CAGE Match 2014
 

Hi FriendsWithRobots,
The planning committee is still working on some of the particulars, but the seventh annual CAGE Match tournament will be Saturday, October 18th at Southport High School.
When we have everything finalized, we will let you all know about registration, agenda, and other details.

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

Hope to have a pre-rookie team competing but lots to do before then.
Looking forward to being there with the best robots from the area.

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5188 is also looking forward to the event!

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

Please please, talk to Mike or I if you have any questions. We would like to help you in whatever way we can to get your pre-rookie team here.

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

Registration will open Monday, August 25. In order to keep with our tradition of every-team-plays-in-eliminations, there will be a cap of 32 teams. Make sure you sign up soon!
(There's also the matter of the Early Bird Discount for registering in the first two weeks)
We're excited about some changes we're making for the 2014 edition. They include:

-We're bringing judged awards back to the event, to spread the word of FIRST, to generate a pool of judges we can use for district events, and to give students practice presenting their accomplishments to others.

-There are six food trucks scheduled to appear, up from three last year. We've heard your concerns about the long wait times; this will allow for more options as well, including a vegetarian-only truck! Furthermore, these fine people are donating a portion of their proceeds back to the event.

-Upgraded kids' zone: the awesome area 1741 supplies will be supplemented with great interactive technological activities.

-Improved spectator experience: we will have a series of Robo Show-inspired pre- and post-match breakdowns throughout the event.

Of course, we'll also have the traditional activities: a scholarship for an outgoing senior (apply here), silent auction, blood drive, adult and student roundtable discussions.

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Well, I know where I'll be that day...

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Thank you, looking forward to it :D

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We're excited to be attending CAGE Match this year! :)

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Registration is open!
You can complete it on the CAGE site, http://thecagematch.com/main/?page_id=113 OR at the form directly https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1AjV...?usp=send_form

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

Volunteer registration is also available.
As a side note, we're looking to bring back judged awards. If you have a potential sponsor, administrator, or generally good person you'd like to nominate as a judge, please let me know via PM.

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

The Art Anderson Memorial Scholarship application is now available. Seniors that will be attending the 2014 CAGE Match can get a copy of the application on the "Scholarship" tab, http://thecagematch.com/main/?page_id=260

You can also just get it from the direct link, http://thecagematch.com/main/documen...rship_2014.pdf

Seniors, "No one ever received a scholarship they didn't apply for"
Mentors and teammates, urge your team's seniors to apply.

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

Update on teams as of 9/2/14:

1529 - Indianapolis, IN
1646 - Lafayette, IN
1024 - Indianapolis, IN
1747 - West Lafayette, IN
2171 - Crown Point, IN
1741 - Greenwood, IN
3937 - Searcy, AR
1018 - Indianapolis, IN
1720 - Muncie, IN
20150041 - Bedford, IN
4272 - Lafayette, IN
3494 - Bloomington, IN

The goofy number (20150041) is a pre-rookie team - their first official FRC event will be in 2015. We thank 3494, the Quadrangles, for graciously working with this new team and loaning them a robot. (History lesson: 3494 used the 1501 robot in the 2010 CAGE Match for their first FRC experience, then went on to win the Midwest Regional and Rookie All-Star at Buckeye their first official year. Bedford is in good hands.)
There are already two regional champions and two state champions in this event.
With 12 spots taken, there are 20 available. If your team has not registered, do it soon - the Early Bird Discount expires on 9/14.

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I just volunteered as a ref.
I can't be bought, but I can be rented :D

On a side note. Please read the manual. It makes my job easier.

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I'm in as a volunteer. Still have yet to miss a CAGE match.

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3947 will be there as always we wouldn't miss the competition from which our team was started!

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I will be there as a volunteer. First FRC event I am volunteering at as an alumni.

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

Update on teams as of 9/5/14:

1529 - Indianapolis, IN
1646 - Lafayette, IN
1024 - Indianapolis, IN
1747 - West Lafayette, IN
2171 - Crown Point, IN
1741 - Greenwood, IN
3937 - Searcy, AR
1018 - Indianapolis, IN
1720 - Muncie, IN
20150041 - Bedford, IN
4272 - Lafayette, IN
3494 - Bloomington, IN
1501 - Huntington, IN
3947 - Knightstown, IN
829 - Indianapolis, IN
5188 - Terre Haute, IN
45 - Kokomo, IN
447 - Anderson, IN

With 18 spots taken, there are 14 available. If your team has not registered, do it soon - the Early Bird Discount expires on 9/14.

Make sure your graduating seniors are applying for the scholarship - this will be worth at least $1,000.

Volunteer sign up

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Team list 9/9:
1529 - Indianapolis, IN
1646 - Lafayette, IN
1024 - Indianapolis, IN
1747 - West Lafayette, IN
2171 - Crown Point, IN
1741 - Greenwood, IN
3937 - Searcy, AR
1018 - Indianapolis, IN
1720 - Muncie, IN
20150041* - Bedford, IN
4272 - Lafayette, IN
3494* - Bloomington, IN
1501 - Huntington, IN
3947* - Knightstown, IN
829 - Indianapolis, IN
5188 - Terre Haute, IN
45 - Kokomo, IN
447 - Anderson, IN
461 - West Lafayette, IN
4926* - Columbus, IN
5010* - Fishers, IN

That leaves 11 spots available. The Early Bird Discount expires 9/14, so get in now and save cash!

*CAGE Match Legacy Teams: this team's first FRC experience was at a CAGE Match

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

We wanted everybody to note the Awards section on the CAGE Match website.
With the move to Districts, it is imperative that we strengthen our volunteer base, and continue to build our community and business connections. To train new judges, judge advisors, and judge assistants - as well as give teams a comfort level in talking with judges - we will be offering a dozen judged awards this year.
If you have anybody in mind you would like to bring on-board as a judge, PM me and we'll add him/her.
As you can see, the awards are loosely based on the ones we'll see at official FIRST events.

Also, we *may* be doing some inspector training. To pilot the new inspection app and build our inspector pool, there may be very basic inspections throughout the day. We will let you know particulars as they become finalized.

The intention of these additions is not to create tension at the event - quite the opposite. We intend to create a rapport between teams and officials, to give new recruits experience, and to more closely model official events.

Team list 9/15:
1529 - Indianapolis, IN
1646 - Lafayette, IN
1024 - Indianapolis, IN
1747 - West Lafayette, IN
2171 - Crown Point, IN
1741 - Greenwood, IN
3937 - Searcy, AR
1018 - Indianapolis, IN
1720 - Muncie, IN
20150041* - Bedford, IN
4272 - Lafayette, IN
3494* - Bloomington, IN
1501 - Huntington, IN
3947* - Knightstown, IN
829 - Indianapolis, IN
5188 - Terre Haute, IN
45 - Kokomo, IN
447 - Anderson, IN
461 - West Lafayette, IN
4926* - Columbus, IN
5010* - Fishers, IN
868 - Carmel, IN
234 - Indianapolis, IN

*CAGE Match Legacy Teams: this team's first FRC experience was at a CAGE Match[/quote]

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Team list as of 9/19:

1529 - Indianapolis, IN
1646 - Lafayette, IN
1024 - Indianapolis, IN
1747 - West Lafayette, IN
2171 - Crown Point, IN
1741 - Greenwood, IN
3937 - Searcy, AR
1018 - Indianapolis, IN
1720 - Muncie, IN
20150041* - Bedford, IN
4272 - Lafayette, IN
3494* - Bloomington, IN
1501 - Huntington, IN
3947* - Knightstown, IN
829 - Indianapolis, IN
5188 - Terre Haute, IN
45 - Kokomo, IN
447 - Anderson, IN
461 - West Lafayette, IN
4926* - Columbus, IN
5010* - Fishers, IN
868 - Carmel, IN
234 - Indianapolis, IN
292 - Indianapolis, IN
4485 - Avon, IN
20150042* - Walton, IN

That's 26 teams registered, which means there are only six spots remaining. If you haven't already, make sure you get in before the event fills**!


*CAGE Match Legacy Teams: this team's first FRC experience was at a CAGE Match
**In the interest of all teams gaining experience in all aspects of competition, we cap at 32 teams so that each team may participate in the elimination rounds (Alliances of 4).

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4485 - Danville, IN We are also a Cage Match legacy team.

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1529 - Indianapolis, IN
1646 - Lafayette, IN
1024 - Indianapolis, IN
1747 - West Lafayette, IN
2171 - Crown Point, IN
1741 - Greenwood, IN
3937 - Searcy, AR
1018 - Indianapolis, IN
1720 - Muncie, IN
20150041* - Bedford, IN
4272 - Lafayette, IN
3494* - Bloomington, IN
1501 - Huntington, IN
3947* - Knightstown, IN
829 - Indianapolis, IN
5188 - Terre Haute, IN
45 - Kokomo, IN
447 - Anderson, IN
461 - West Lafayette, IN
4926* - Columbus, IN
5010* - Fishers, IN
868 - Carmel, IN
234 - Indianapolis, IN
292 - Russiaville, IN
4485* - Danville, IN
20150042* - Walton, IN
3940* - Kokomo, IN
3176* - Brownsburg, IN

28 teams, which leaves 3** remaining spots.

*CAGE Match Legacy Team
**There might be one more pre-rookie joining the event

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

We still have those 3-4 open slots for CAGE! This isn't limited to Indiana teams. Anyone is welcome!

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Registration has closed for the 2014 edition of the CAGE Match. We currently have 28 of 32 slots filled. We would like to invite anybody that is interested to bring a second robot to enter into the event to fill out the full field of 32 teams. Teams wishing to bring two robots to the event need to make sure each set is complete – if your two robots happen to be playing in the same match, they can’t share any mechanical, electrical, or communications components (or drive team members). We will offer the discounted price of $150 for these additional teams. Please contact Brett to register additional teams.

Other items of note:
*Make sure your graduating seniors apply for the Art Anderson Memorial Scholarship. Applications are due October 3rd.

*The Scholarship is financed by the Silent Auction. Make sure you bring team swag, cool items, anything you’ve got to auction off to support the scholarship. Each year we’re able to award at least $1,000; let’s keep this tradition rolling.

*Food will be similar to last year; we will offer breakfast items, drinks, and snacks in the concession stand, and five food trucks will be on site to offer entrées. We welcome and thank Taste of the Caribbean, Pierogi Love Indy, Nacho Mama’s, EMT Food Truck, and Johnson’s BBQ Shack for their support. These fine folks are donating a portion of their proceeds back to the event.

*We are still in need of volunteers! Key positions include referees, field reset, and queuers. There are no age or experience restrictions for volunteers; sign up ASAP!

*We are offering judged awards this year. You can peruse the options on our Awards page. If you have any sponsors, partners, administrators – anybody you think would benefit as serving as a judge, please contact our Judge Advisor Kirk Wheeler (PM me for his contact info) now!

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We are still in need of volunteers for this event! If you are interested, please sign up here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12nx...BAJMM/viewform

We are most in needs of referees.
You do NOT need experience to ref this event.
We will be using the IRI rules, so it will be less intense than regular season.

Thanks!

Re: CAGE Match 2014
 

What would be involved in getting trained as a ref for this? I haven't done it before but want to learn and help out if I can.

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You just wave a red/blue flag and point :D
If I can be trained, anyone can. You really just need to know the rules.

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Show up early (i.e. Friday afternoon) and look for head referee Logan Byers.

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Reffing is the best seat in the house and the CAGE match is the best place to get a feel for it. It is a totally laid back event designed to give new people time behind the glass and time to experience other new things like volunteering.

As a side benefit the Saturday lunch for volunteers is provided by the Goat moms. The chilli is enough reason in itself to volunteer.

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Made this a family event, younger son doing field reset, wife taking a shot at referee, older son driving, me trying to keep it all together. Just have to get that robot ready first :rolleyes:

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Well, that was fun.
Congratulations to the winning alliance of 1024, 1646, 1741, and 5402. You put on a great show for the biggest CAGE Match crowd we've ever seen.

Time for thank-yous:
45, 234, 1741 - You are all great friends and we are very appreciative of you giving your Friday afternoon to help us set up the event.

829 - The volunteer lunch was fantastic as usual, as well as all the other support you provided as cohosts.

234, 3494 - Because of your hard work, two great pre-rookies got to experience FRC behind the glass. Thank you for graciously providing robots and guidance to these rising stars.

461 - Your team continues to be a pillar of the community, leading the charge with nearly 2,000 items donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana.

2451 - Thank you for loaning us your mentor (and FRC blogger!) Kelsey Draus - her aid and input were fantastic.

Kirk Wheeler - As a first time Chief Judge, you did a splendid job of using seasoned veteran judges with brand new professionals you found to expand the FRC community and get these newbies hooked.

Every participating team had a significant role - providing volunteers, excellent discussions at the Roundtable meetings, donating to the Silent Auction, or giving the crowd a spectacle on the field. We on the planning committee are proud to be able to show off what you wonderful teams can do.

As I tweeted earlier, I am proud of the work my #FriendsWithRobots provided to put on this event, and I am proud to be able to call you my friends.

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On behalf of Team 3937, I would like to send a huge thank you out to the CAGE match planning committee, volunteers and participating teams. It was great to have the state of IN welcome us to the competition. We are from a state that is trying to grow FIRST and IN is definitely a state to emulate in that regard. It was outstanding to be working with some of the legendary teams for IN. I got a chance to talk with a lot of great mentors and students. Thanks to our alliance in the elims. We fought hard and even when we got that detrimental damage to our arm internals, our alliance continued to battle to the end. What a show, the crowd was great and the atmosphere was superb! Way to go and hope we can join you guys again next year!

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Thanks to all for a wonderful event, not just for the teams, but also for the volunteers such as myself, my mother, and my fiancee. I now have a new found liking for the role of a scorekeeper, thanks for the chance to try it out (and for the excellent training from all involved).

Looking forward to the next one already.