2006 Florida Regional
 

so whos goin hopin to have some fun :D

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Platinum Dragons are ready to rock... can't wait to see what Pink and Swamp come up with this year... =)

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I hope to be there, finances permitting.

Looks like it'll be a heck of a regional, judging from the list of teams coming.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

1251 is IN da house.

We are up for all kinds of fun ;)

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Both of my teams can't wait. But which pit will I be found in? perhaps I should spin off of Amanda and have a "find Barry in Orlando" game.... Or not. See you all there!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Team 343 "Metal in Motion" will certainly miss coming south to the Florida Regional this year. We are headed north to the VCU instead. The Florida event is always fun and we will certainly miss competing in this outstanding regional. Good luck to everyone this year. :D

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Well last year RamTech did go to the Long Island regionals in New York, but this year we're gonna go to the Florida Regional like we usually do. Cant wait, this is gonna be so much fun ^_^

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

If you need a place to stay, I have a pull-out couch in my new apartment. =-]

Like every year, this year's UCF regional promises to be the most competetive of all.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

i can't wait. this is my first year not working as a student. so i get to run around and see what's going on. i can't be there for practice rounds and friday morning but i'll be there eventually and i can't wait!

good luck to all teams!!

and to my buddies I'M COMING!!! (i'm pretty sure you'll see me..a great way to start off spring break :D )

i'm gonna miss 343 though..always fun talking w/ you all about your bot and working with you. it's gonna be an interesting competition that's for sure!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I hope you mean 343. Unless the Burning Magnetos did something and I missed the memo, that is. ;)

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

ya... i fixed that.. i realized that in class this morning i typed wrong 1/2 alseep...

but i love 342 and 343... such great teams! :)

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I'll see ya there.
Good-looking females, be ready.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

hah good lookin girls and you double hah just kidding bro hope to meet you all there

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Heh yea I was just kidding around a little. This is my first year actually attending the competition. I'm excited!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

np dude its is alot of fun you will enjoy it.. you will find that their is such thing as gracious professionalism which might be hard to believer but it is real. well just look for the kid in pink with the fork pin with a picture of a fork in his bandanna its nice meetin people lol :cool:

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I cant wait this year. I am uspet that i cant volunteer this year, but i will def be there to see some old friends and some good ol competition. Always love the Florida regional some great competiton

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

We can't wait to get to the warm air.

see you there

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Warm air for sure, but lately its been getting down into the 40's on some nights. SOOO COLD :-(

1902 Exploding Bacon ( Rookie Team )will be at UCF this year and looking to rumble. :-)

And for all of you who love the construction there is about 4 times as much around the arena this year compared to last year. So yee be warned.

But on a side note what they are building is a brand new bigger arena right next to the old one. So rumors of super regional are flying around? could it be true in years to come?

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Team 357, Royal Assault will there!

This will be our first trip to the Florida Regional.

Hope to be bringing Jester Drive v 2.

CAN'T WAIT !! :D

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Team 234 will miss the lovely weather and competition down in Florida this year. Last year was our first year attending and we decided this year to go a bit of a different route. We will be going to Phoenix, Grand Rapids, and Nationals. Hope to see some of you there!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Team 1270 had a blast at UCF last year, unfortunately, I doubt it our team will be able to go again this year. Instead, they'll be at Peachtree and Buckeye this year I believe. Good luck to every team!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

ahh 234 we had such a great time in indiana for IRI but ohh well see u guys at nats have fun

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I'm absolutely looking forward to this regional since it might be my last Florida regional. I might be moving to Boston to go to college, so yeah.... it's going to have a lot of special meaning to me. Hope to see everyone there!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I'm glad to hear that 61 will be coming down this year again, can't wait to see you guys again.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I cant wait to see the pink teams robot, your team with the prototype shop always produces something nice, and pink… Who else had access to a water jet, I know we did!, for like an hour… :yikes:

The competition is right around the corner!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

810 will be there, can't wait to see all the other robots... My first time attending the florida regional, seems like it will be great.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

oh boy, all the teams with numbers 8, 0, 1
108
180
801 :yikes:
810

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Hey team 1523 (M.A.R.S) will be there.
Cant wait Less then a month 2 go. :D

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Yo...845 will be there.

Its been a fairly cold winter in SC, I'm praying for some warm weather in Florida.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I went on a Field trip to UCF back in January, and it was for like a tour and stuff,
and it was some pretty serious stuff, there were some areas of the campus that we weren't allowed to go see because of the construction. So teams BE CAREFUL.

Other than that 1065 will be there. Look for me I'm always up for a good chat ^.^

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

1341 will definitely be back to UCF for the 3rd year...

Maybe we'll make it out of the last half of the rankings this year? :rolleyes:

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Ramtech 59 would be there for sure this year!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

aww.. i hate to hear that it might be your last...hopefully it will be tons of fun! at least theres a Boston regional that you can attend! :D (pink's going there this year too)

i know i'm excited about going to UCF... nothing compares to a FIRST competition, especially when it comes to hard-earned fun!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

If you do go to a Boston College you can always help out our team. And go with us to FL to UCF. we go every year :)

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I'm so busy with college and my band, I don't know if I can make it down. I couldn't even help out with the robot. It's been depressing. I'll try to make it down to see my team and all my favorites though. Here's to hoping!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

We (1319) are looking forward very much to Florida! It's our first time there and hopefully we will have some warm weather while we are down there.

Somehow I think that Purdue won't be warm.

Can y'all believe its only a week away??

:ahh:

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I really cant wait =]

I think we should watch http://www.weather.com/weather/month...72?from=search

Just to make sure on the weather. Hopefully it doesn't rain.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Well this is my sophomore year meaning my second year going to a FIRST regional. Last year we went to New York for the Long, Island regionals and now every time one of us sophomores talk about going to this years regionals we say New York instead of Orlando lol. Also we're all used to it being very cold >.<

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

So it seems that someone from all three scouting applications will be at UCF, myself for STAMP, someone for First Scouting Network, and of course Soap 108. I'll be running an open wifi network as well as uploading the day's scouting info to the SPAM servers at the end of the day, will the other projects?

Welcoming committee
 

Teams 1390 and 1604 would like to welcome all out of state FIRST teams to our home. We are forming a welcoming committee and would love to greet these teams as they are getting off of their plane/bus with a warm Floridian welcome. We would like to provide these teams with information on attractions in the area including theme park maps and brochures, dining information, directions, traditional Florida hotspots (air-boat rides and gator hunting), and whatever else information that a team would like to have to make their stay here more enjoyable. Please contact me if your team would like us to greet you and let us know what attractions you are interested in and we'll gather information for you. This will also give our teams' students a chance to socialize and make new friends before the hectic and chaos of a robotics competition. We welcome all out-of-towners and out-of-staters, please let us know what we can do to help make your stay in Orlando more enjoyable!

Re: Welcoming committee
 

That's really cool what you are doing for other teams.

You actually make Florida sound cool =]

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Like always, S.P.A.M. will be there! If any of you ever need to use our machines, or just need to use tools, or even if you just need an extra hand, come let us know. We have some great mentors that can always help, and students as well.

Girls, get involved in the RCU. They will be meeting sometime during the competition. Ask a S.P.A.M. "robot chick" for more information.

This will be my last year so make it a great one! I can't wait to see everyone. See you all there, and good luck to everyone in the competition.

-Jon and S.P.A.M. Robotics

p.s.: If you need a scouting system, read my thread in the scouting forum.

p.p.s.: Stop by our pit and say hi!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

As for weather it was in the upper 50's last night... sooooo coolld so be prepared to bundle up, its like 70 out there now so maybe you'll need a turtle neck :-P hehe

J/k in all reality its beautiful I hope it remains this way through the week for all the out of towners

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Quickly some one send me 200 dollars for gas so I can go. Lol

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

The meetings will be on Thursday at 2:00 PM in the Skybox and Friday at 2:00 PM in the Skybox.

We hope to see you there and hear what you have to say.
And don't forget about our LEGO Drive (as seen in the RCU thread). Thanks for all your support.


Once again good luck to all teams and I'll be there eventually to see the action.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Heck yeah !

FLORIDA FIRST!
I AM GAME!!!

3/9 BABY!
THIS IS OUR YEAR,
1694!!!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Tommorew I'm going to my first 3 periods and than we leave for orlando at 10:30 to settle down!!

I'M SOO FRIGGIN' HYPED!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I can wait for this regional to begin, it's going to be insane with so many good robots.

BTW who is going to the team social?
We are most definitely going.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Most of 1065 is going, not sure how long we're staying. Our paper has us there till 7.

**Summary of our paper**

Thursday -
Leave school - 730
Arrive UCF - 830 (latest)
Leave UCF - 6
Arrive school - 7

Friday -
Leave school - 730
Arrive UCF - 830 (latest)
Leave UCF - 7
Arrive school - 8

Saturday -
Leave school - 730
Arrive UCF - 830 (latest)
Leave UCF - 430
Arrive school - 530

**

I really don't think it'll take us an hour..45 minutes tops.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

It's gonna be awesome. Now to get to Anderson to catch 845's bus! :ahh:

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

It is now 7:37. Tytus and I are on our way to Florida Regional. Hope to see you all soon.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Anyone going to start up a fantasy FIRST game for Orlando?

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

P.S- AND IT'S OUR TURF

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Woo. Someone sounds excited =]


I pose a quick question to Central Florida Teams..

Do you stay at a hotel near the regional? Or do you travel back and forth each day.

We travel back and forth each day.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

My team is about two hours away. We stay in a hotel Thursday and Friday nights.

I am soooo excited. We have to be on the bus by 5:10 AM. That means that I have to get up about 4:00 so I can pack and leave. (no I did not pack yet) It is 8:59 and I am ready for tomorrow. I might try to sleep tonight, if possible.

Come say hi to SPAM tomorrow! Don't drink too many energy drinks or too much Mountain Dew. GIRLS...GO TO THE RCU MEETING! I am so hyper. (hyper for me is not that hyper) See everyone tomorrow.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Okay kids here it is::1065 Balloons

Some of you may have seen the balloons being passed around the arena that have "1065" and "Pass Me" and stuff like that on them, we'll here's the thing:

Tomorrow (Friday):

They will come with slips in them, which you will write your Chief Delphi user name on and bring back to ME (I'll be covered in buttons, in 1543 hat *the green ones, with green stingy things* and a boa*if i don't forget it*), and Sunday night you'll get a little surprise on CD. (We're thinking e-cards, rep, etc.)

But we don't want people getting it at first and keeping it, pass it around.

Let's make this fun and exciting.

=]

Good Luck Teams!!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Wellllllll, I got my balloon =] And I better get something good cause yeah, your hat, our beads =] =] From one of my teams =] Ohhhhhh right

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Any of the balloons from today, don't count, since they don't have the paper in them.

Cory - Yeah I know you'll be on the bus with us tomorrow, NO STEALING THE SLIPS =].

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

No slip = no beads =] I am devious you know =] =]

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Due to lack of interest, Team 1065 will no longer be continuing with this idea. Sorry guys =[.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

119 to 19? just seconds ago! Thats Crazy! :)

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

233 is out. Lost 74-72 in the second semifinal, very very tight game.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Congrats to 180, 79, and 1649! Great job out there.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Yeah. Congrats 180 for sure. That was an awesome regional, even from the fuzzy web cast. Good clean competition .. 1523, 233 and 179 were all awesome too.

*waits for the awards ceremony to start .. *

*edit* Congrats 233 on Chairmans ..

Looks like FIRST posted all the awards already ..

http://www2.usfirst.org/2006comp/Events/FL/awards.html

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I thought the webcast was pretty darn good! For those of you there, the eliminations looked very tight. What was the deciding factor? Defense, offense or just overall cooperation between alliance members. One thing that really surprises me is how rare it is to get all three robots up on the platform. and how seldom alliance members helped each other getting all three robots scored.

The other thing that seems to be happening that I wasn't sure about was using a defensive strategy in autonomous mode. This seems to be pretty effective. If you don't have a scoring capability in autonomous, just program your robot to drive into the competition and disrupt their shots.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

It really came down to defense and penalties. Several matches, including the semis tiebreaker of 180-79-1649 vs 86-710-1341(orig1251) came with a difference of a lone penalty. I do know that 79's alliances were commonly getting all three robots up, but it wasn't as common as many people probably initially thought.
Pretty much, though there was also the strategy of disrupting the disruptors, which was a little more complex, but more than served its purpose.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

After running STAMP at UCF, I have some impressions to share with you. Hopefully you saw my poorly made and very small sign for STAMP and checked out the rankings. I have a full analysis here: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...d.php?p=468429

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Honestly, defence played a huge role in the matches. Team 710 with those blockers was very effective. Autonomous was also a very big thing. If you noticed, those teams that scored 5 or more 3 pt balls in auto almost always won the match(233 and 86). The only way to win against them was to stop their auto modes. Getting onto the ramp at the end of the match was also really important. That was an important part of our alliance's(180, 79, 1649) strategy which Mars and co. figured out and started blocking us very effectively.

That's my handle on it, I wish I had more.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

We're not bummed out about that... although there seemed to be a slight discreptancy in the scoring during Autonomous of that match and we brought it to the Head Ref's attention, we chose not to make a big deal out of it, because in the big picture, it really isnt a big deal. It isnt about winning and losing (although getting the trophies and medals are nice), this whole competition is about having fun, and showing off all of your hard work and everything you learned during those amazing six weeks. its not about Poof balls or green lights or getting up on the ramp at the end, this is about the learning experience and inspiration (if any... lets hope at least each person was touched in at least one small, significant way) gained throughout the year. that was a close match and we played a great game and we learned a lot. We had fun, and at the end of that match, we really didnt care if we won or lost, because in that instant we felt so good for succeeding in our objectives for the match--for getting up the ramp (and helping someone else up along the way), for scoring balls, for defending, for keeping our cool and not panicing at the crutial moment.

once again, kudos to 180, 79, and 1649! Not only did you do amazing, but every single team at that regional did a great job in at least just being there and showing off their hard work. :)

Thank you so so so so so so so so SO much. I personally put countless hours into preparing our submission and it is such a gratifying feeling to see that the efforts of my team over the years has been recognized. :D

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

What an awesome event. Totally worth revolving my entire year: mind, energy, time, and money, around this competition (and the championship). Congrats to every team that made a robot within six weeks and was able to compete this week! This is normally the end of the road for both my teams, but for the first time ever, 1390 and 1604 will be attending the Championship, and I am psyched. The regional I see more than ever that FIRST is not about the matches going on or what robot scores how many points (I didn't even get to see many of the matches... hooray for SOAP!) but there is nothing more fun than seeing friends that I've made throughout the past couple years... So here is a THANK YOU to each of you all, the true reason I continue my efforts in FIRST.

Kudos to my friends on SPAM as well as Krunch and Lakerbotics for putting on quite a show. Also congrats goes to the Rookie inspiration winners from Puerto Rico 1872 and my Allstar friends Exploding Bacon 1902... Oink Oink BOOM. Finally, way to go Pink and your efforts in setting the bar for all FIRST teams to follow. 233 is an inspiration and very much recognized with the Chairman's award. You all deserve it, congratulations.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Congratulations to the winning alliance and the runner-up alliance. Special kudos to team 1902. You guys have a very effective, yet simple machine. It's great to see rookie teams start off so well.

Also, thanks, everyone, for the congratulations on our winning the Chairman's Award.

Regarding the robot competition, from the time of the kickoff, I felt that winning autonomous would be a very important of this game. After competing in this competition, I'd have to say it is a VERY VERY important part of the game, at least for us. Not only is the 10 point bonus significant, but from our standpoint, being on defence first is a huge advantage in that the backbot can be collecting balls in preparation for the offensive period. In general, I like this game.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Congrats to Pink for winning Chairman's.

And to the winning alliance... GREAT JOB!!! Simply great scouting and strategy and of course robots made a really great team.

kudos to 1902.. you started out with some issues but made it all the way to the top! congratulations!

and of course hats off to all teams for working so hard and competing graciously throughout the weekend.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Thanks guys for the compliments, the competition was amazing! SOoo many strong robots there. Congrats to the winning alliance 180-79-1649 you guys were amazing S. P. A. M. SPAM SPAM SPAM! heh

Thanks again to our alliance for picking us, 357 and 1523 was terrific to work with we had a lot of fun along for the ride.

There were so many other great robots too like 233, 179, 61, 86, 190, 1029, 744, 710, 1345.. and the list goes on.

Special thanks goes out to all the people who helped us throughout the competition, we had a ton of problems the first 2 days, most notably the mentors from 710 and 744. Thanks so much for your help getting our drive train working effectively and giving us advice on what we could change for the Houston Regional.

As a rookie team its exciting to do well. As a 6 year veteran, yesterday was a good day, but seeing the kids so excited about what they had been able to accomplish in 8 weeks, thats what truly what made it all worth it.

Now the fun begins he he fund raising for nationals.

Thanks again for a great regional everyone.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Congrats to everyone at the Florida Regional, I think we all had a great time!

Congratulations to the winning alliance 180 has always been so helpful, 79 what a effective machine and great team, 1649 great working with you in 2005.

I think Dan ran down the list of great machines so I am not gonna repeat it, but awesome stuff as usual at the FL Regional (btw congrats to 233 on chairmans).

Hopefully see you all at the Championship!! :)

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

One small item I always check at the regional that makes me feel good - every team who participated won at least one match. We've had years on top but many more on the bottom and I'm glad every team had the opportunity for a victory.

I couldn't be more proud of our team - top to bottom everyone contributed. The numbing task of detailed scouting by the majority of the team members, the pit crew who changed our ball feeder from pneumatics to motor-driven conveyor in 10 hours on Thursday, including all part fabrication (and we even made it to 2 practice matches), the animation team - our first win there, everyone who helped other teams which resulted in winning the sportsmanship award. What a weekend.

And Roccobots, we are rooting for you to win national chairmans award so we don't have to compete against you for the regional award any more. ;) You have definitely set the bar at another level in all aspects. What a pleasure to be in competition with you, on and off the field.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Let me start out by stating that I am trying very hard to not upset or insult anyone here. The following are my personal observations and opinions and do not represent my team's thoughts or ideas.

For those wondering what happened to 1902 in the final matches, their IFI wheels cracked. Not to say anything about either alliance in those final matches, or trying to blame 1902 in any way, I think our alliance (357, 1523, 1902) would of had a excellent chance at securing the gold if the wheels held. 1902 had a full hopper in the first finals match, was ready to dump when the accident occurred. Also, in the second finals match they would of been able to help hold the other teams off by playing defense and perhaps we would not of flipped. That said, I am glad we did not achieve the #1 place. Another thread that has surfaced recently involved a rookie team that was not appreciative of simply being at FIRST and experiencing the excitement because they had won their rookie year. In my opinion, one must feel downfalls to fully appreciate the fruits of success. I am proud of our alliance partners and think everyoine did a great job. We made an exelent team, and hopefully the chance to work together will arise soon again. Thanks for choosing us 357!

The goal of FIRST is to overcome extraordinary problems and deal with conditions less than optimal. Too little time, money and team members are all parts of the competition as well as real life and we are being prepared for the rest of our lives, without even knowing it, every time we hit one of these speed bumps.

Now again, trying not to offend anyone, I think the sportsmanship after the loss of Semi Finals match 1-3 was low. While I am glad that 233 was not too upset about the outcome of that match, the entire competition was held up for some time afterwards while argument proceeded with the judges. While I was not down there and don't know what they were discussing specifically, I do know that the actions taken after the game were looked down upon as sore loosing by the stands I was near. While I will not comment on my feelings on the issue, the rulebook does state that the judges decisions are final and video reviews are not accepted (although our team was asked for video of the match - to try and show that we [supposedly] lost!).

This is just my $0.02, please your own opinions. If you were not at UCF, or if you just want to review, SOAP 108 was AWESOME in getting all of the match videos up the night after! Unfortionately, Semi Final match 1-3 is not in their archive (I think it is the match in question about autonomous). I will dig around with video my team took and see if I can locate it.

SF 1-1: http://soap.circuitrunners.com/2006/...a/fl_sf1m1.wmv

SF 1-2: http://soap.circuitrunners.com/2006/...a/fl_sf1m2.wmv

There is no doubt that these matches were very close and had some great robots competition. From not expecting to even get picked for an alliance (as we had some problems in earlier matches - dropped from 4th seed to about 25th in just a few matches), we were ecstatic to make it even this far.

Again, this is the spirit of FIRST. Although some rules may not of been enforced thoroughly and calls may of been missed, we must remember the reason why we are all there.

FIRST has worked it's magic on our team and I hope it has to all of you. Thanks to everyone who came to the regional!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I've been coming to the florida regional since 2001 and this one has definately been the most exciting for me even if I was in a different role as a mentor. Congrats to all the teams that won awards/regional.

As to the erros in scoring and penalties and such, I beleive that in elimation rounds every alliance should have a challenge flag (like football) where the error in question can be reviewed. Basically same rules apply you make the wrong call you lose your timeout or if you were right you can keep it. Alot of teams were heartbroken over ambiguous and possible incorrect calls that could have affected the matches.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

yes, that was pretty intense. i think it was the highest score in Florida. I'm not sure what the highest score overall was.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

There was no semifinal 1-3. The match where the 233/190/244 was scored three balls in the center goal when, depending on who you asked, the alliance actually scored from five to seven balls was semifinal 1-2. I don't really think we were "sore losers," but I do think higher priority should be given to correct scoring. The balls scored in the center goal go into a trash can. It would seem quite reasonable that these balls be counted to determine if the automatic scoring is correct. That was not done for the match in question.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Aye, I did notice in SF2-3 that 2 points magically disappeared from the Red Alliance's score, and, while it didn't change the outcome, this change wasn't even noted. The change could've just been made to simply make it more obvious of the 180/79/1649 alliance winning, but at least a mention by the MC that some score correction was done could've been helpful.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

In SF 2-3 The score was 37-37...a tie. They submitted the score but then later retracted three points from the red alliance score becuase they said 86 ohm shot a ball after time expired...I'm pretty sure you can't shoot after time expires and after looking at some video I don't think they did. Either way we had a 5 point penalty that match that swung it.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

No doubt; you had an excellent chance to win it anyway. With a former SPAM mentor on MARS (Mr. Zach) and former SPAM students (George, G-man) mentoring exploding bacon we were thrilled to be competing for the championship with you. But we would have done our best to keep the result the same ;)
I'm sorry you got that impression; we were seated directly behind 233 in the stands and while disappointed they were very gracious for the remainder of the competition as always. I don't have any problem with a team arguing its case for a ruling; however, when it goes on for too long it is up to the referees to stop it.

There was no match SF1-3; according to FIRST website match results blue won 1-1 72-44 and 1-2 74-72

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I'm trying to watch this match to see the shot in question, but I can't see ohmer taking a shot near the end, or at the end of their offensive period.

Either way they were very close matches (except possibly the second) and a showcase of 6 great robots.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I'd like to congratulate several teams here.

Congrats to 180-79-1649 for the winning alliance. You definitely put on a great show and it was nice to watch what I could.

Congrats to 86 for their creativity award. That was one of the most impressive robots out there. I loved how you guys changed your autonomous code several times. You definitely got us in QF2-3 (we knew it was going to happen but knew there was no way to prevent it. ingenious!).

108 for their award -- SOAP has been SO helpful!

180 again for their animation and sportsmanship award. The animation was great (loved watching it up on the big screen) and their team was very gracious!

710 for their quality award. Interesting robot and definitely original and consistent. Well-deserved.

1902 for their award. I was DEFINITELY impressed by 1902 and was rooting for them when the rookie awards were being announced. They've come a long way and I know their students are inspired. So glad to see you got the recognition you deserve and look forward to hearing your team's glories sometime soon =).

233 for their chairman's award. They deserved it!!! Good luck in the national pool of chairman award recipients. we're rooting for you.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

First of I would like to thank the two alliance members who helped team 1345 get where we were at the regional... Team 21 COMBAT and team 1029 WOLVCATS. You guys were amazing.

Thanks to my old team 108 for letting me help them with whatever I could help them with.

Thanks to Jack from team 180 who didn't let me down when I needed help.

Congrats to team 233 for the chairmans and to the winning alliance. You guys did an amazing job this past weekend.

Finally, I want to say Congrats to team 1902 ... Exploding Bacon. The award was deserving and you guys proved it with your performance at the regional. I knew most of you personally. It was amazing to see this team come together as a succesful one.

... OINK OINK BOOM

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Great to see everyone and all the robots. 1251 had a great time. Special and extended thanks goes out to teams 86 and 710 for being amazing alliance partners, you guys are awesome. Congratulations to the winners and Pink for finally snagging the chairmans. Excellent regional thanks to all the volunteers and staff that put it together. My last Florida regional as a student, I must say I will miss it.

Good luck for the rest of the season,
-Drew

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Valid point. If the balls could be sorted properly between autonomous and the driver time this would be a great idea. No one should be cheated out of a match from incorrect scoring; if it happened to us we would be equally disappointed.

As for SF 1-3, I was confused by the FIRST regional page where it lists a 1-3 without scoring.

I'll be completely honest here: I just re-played SF 1-2 about ten times in slow motion (Ctrl+Shift+S in Windows Media). From what I see, five balls were scored by "The Pink Team" (Why did you guys change that - I loved "Think Pink"!). With the final score being 72 (red) vs 74 (blue), that would increase the score by three points (15 of my count vs 13 of theirs in autonomous), you guys would of won the match 75 vs 74. That would lead to another match (SF 1-3... heh) where the outcome can never be predicted. I now understand why you guys were upset, nice eyes to catch that.

You make it sound like we couldn't of done it without you! ;) From what I remember 179 (your sister team anyway) was our mentor rookie year... :p Speaking of which, we are sharing a bus with them to go to champs... see you guys there! I'll make sure I bring my can-'o-spam again (good luck charm I guess, it gets rather beat up in my suitcase - I thought you guys would be at our hotel [the Radisson]). Not to get off topic, but I think you guys definitely deserve(d) the website award. You have done a tremendous work of custom coding and I love it. Roboshark's site (winners of the website award) has been down since I got home, but I pulled it up on my PDA during the ceremony and (no offense to them) it didn't work/look that great on it.

Agreed... I actually couldn't see them from all the way in the back (bah.. we need to get there earlier).

BTW, very nice pictures of Billfred... hah!

Now for some personal favs:
86 - My fav. robot (besides our own of coarse :D ) Only problem: Top heavy
108 - Gotta love SOAP
179 - I wish you guys got further... the brake is genius!
180 - Nice autonomous in the finals :yikes:
233 - Autonomous of the year
357 - Awesome alliance partner - sick wheels!
710 - You guys are insane, and I respect that. I miss the keyboard. ;)
1345 - Too bad you guys got tipped so much... great bot; the graphics & cart were icing on the cake
1902 - Another amazing alliance partner - most effective branding (No one will ever forget "Oink.. Oink.. BOOM!")

Soo... who else is already looking forward to Mayhem at the Museum?!

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

yep that was us, team 1029,1345,and 21 with the highest score in the Florida regional. Even though they gave us 30 points towards the end, I guess the sensors were on our side that time.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Yes the sensors did seem to "take sides" during some matches. The center goal sensors were pretty accurate to my knowledge, but the corner goal ones tended to be off by a few every now and then. I recall a match where only 1 robot from an alliance scored by dumping all 10 balls into the corner goal, yet they were awarded 22 points (after the 10 point bonus). I know some teams got pretty upset with the difference between actual points and awarded points, but I'm sure the sensors either missed a ball or double counted a ball at least once in every match. Imagine teams complaining after every match... I like Abe's idea with the NFL-style Video Challenges.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I'm pretty sure you're talking about qf3-1 with our alliance against yours and you are right. Sorry about that. According to what i have heard, if the right alliance won the match, they didn't worry too much about the point difference. So, in this case, since your alliance won, they didn't bother showing that you actually won by 3 points instead of 1. In either way, your alliance righteously won that match.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I just followed your advice of watching it in slowmo, and it isn't clear how many balls end up in the goal at first. But it is clear after you watch it a few times that PINK shot 10 balls, and 6 bounced back onto the floor. So they made 4, and the scoring system correctly gave them a score of 12 in autonomous.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

that was exactly the one i was talking about. but clearly not your fault.. or anybody's fault

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Does everyone share this feeling?......

Every time the autonomous period ended in a tie, the other team was randomly selected to go on defense first.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

The call that was in question was how a single team, scored 12 points in auto, in a corner goal. That was the main call, another was that the top goal did not have a valid count.

The scores were posted, and seeing them came a major shock to the pink alliance. This is when the huddle on the field around the ref's came. Complaints fell on deaf ears not because the complaints were not valid, but because the rules stated that the scores had already been set and that they were final. Although the head ref can recall the scores and/or authorize a rematch. (which had happened twice the day before with computer errors and field problems) Neither of those two things happened. The complaints were not investigated and were ignored by all but a few field crew and 1 or 2 of the refs. It was found later that the counts were not correct, (3 minute after the scores had already been posted, but before the next match). The head ref would not allow anymore questions or comments. He did not allow the other refs to give their input to him either. He told all teams his decision was final and he would not recall it.

Some back round information to note:
First, I know most of the refs and the committee people from the regional, and they are all great hardworking people
Second, Don Johnson is the man, and by far my favorite ref
Third, I was part of the crew and on the field the entire time and watched every elimination match
Fourth, Contrary to popular belief the cameras were more of an aid to show teams what the current scores were, all elimination matches had at least one volunteer counting balls, when a disagreement with the human counter and the computer came, the human's count was taken
Fifth, by Friday the scoring system was almost perfect, on the corner goals, except for small hangups with the top goals.

I am glad FIRST went to an automatic system, it just shows they like to be innovative also. The computer by the end of the regional was ever better than the humans counting. The regional was fantastic! You couldn't have asked for a better one. FIRST is getting bigger and better every year, but it might need some fine tweaks to make it just function a little better. I second AbeD's comment. ^^^ above this post. This year, with game elements that change constantly, and are not determined in the end, comes extra problems. I would love to see FIRST give alliances the ability to challenge a call once during an elimination round. With as much controversy as this caused we could have possibly seen the true outcome in less time than it took to debate with the teams.

Again what an amazing regional and I am sure to be back next year :)

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

Well congrads to everyone at Florida Regional. I made appearances on Thursday and Friday and got to see some old friends and had alot of fun. For the questioning of matches i have my own thoughts but wasnt there enough and so i will keep my comments to myself. Again good job to everyone Florida again put on one of the toughest regionals.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

From what I've heard from other people, that is correct - In defense of FIRST .. I couldn't think of another way to do it with a tie, or a 0 scoring auton round.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

I heard this from a not-so-reliable person, but I did hear that if the score was a tie at the end of autonomous mode, the bonus would go to the teams who moved the farthest from their starting positions.

Re: 2006 Florida Regional
 

In case of a tie at the end of autonomous, there is no bonus and the timing/scoring system randomly decides who is on defense first, or so the rules say.