There were SO many good rookie teams this year. At the various regionals , I was very impressed by such teams as 1011, 1212 (who picked as for an alliance in AZ), and 1214 (ALL of the students in JUNIOR HIGH).

However, I would have to say that my favorite team BY FAR was team 1114. I was completely in awe and jealous of their stacker. When we were allied with them, we immediately gave them the task of stacking, even though that is normally the function of our robot. Their whole design was exceptional: not just the stacking mechanism, but the layout of everything, and their steering drive train.

haha, thanks. I dunno if I qualify to choose, but 1097 was really cool! we worked really well with them and their bot was cute.

I liked 1072. Their bot was cool, and their logo is interesting. And their human player is great at catching safety glasses.

1108 hands down
 

Same here! 1108 won so much in their 1st FIRST year. Absolutly Nationals Rookie All-Star. And what GREAT Team # 1108.

KA-108 :cool:

i was very impressed with 1038, so impressed that i picked them for our alliance. they had probably the best drive train of any rookie i;ve ever seen, and they could play koth a little with thier arm.

team 1114 was probably one of the coolest stackers around. i don't know if any other team was able to do what they did in the matches

I suppose you could say I'm biased because they're our brother school, but I have to say that 1097 was a great rookie team. Come on, they're two time Rookie All Star award winners. I thought they did an awesome job this year. GO LIL MOJO!

I liked team 1005. They had a good bot that did well at SLR and I hung out with some of them. They were really cool.

My favorite rookie team this year is team 1073 from Hollis-Brookline. Not only did they turn out a high quality robot that topped many of the old teams at the BAE regional, they cheered with the best of them, put out a very cool team website, and had amazing strategy. You guys are and will be a FORCE to be reckoned with in FIRST. Congratulations on your rookie year I look forward to seeing more of you in the future!!!!!

I loved team 1214. These kids came to the Houston competition without a working robot. It seemed desperate, most people would pack their bags and go home then, but this bunch of middle schoolers had resolve. The frame was welded by a six grader, the electrical work by an eighth grader, and all with no help from a mentor with engineering experience. Through their hard work and with the support of all the teams at Houston, their robot was easily driven by Saturday. The team also shows the true spirit of teamwork by rotating their driving schedule. Its not always about winning, its about what you learn, and this group WILL be a force to contend with in the coming years. But that's just my opinion.

GREAT ROOKIE TEAM
 

While there were many rookie that were impressive during this years competitions my hat goes off to TEAM 1011 - Team C.R.U.S.H. (Constructed Robot Under Severe Heat) from Tucson, Arizona. This team was started by 1st and 2nd year College students at the University of Arizona. These students when out on their own and got the team started raising the funds and mentoring primarily middle school students.

They attended the Arizona Regional and received the Rookie All-Star Award. Where the robot performed wonderfully, and the team didn't need seats because they were always standing up and cheering for everyone.

This team spirit carried over to the Nationals where on the Curie Field they ended up as the top ranked rookie team in 20th place. The robot work flawlessly in every match and the autonomous mode was awesome, working every time. Again seats were optional as the team was generally front and center cheering on all the competitors.

I was truly surprised, when no one in the top eight picked team 1011 as an alliance partner. Hopefully teams will put TEAM CRUSH -1001 on their scouting cards for next year - because they certainly were overlooked at this years championships.

Hear hear. Great robot, not just for a rookie team. If you got a chance to see it up close, the complexity and precision of some parts is impressive. I saw it stack 11!

1151
 

1151 was and is awsome. They built a very maneuverable robot that was fast and reliable. Their team was small but awsome, spending the last night, a school nite, fixing their drivetrain. They are a dedicated group of people, and you will be seeing them around next year because they are fundraising now, and are going to as many competitions as they can afford!

They also won the Xerox Creativity Award!

Definitely 1114 for being one of the best stackers, and also 1022, 1088, and 1108 for seeding first at regionals, and 1126, 1147, 1088, 1180, 1218, 1108, and 1140 for winning regionals.