 2168, 125, 5112 (QF) 6. 181, 571, 2170 (QF) 7. 1991, 230, 1699 (W) 8. 3718, 178, 1099 (SF) |
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Congratulations 1991, 230 and 1699!!
Holy cow!! The amount of hitting in this competition was amazing!! Makes me not miss football!! Good job to all teams. I had a ball and from the looks of it, you all did too! |
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Echo congrats to friends 230, 1991 and 1699!
Also to 78 for Chairman's. And perhaps most of all to 2168 for hosting great event, ushering in the districts to CT. |
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Congrats to 1991, 230, and 1699 on the win!
Congrats to 78 for CA! Thank you to everyone that helped make this event possible! |
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Wow. Just wow. Thank you to everyone who stopped to tell me (or any of us) that you enjoyed the event. I'm very happy with the results. Aside from a few burst blood vessels on setup, I think I was able to maintain control the rest of the weekend without the help of prescription.
A shout out to our New London Neighbors: great job, you guys, that was a huge step forward this year. Keep it up, you'll make waves soon. Already making plans for next year: 1. Something stronger than wrapping paper to protect the floors. 2. Widen the gym by six feet 3. Move the stage (practice field) closer to Small Gym (pits) 4. Get more of those big yellow plastic speed bumps for the pits ("slow down you guys") Any other suggestions? |
On be half of team 230, thank you for the congrats. It was teamwork that allowed our alliance to make it thru all those matches and the huge defense we all experienced. We appreciate the pick by 1991 and 1699 was a great team to round out the alliance. Still can't believe we won! District events are quite a whirlwind event, so fast paced, never time to relax between matches. Exhausting and exhilarating at once.
I would also like to add my congratulations to 78 on the chairman's, to 228 for the EI and to Art Dutra for the volunteer of the year, and to 2168 for hosting a great event. I can only imagine the incredible number of hours and headaches that were experienced leading up to the event. You guys did a great job. It was an awesome experience. |
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Where will match videos be posted?
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A little late now but if anyone was interested in the alliances follow the link.
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For those who missed it, here's the 'secret endgame' Angry Eric came up with prior to opening ceremonies
I'd also like to draw attention to team 5112. They were awesome and an absolute blast to work with; great mentors, knowledgeable students. I expect great things from them in the future. |
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On behalf of the Aluminum Falcons, I just wanted to say thank you all to the teams for making it an awesome weekend. We had an amazing time hosting, and it seems that the overall experience from teams was nothing but positive.
It was great to see a lot of old friends, and make news ones. Congratulations to Airstrike for Chairman's, Gus for EI, and 5142 for Rookie-All Star - your all awesome. 5112 - Special shout out to you. Nothing but a phenomenal team to work with, no doubt you will be new force in the New England area. To all the award winning teams, congratulations, very well deserved. (I did have a question for 237, I was curious about your use of the ultrasonic sensor which I believe won you the Controls Award, if someone from your team is willing to explain it to me - that would be awesome). And finally congratulations to our finalists, (tics, black magic, and panthers), and our event winners (dragons, gaelhawks, and robocats). Very intense matchup, and an overall great performance by all teams in elimination. It was an amazing time, and I hope everyone had a blast. Regards, Kevin |
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Written up in Hartford Courant here.
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With only 33 teams out of the 40 openings, I'm very glad now we didn't fill up. |
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There are a number of photos taken by one of the mentors on our team here: http://mysticriverpress.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1775388&CategoryID=72376&ListSubA lbums=0
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1st of all congrats to 1991, 230, 1699 for your incredible win. The field was intense out there. You sure made my inaugural showing as a Field Supervisor rewarding. In the past years I have had other positions, including field reset, FTA & now Field Super assistant. But this year so far has proved to be very physically demanding. The Refs have so much more to do as well. Before you start criticizing some of their penalties, take a minute & put yourself in their position. You have 6 robots flying back & forth, propelling 2' balls all over the place & they are watching for possession, passing of balls, proper scoring of said balls. And at the same time they are entering it into their tablets & watching for violations. I have a new respect for the Refs this year.
The reset crew has so much more to do this year as well. I'm glad I had such a great crew & hope I might have most of them in Southington. I also found out that in Eliminations I was outpaced by the amount of damaged balls I had expected, Judging by how many I replaced in the qualifying matches, I thought I was doing fine by having a couple of back-up balls for each color. I was wrong. Luckily we were able to recover, but it was very physically demanding. I am looking forward to being your Field Supervisor in Southington on the 22nd & 23rd. One more thing. Learn to accept that life isn't perfect & some things you will just have to accept. Also learn, meet new people, relax & have fun. |
We had a great time, even though our "hands" didn't work out like we had hoped. Back to the shop to reconfigure!!!!
But seriously thanks for putting on the event! Let's not forget to thank all the volunteers !!! Without them it would have been a much different event. Thanks again Aluminum Falcons We had a blast! Team 4557 Full Metal Falcons |
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Thank you everyone for pulling of this inaugural event.
I think most of us prefer the district model even though our Pit times are reduced. A huge shout out to Brian Chidley and the families involved in FIRST through the Aluminum Falcons. Very impressive representation of the Groton community. Here are some videos. I apologize for the shakiness, but filming from the field this year is tough. They mostly focus on Southington because for all of the talk here about Ri3D resulting in common Robot design, they break the mold. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FngzL85tBwE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sg4yAD2YPY |
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WHO LEFT A HUGE SACK of LAW BOOKS in the PITS!!
LAW??!?!?!??? Seriously, please ask around and if anyone knows of someone who is missing 7 thick Law books in a green and white gardener's bag, let them know that I threw them away. No, I've got them here, and it's a gripping GRIPPING read. |
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What are you doing on CD during the day while at school??? I already let her know. |
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The question I had was more of a general one. I was running around more then usual at this event so I didn't get a chance to talk to most teams to learn about their machines. I was just curious the type of sensor, and how it was being used/employed on your robot. I remember Eric saying your team prototyped it last year, and then perfected and used the system this year so it seemed to be pretty awesome and essential to the robots performance. Regards, Kevin |
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Hey teams,
I lost my classroom spool-tape measure. Red plastic frame, says "Chidley" on it. Metric one side of tape, feet on the other. It disappeared at set-up on Friday. Anyone? |
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