Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

We just decided today at like 4pm, so that is why we are still signed up.

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

It looks like we will be playing 2 v 2. Sad to see that 342 will not make it. So much for the "Burning FLASH" maybe we can get "The FLASH of Chimera" going? We look forward to the event, should still be fun.

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

Hey everyone!

2415 will most definitely be there!!! (Although we're actually driving up on Saturday, though some of our kids have mentioned visiting their grandparents in Warner Robins :D ) We're looking forward to welcoming our new members to the world of FIRST and it'll be great to see everyone again!

Some other "green" stuff:
Call2Recycle, a company that recycles batteries, will be there as well! If anyone has any used batteries, whether cellphone or AA or ANY really, Call2Recycle will take them, and the money from however many batteries we manage to recycle will go to GeorgiaFIRST! So PLEASE bring your batteries! And if you have time, definitely go by Call2Recycle, who will probably be in a fascinating vehicle decked out eco-friendly.

And of course, the "Green Team" will be providing recycling bins so keep an eye out ;)

Until then!
The WiredCats

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

I tried to run matchmaker for this event and found that you can't do it. There aren't enough teams to allow a >2 match separation, which is required for the program to run. 18 teams are the minimum required to run the program. It looks like teams will often be playing in consecutive matches, but the matches will have to be set up by hand.

The only good way to do this will be to allow a break between each match for battery charging and repairs, which will limit the number of matches that can be played.

I have never seen an event with this few teams, but it should be very exciting....

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

I too am surprised by the low turnout. 1319 signed up early because we were sure it would quickly fill up with all GA teams. However I am sure it will still be a great and rewarding event, and it doesn't hurt to help with adding to the proceeds that benefit are friends at the border. GeorgiaFIRST events and Teams. We will be arriving in town Friday night and attending the event on Saturday. Good luck to all teams attending.

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

Unfortunately the economy is inhibiting things and this is the 1st time Georgia has had an off season event.

But... this is a great opportunity to get folks in middle Georgia to come out and see what is going on.

I know the media there is doing some promotion of the event.

Hopefully we will have a LOT of guests and we can spend time with them to help them get excited about FIRST.

Maybe we need to have some 'guest' matches ?

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

We originally rented a bus for transportation, but we were not able to cover the cost for the bus so we are currently working on providing transport through car pool, but if that falls through, I doubt we'll be attending. :'(

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

Because of the low number of teams coming, each team will get somewhere around 13 or 14 matches. It will be one on, one off, then one on again, with a brief break between matches to allow for charging and let the motors cool off. Every now and again a team will be in two in a row.Sounds like a marathon war of attrition!

Hope you guys can make it...13 teams doesn't work as well as 14.

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

How did things go, I hate that we we're not there:(

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

It went GREAT !!!!

Even though there were only 12 teams that actually showed, you got to compete every other match, all day.

Plus there were rookie teams that were there. People from the rookie teams got to assume the operator position on teams on a rotating basis. Plus teams like ours rotated our own rookies through.

Everyone had a lot of fun. The food was great. And the venue is great. The pits, the seating, the competition arena is surrounded by planes such as an F-16, SR-71, U-2, and some other awesome aircraft.

This isn't an official statement but I can almost guarantee you this will be site for GRITS for quite a while. Put it on the calendar for next year.

I'll post some video here in a few hours.

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

Glad to hear it. We'll have to save up/fundraise some money next year.:D

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

The event was pretty good.

Winning Alliance:
1771
1261
1415

Finalists:
1379
832
2415

The matches were great, we were able to get everyone the "field team" experience, not to mention the consecutive match schedule was fun.

The one thing that my team didn't quite like was the match schedule. We played against the same teams and with the same teams 7 times. Yeah...the exact same match...7 times. That got to be a bit much, but we had fun.

Hopefully we can do it again next year.

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

In theory, there are probably enough combinations of teams that you would only play the same alliance 3 or 4 times.

Congrats to 1771, after your play at IRI with us (nothing short of amazing offense and defense) I'm not surprised to see you guys winning an offseason. Congratulations!

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

We had a blast, and look forward to attending next year. Since our team was mostly seniors, we only had three students go to the competition. They did a fabulous job learning the ropes as drivers (it was the first time to drive for all three).

I want to compliment the organizers and volunteers for an incredible job. The event went off without a hitch, despite the difficulties involved. The venue was great, although I wish it was a little closer to home.

All the teams were great, and we met some great new teams, we look forward to seeing them again at Peachtree.

Finally, I have to give props to Ace hardware in Warner Robins. We competed in two regionals, championships and IRI without a failure, but during the first practice match on Saturday, our intake roller got snapped in half. Since we had to travel light, we didn't bring our toolbox or spare parts. We rushed to the nearest hardware store (Ace) and explained our problem. The whole staff immediately began to look for something that we could use to repair our roller. We found a piece of sink drain pipe and super glue that did the trick, and were able to get the bot fixed after only one crippled match. Thanks Ace and thanks to 1319 for the loan of some tools to get it all back together.

P..S Are the match results going to be posted somewhere? Will they be on TBA? Just curious.

Re: G.R.I.T.S. (Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase).
 

My girlfriend and I woke up at 3:30 AM with the sole purpose of driving to Robins to GRITS.

Totally worth it.

What I loved:

-The Museum of Aviation is hands-down the best venue I've ever seen an off-season staged at. Where else can you play thirty feet from an SR-71 Blackbird?
-The field issues were handled as well as field issues ever are.
-Forsyth Alliance for getting their robot in the hands of a pre-rookie when 1746 weren't even there!
-The half-dozen folks from other teams swarming 1319 to get their compressor running
-Separate pit and field announcing added a good polish to the on-field action.
-Having Chick-Fil-A onsite and not even gouging us on lunch! ($2 for a Coke was a little painful for me--see above about the whole 3:30 thing--but $5 or $6 for lunch is entirely fair.)
-The finals matches were spectacular. You wouldn't think this was a 13-team event!

A few areas for improvement for next year's event:

-Getting to the seating from the front door of the building (which involved passing through the immediate field area) felt a little awkward--I wasn't really sure how to get there without messing up queueing. (Obviously, I stayed clear of the carpet--but does Little Timmy Freshman know that?)
-The absence of a game clock on the field was a little off-putting to me, though I don't know the ins and outs of FMS Lite enough to offer much of a solution.
-A few more signs guiding folks from the front parking lot to the hangar would be useful. (It didn't seem like we were the first folks to get to the lady at the front desk of the main building looking for directions.
-Travel restrictions kept my teams from coming this year, but I'm not sure we could've pulled off a mid-September date regardless. Nudging back to the first part of October (though perhaps not so late as to conflict with TNT if an overlap seems likely) would make logistics MUCH simpler for us teams that only start revving up in August.

Assuming that there is a GRITS 2.0, I'm so there.