Re: Favorite Teams that did not get picked
 

I don't know if this is off subject or not, but with so many great teams in nationals and how close the compeition is do you think FIRST should expand the brackets at nationals to like 10 or 12 seeds?

I mean most of those 8th seeds at nationals would have been winners at most regionals, and haveing 10 alliances I don't think would water down the compeition. If a miscommunication didn't happen, Team 228 should have been the first pick on my alliance and they didn't even get picked.

Re: Favorite Teams that did not get picked
 

i agree, that is a good idea. i am with you that some of my favorite robots did not get picked. an expansion might mean more days for more matches, but it might be worth it.

Re: Favorite Teams that did not get picked
 

If we went to the top 16 that would be huge. Or even top 12 & the top seeds get a first round bye. 1 whole extra round of elimination matches would take some time. Although if we could cut the speeches down we might get out of there a little bit early next year.

Re: Favorite Teams that did not get picked
 

I agree, team 88 definitely should have been picked. I don't know how they did at nationals, but they were at both of the regionals we attended. (In fact, they were seated in front of us at one regional and next to us at the other.) They are a very spirited team and they have a really good robot. I was so surprised when I walked by a couple of the guys from team 88 and they told me that they weren't in the finals, I actually called one of my team mates in the stands to tell her.
I was also surprised that team 138 wasn't picked. They were our first choice at BAE. (we ended up being finalists) Our scouting system was not very good at BAE (It basically consisted of "Who do you think is good?") and none of us were quite sure how they would do. They ended up being a great pick. (and also a very nice group of people) I was really happy that they ended up getting to play.
I was also sad to see that teams 007 and 122 who we were with in Annapolis were not picked. They were both really good.
I definitely agree that there should be more time in between the end of qualifying matches and the begining of picking. Due to the limited time between the end of our last match and the beginning of alliance picking, the person who usually does our alliance picking (our human player) and I (the scout captain) didn't make it to the field until we had already made our first pick. Thank god our driver knew who our first choice was and had the opportunity to pick them. We then figured out our second choice by making hand signals (this is difficult as I do not have 108 fingers and there were quite a few teams in our division who's team number had the numbers 1 and 8 in it) and finally writing numbers on the back of our scouting sheets and holding them up.
We have developed a very objective scouting system (which I am very proud of) which works really well and nearly ensures that we don't overlook good teams, no matter what their seed. However, at BAE our scouting system was purely subjective and I am sure that we overlooked good teams simply because no one remembered them.

Re: Favorite Teams that did not get picked
 

Thanks to all those recognized our robot! Yeah, we were dissapointed we didn't get picked but that's just how the game goes. We don't seem to have great luck getting picked at nationals. We went undefeated at nats in 2003 and were seeded in the top 15 and didn't get picked. So, as I claim, we still went "undefeated" at the 2003 nationals.

As for teams I feel should have been picked... 237, 1403, and 25 all stick out in my mind. They were all amazing at the NJ regional. 222 was also a great robot.

Hopefully we'll see you all in our division next year!

Re: Favorite Teams that did not get picked
 

Thanxs. We tried out hardest out there and our team is proud of what we accomplished. I was also surprised to see that your team, 75, didn't get picked. You were consistent performers and very good at what you did. I was also surprised that teams 237, 222, 1279 and 25 didn't get picked. I know 25 had some mechanical issues, but they still performed really well. Don't worry guys, we'll get em' next year. :p

GO 1403, 75, 237, 1279, and 25!!!

Re: Favorite Teams that did not get picked
 

I know its been said, but I have to say it again:

237- they were awesome in finger lakes, and they were one of thye few teams that could actually cap a vision tetra in auto. Plus, they worked really well in a team.

301 - These people were also awesome, controlling the home row for us in detroit.

Re: Favorite Teams that did not get picked
 

Re: those Mechanical Issues- Last weekend at PARC throughout the day we once again had the same mechanical issues and the mast mechanism seemed to be getting slower and slower. It totally shot the seeding rounds while we replaced the motor and tried to trouble shoot what was wrong.

It turns out that at Nats when we uncrated the robot we had told the kids who worked on the robot to check all the screws and make sure nothing was loose or missing- simple procedure.

So they did- and tightened down all the loose screws they found-

Including all the axle hubs for the pulleys inside the tower making the entire mechanism a lesson in friction. There was enough power to move the tower but the resistance eliminated the ability to lift tetras.

At lunch at PARC we finally noticed the error and fixed it.

Needless to say- the elimination rounds went MUCH better.....


This is how you learn.... :rolleyes:

WC