Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

Just because some ill-prepared teams got totally owned doesn't mean that shoving a goal into your opponent's chute is against the rules or runs counter to everybody's favorite concept, "gracious professionalism". FIRST has evaded the question in the Q&A section, saying only that "it is the human player's responsibility to avoid contact with any goal pushed past the plane of the player station". Booya.

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

Thanks for all the great comments about our "Fridge." Also, congrats to all the teams that participated, the matches were really really heated, especially towards the end; I had a great time!

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

i still have to see the qualifying match 56 had against 303 i was late i arrived rite when teh scores for that match were posted. i heard it was a very good match. hopefully i will get the tape in my hands soon enuf.

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

I just got home from what was an awesome regional!!
Team 237 would like to thank our strong alliance partners 303 and 56!!!
Look us up in Atlana if you make it down there! We just made a few more friends in FIRST!!

I would also like to thank everyone who was cheering in our favor.

Thanks to David Kelly who was the first one to post about our position entering the finals - even though he wasn't even in the same time zone!!

I also want to send a special thank you and job well done for all the judges at NJ. There were many tough calls I saw in the finals, our situation just maybe being the hardest to judge. The judges inspected the field and consulted the rules for 10 minutes before they came up with a very difficult ruling regarding our most unique "Shimmy" feature and it's use in one of the finals matches.
(I'll post pics of our Shimmy feature later tonight if I get a chance!)

Thank you to all who participated!

Oh, and two more personal thanks. Thank you to MOE for giving us the Gracious Professionalism MOE team award, and also a big thanks to our 10th year pal's at RAGE Robotics for their Team award for Most Unique Design Feature!

See you at UTC in two weeks!!

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

What was the ruling?

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

Another robot was hanging off of our shimmy device and the decision was that they didnt count because they werent on the bar, they were actually on our robot and not in fact hanging.

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

Mort (#11) was hanging off of a wire on 237's Roller arm on top of the bar. Since it was just wire and not the bar they were deemed as not hanging. The entire situation was rather tense. 56 might have been on, part of their arm was on the pulley on the side of the bar and we didnt know if 237 would count because of mort. It was very close. Luckily for us, however, the judges ruled 56 and 237 as hanging, and 11 as not.

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

I would like to thank team 303 and 56 for being our alliance partners!!! Great teamwork!!!! We were tense in the beginning of the finals but then we just seemed to ease up. Hope to see you all down in Atlanta!!

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

I think it was fear inspiring... It double capped goals in the finals more than once and was a definate force to be rekoned with! I'm glad they accepted to join Team 237 and 56 as an alliance partner!!

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

O Yeah...
Thank you to all that have congratulated team 237's robot. Also a huge thanks has to go out to our allience partners, team numbers 56 and 303. Without them, we would not be were we are now. When the shimmy was first used in the practice round on Thursday, everyone watching basicly stopped and pointed at it due to its uniqueness that was unmatched. Some of the matches with the shimmy going against anothers hook were very intense. The match when the robot hooked onto the wire of the shimmy was one of the hardest matches we had. In the final quilification round we flipped the robot while climbing the last set of six inch steps, but through the efforts of our primary driver (Scott Shaw) and me, we were able to right the robot, climb the steps, and hang. This left us undefeated in the qualification rounds. The second time we flipped it was basicly due to a the arm being extended (since we were going to hang) ,we fell and were not able to get up. Our team will be working very hard to avoid that last mistake and other mistakes from happening to give everyone a run for their money at UTC.

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

lets put it this way: I sure am glad you're not going to annapolis (your robot, I mean). You guys are nasty with that shimmy! Great job! Good luck at UTC!

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

It is really nice of you to mention that Team 233 was at the New Jersey Regional, even though we were not there. Must have been another team. ;) I think it may have been 223. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks.

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

Yeah, sorry about the whole hanging on team 237, but you have to admit, it wan an intense match. Also congrats to teams 237, 56, and 303. Their final match in the quarterfinals was one of the most riviting matches i've seen in my time at F.I.R.S.T. NJ was awesome and we'll see all the teams later for a rematch

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

The match itself was intense, but not as intense as the 10 minute wait for a ruling. But I guess now we know that everything has to be checked and double checked for a score to be posted. That's just the way it is!

Re: New Jersey Regional Status
 

Congratulations to all the teams at NJ. It was an amazing weekend. So many volunteers doing so much. I would caution that everyone really pays attention to all the ways to get a penalty. Our alliance got 2 in an early match and we are still guessing that it must have been someone stepping over the line (twice). We were never able to find out as the team was well off the field when they found out and no way to go back and ask questions. They tried.
RE: the Arena. The layout into and out of the pits needs to be addressed. Watching hundreds and hundreds hurrying back to the pits, pushing (in a nice way, but still pushing) down those stairs after the alliances were chosen was very scary. There needs to be at least one other entrance/exit.
We are looking forward to Annapolis!

[/quote]On the organizational side of things, I give an enormous amount of respect toward the crew and volunteers, they were amazing in making everything so smooth.

HOWEVER, I felt that the Sovereign Bank Arena, beloved stadium around the corner from my house, was not laid out in a way that was efficient for us to do what we needed to do. I was constantly on my cell phone communicating with teammates in the stands because I couldn't leave the pit for too long, but needed to get to my personal belongings, scouting sheets, etc. Being that it took 5 minutes to walk from pit to stands, we had a difficult time keeping track of who was where when we needed something from a specific teammate. Having only one entrance to and from the pit made this tough, especially because our stands section was 2/3 of the way around. I think that if they chose the SBA next year, they should try to open the pit on both sides, making it a complete half-circle, which would be easier for everyone.

Other than that, I was really pleased with how it went! I know they had problems with the scoring system, but just like with our robots, it takes testing, work, and revamping to get it right. I'm really glad to have been at the regional this year, and good luck to everyone else in their future events!

Hope to see you in Annapolis![/quote]