this year was my first at IRI, and i must say, i was amazed at how well it was organized and put on. i was expecting something more relaxed... but i was pleasantly suprised... i had a GREAT time. i am so going next year!!:)

IRI- truly a professionally staged event.
 

Hats off to the folks who staged IRI-

The event had the action and organization of a regional with the flow of a well oiled machine.

I was very impressed by the press coverage on the local TV stations, the level of competition and the great venue.

You folks did a great job.


We drove 12 hrs to get there- and getting another chance to play against the National winners was great. We left very pleased with the competition and I think we made a few friends along the way.


To the Wild Stang, Killer Bee and Huskie guys- thanks for taking the time to sit and talk to us for a while. We felt a little out of the group and you guys made our day. I hope we can return the favor some time.

To the Martians and MiM- former alliance partners- it was great seeing you again. I thought the Martians had it! And Martians, thanks for clapping for us when we were announced- the 9 of us who got out there needed all the help we could get.

To the guys on our 3 x partner 920 (?)- I hope we didn't let you down too much.

To the winning alliance- especially the Guerillas- the elims were well played. But couldn't you just give us a tap!! (just kidding) The
Guerillas continue to impress me and our paths will cross again. Great job guys.

To our elim alliance partners - we did our best. That's all we can offer. I hope you had as much fun as we did.

Thanks for the invitation.

And now mine-
We have replay games in NJ too- if we can drive 12 hrs west how about some of you folks driving 12 hrs east? We are planning something for November. Consider yourselves invited.

WC- realist
:cool:

Thanks to 292 and 68 for being great alliance partners! Sorry we balanced on the ramp! It's a rare occurence, and never before has a team wisened up to the point they guard us from being so much as tapped.

To 68 - thanks for being a great ramp blocker for us- your bot amazed me in the beginning, and even now after the changes FIRSt forced upon you.

To 292- Thanks for being great alliance captains. You guys were strong partners and amazed everyone. Who would have known that our paths would cross after fighting against each other in the final four to fighting together in the finals?

So what, Jeff? You leave out the only two girls from Jersey? Miraculously both named Sara(h)?? Not that it matters. Yes, you are right, meeting all those people was great. I've not had a better time at a competition yet. Much thanks to Libby Ritchie who made it all possible & neat & organized (and let me volunteer). Even though I originally went just to hang out with 25, I will be doing everything possible to go back next year in hopes for something just as good (even if they don't go).

I was just thinking about this a few minutes ago... the 2002 IRI attracted 29 teams, and we had 48 teams this year... If the competition continues to grow like this it's going to be as big as some of the biggest regionals!! :yikes:

<~ Still hyper from IRI

it already is there raul

it's already bigger than the J&J Mid-Atlantic Regional at Rutgers (which was 43 teams this year)

The 2003 IRI was larger than 72.73% of the 22 regionals we had this year (larger than 16/22 regionals). 72nd percentile? Thats pretty good. The number of teams competing at the IRI (48) was also one greater than the mean number of teams per regional this year (47, with an average deviation of 21.57% or 10.14 teams per regional).

Thanks, Joel. It wasn't quite as big as some of the really big regionals, like Great Lakes, but from your stats, it's obviously bigger than most.

Some people were surprised that we came all the way from California for IRI. Although we went to 2 regionals and the nationals this year, IRI was my favorite competition. True, we had problems with chains derailing at our earlier competitions (we had 12 chains on our robot), and thanks to a lot of hard work by our engineers and team members, at IRI we didn't lose a single chain!! (We just couldn't quit until we got it right and IRI with all its great robots was the perfect test.)

But there were other bonuses at IRI. Hey, I got to check out the Team 45 Technocat shift-on-the-fly gear box up close and personal and ask questions, and a while later, I was counting the gears in Team 25's awesome drive train and getting the skinny on how it works. (Thanks for making that drive from New Jersey.) In fact there were so many great robots at IRI that we ran around taking pictures of various devices and systems.

What made this event so great? Maybe it was the midwest hospitality, or Libby Ritchie beaming at everyone, even though she had only gotten 4 hours sleep. I am purely amazed that Libby and her husband Scott raise two children, coach TWO FIRST teams, 393 and 234, and join forces with Team 45 to put on IRI. To top it off, in the middle of getting IRI set up, Libby decided to help us get our robot from Los Angeles to Indianapolis. Amazing. Thank you Libby!!! You saved our robotic bacon.

Then there was the care and consideration of the referees under Andy Baker, a superb job. I also got a kick out of the fact that after I warned the judges that our arm would hit them if it went the wrong way, Andy showed up with a hard hat on with stripes perfectly matching his referee outfit. (We made sure our arm didn't go the wrong way. I was out there swinging my arms and saying, "clockwise"or "counter-clockwise" as I set up our safety switches.)

Ken Leung also came from California, and his calm demeanor and enthusiasm, even when he took on the scoring software and was under pressure to get it working, were an inspiration. (Looks like Cal Games is another must for us.)

I got a big kick out of competing with Team 71's Beast, even though it was only in practise. I didn't even see their robot until suddenly both arms swung at the stack. Quite a sight. (They beat us to the stack by a fraction, but our arm went over theirs, and I think we got a few more bins. I would love to replay that match.)

Then there was the level of competition. Where else would you get to compete against Teams 45 and 47 in one match! (Yes, I know. We totally lucked out on that match.)

Thank you Amanda Morrison and Team 1020 for saving our drive train with your extra Chiaphua motors.

Thanks Teams 65 and 930. It was a pleasure meeting you and an honor to be allianced with you. Those matches were definitely exciting, and we hope to partner with you again soon.

In our last qualifying match, we set up our robot a little off and our arm hit all the bins at once, and for the 1st time, it couldn't push the stack over. Thank you Team 1022 for making it up to the stack and giving our arm some help, sending the whole thing crashing down.

Thank you Brant Bowen for welcoming us, for driving us to Home Depot for parts, and for making us feel at home. You were a great host.

Special thanks to Sarah Brown of Team 30 in New Jersey, who joined our team for our matches and kept track of time for us. (This was my first time mentoring on the field, and in our first match, I was like a deer in the headlights. I totally forgot to tell our driver to head for the top.)

By the way, Robert Hogg (my son and one of our engineers) was stuck with a prior work engagement Friday evening and took a red eye from Los Angeles on Friday night arriving at IRI at 9:00 am Sat. in time to mentor our last two qualifying matches and the elimination rounds. Why you might ask?
Great teams and great people makes for great times!

Bottom line: IRI = AWESOME!!!

You folks just know how to party. I feel like moving to Indiana.

Thank you everyone. You created something very special.

Glad you guys could make it out there :)
I made sure I got a few pictures of your robot in action.

Maybe we'll make it back out west next season :)

I'm so honored to be on everyone's list.

I met so many people, I'm not even going to list everyone because I'm afraid of missing someone, and I don't want anyone to be offended!

But there were many people who I talked to quite a few times (who kept me company) and a couple whom I wish I would have had much longer with (John, Aaron, Jeff, Ken, Josh, etc.).

I hope everyone had as great of a time as I did, and I really enjoyed the camaraderie I had that weekend. Thank you!