Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

I think wating untill the elims to announce the top 8 seeds is a great idea!

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

i totally agree with showing the top ten teams but not putting them at there ranked spot until after qaulification rounds and i think it would be cool to award hanging teams more points because not many teams do it and it would be like in 07 and 08 when in 07 if you could up someones ramps or elevated 12 inches you got thirty points and in 08 if you placed a ball at the end you got 12 points and even in 09 with the super cells it took some skill to be able to run an empty cell to an end zone to get the super cell in the last twenty then get it in a trailer and thats why they awarded it with 15 bonus points so i say there should be extra points for hanging robots

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

since hardly any one can do it...what if getting your robot on the platform was worth like 5 or 6 points? just a thought...

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Why should anyone who optimized their robot to play under one set of scoring rules want to come to an event where others were given an advantage for not doing likewise?

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

you could say the same thing twards rasing the points for hanging, or any rule change for that matter...i just thought it would be kinda cool to have more people try it....:)

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

I have the freeling that a certain pair of teams will try it irrespective of the points awarded.

What I do not think is right is to suddenly award more points for one type of scoring and thereby disadvantage teams who decided not to do certain tasks during the regular season - for what ever reason.

Should strong shooters get 3 points for scoring from the far zone, or 2 from midfield? Should a squat-bot get a point each time they go through the tunnel? Loopers are more rare than hangers - should they get 2 points for each redirected shot? I don't think so! Neither do I think hangers are special.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

i see your point...it was just an idea :)

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

JACK, this is why I value your inputs. Nicely said.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

I also agree. The only reason changes to the game itself should happen is if there is a rule that most teams consistently had problems with during the season (i.e. crossing back over the line in 2008). The game itself is fine and making drastic changes is unfair to those who designed their robots for the original set of rules.

As far as seeding and draft order - I don't have too much problem with playing around with that; however, keep in mind that there should be some reward for playing consistently well througout qualification and seeding high and the draft selection process should reflect that. At the very least, the first round of selections should run 1-8.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

i totally agree with you craig i think the picking order should atleast start with normmal selection 1-8 but but as seeding and drat order go i think it would be cool to do something different like people have posted like putting the top ten teams up not in ranked order or i think it would be cool to have a process of determining how selections will go like a pin wheel that the number one team will spin after qaulifications to determine how seeding will go and the choices could be, normal selctions, top 8 can't pick each other, only top 4 can't can't pick each other and on and on

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

With the numbers that I received from the teams, I scheduled the pig roast with the PitMaster. We are all set for Friday night. I'm getting food for 600 people. Hopefully this is enough.

People are calling me crazy for doing this. But a 600 people pig roast social. This is going to be fun.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Wow that is a lot of people... Sounds fun :)

Thanks again for organizing the event.

Jason Law

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Man, it's amazing how this event has grown from the first season we held it.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Any chance of a web cast this year?

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My boss actually had a meeting with our school technology people and I just got word that they will open the ports that we needed to do a webcast. Now, all it takes is for my students to get it up and running.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

That's good news about the webcast. I would hate to miss the first double suspension (no pressure 2337) and that cast would put you up one on a certain other off season event.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

What are the awards given out at MARC?

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Awards:
Mentor Recognition
Planner's Volunteer of the Year
Tenneco Engineering Inspiration
Humanitarian
Spirit
Animation
Fianlist
Champions

Mentor Match Champions

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Anyone have the results from MARC 2010? also on the awards?

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Winners-
team 33
team 326
team 1548
team 1718

design award-
team 910

mentor award-
Kevin Gay team 326

volunteer award-
Jack jones
animation award-
team 1548
mentor match winners-
team 1718
team 1918
team 573 (there you go =]) double fail

All I can remember...

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

573 was another winner of the mentor matches =D

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I thought so... Lol wasn't sure.... Edited on my last post...

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

The 2010 MARC was a great Event.
This is important to say, because without such a great group of volunteers, it might have been a disaster. Despite System Crashes, Data Losses, Power Interuptions, and Router Failures, they kept everything working and solved all of the problems. Dan Kimura, Keith Jones, Rob Jenkins, Steve Ketron, and a number of others worked tirelessly to keep this event running the whole weekend. Great Job!!!

Thanks to 1718 for picking us! It was great to win one with you. Awesome Robot.
Thanks to 1528 for hosting and for playing with us. Rebounds were the key to our victory.
Thanks to 326 for saving our butts in the Semis. Congrats Kevin for the Mentor Award, it was well deserved!

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There is no 574 :)

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Top rankings: 1718, 1243, 469, 33, 2834, 234, 548, 2704, 910, 2832, 1741

Alliances (drafted 1-8, 8-1, 1-8):
1 - 1718, 33, 326, 1528
2 - 1243, 469, 3115, 830
3 - 2834, 2337, 1732, 503
4 - 234, 910, 494, 3322
5 - 548, 2612, 1024, 1023
6 - 2704, 107, 51, 2338
7 - 2832, 573, 1918, 226
8 - 1741, 70, 1504, 461

QF:
1 - 8 (1, 1)
4 - 5 (4, 4)
2 - 7 (2, 7, 2)
3 - 6 (Tie, field failure, 3, 3)

SF:
1 - 4 (Tie, 1, 4, 1)
3 - 2 (3, 3)

(breaker blows at this point, causing a delay while the field is completely reset)

F:
1 - 3 (1, 1)

The finals took nearly 4 hours to complete - and we didn't even have any timeouts. Part of that was due to the great competitiveness of the teams causing ties and 3-match decisions. Awards were presented between the QF and SF and between the SF and F, because there's a bit of a delay there anyway while schedules are regenerated. I must commend all the teams for paying attention to my timing and getting the robots back onto the floor without any excessive delays. Despite being extremely hot and tired, everyone behaved admirably.

I too extend my thanks to the great technical personnel we have in MI. And to the event organizers for their great treatment of us volunteers!

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

I would also like to thank Steve and Team 1528 for hosting the event. This event keeps getting better each year. Also thanks to all the volunteers for their work keeping things going dispite the difficulties. I thought the reffing was very well done - thanks Gary for your patience as we tried to get our robot back up and running...of course we then had the field issues that caused the big delay - it was definitely a hurry up and wait scenario for us.

From the mentor matches:
Thanks (I think :ahh: ) to 573 for loaning us the skirts - they'll make for some good embarrasing photos. I think we have a bunch up on facebook already.
Thanks to 1918 - It was good to win one with you guys.
It may have only been mentor matches, but believe me when I say everyone was out there to win and they were some very competitive matches as evidenced by a 14-11 final match.

From the real tournament:
Thanks to 33. We love working with you guys - the double hangs are fun. It took until the offseason, but both of us have finally been able to get a win!
Thanks to 1528 for your rebounding. As Jim said, it was a key to us being able to win.
Thanks to 326 for saving us in the semis - we were doomed without you. It's too bad we weren't able to have you in there more.

Lastly, I need to thank my pit crew for rebuilding one of our toughbox transmissions during eliminations - and we only missed one match w/out using a timeout! Thanks to Jack Jones and 2612 for having the spare toughbox parts available. Oh yeah, at the same time we had to do some patchwork on a weld the broke loose so we could continue to hang - thanks Isaac for your help on that. It seems when you get to 100+ matches things start to wear down - go figure. We definitely have some work to do to get our robot ready for IRI, but we'll be ready.

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Personally, I have to say MARC was probably my favorite competition yet this year. It was great to run around between the air-conditioned pits and the gym watching matches, and meet people. The guys from 503 rapping the FIRST rap was amazing during eliminations, :) and we made an awesome run to the finals, where we lost to 33, 1718, 1528, and 326.

Our alliance:
Team 2834 - Thanks for picking us, and putting away the mess everyone else would leave in the near zone!
Team 1732 - Thanks for playing D and having our backs when 2834 and our bot were completely ignoring you in the mid and near zones!
Team 503 - Thanks for winning the quarterfinals for us. Without you guys, we would have never made it to the semifinals, and then to the finals.

And thanks to Steve Ketron and his army... er... group of volunteers who managed the FMS extraordinarily well AND passed out popsicles at the end!

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What another amazing event. It has grown so much from the 12 teams that originally participated. The competitiveness for this offseason event is not really rivaled by anything.

I would like to thank teams 2834, 1918 and 2612 for giving us sprockets and bolts after we shattered not one but two over the course of an hour. It is teams like yours that make FIRST what it is.

Also a big thanks to 1741, 70 and 461 for forming a great alliance with us. We played the #1 alliance extremely well, but it was not to be. Congrats to 33, 1718, 1528 and 326, you guys had a great alliance and all really played well this weekend.

Steve and the rest of the volunteers continue to put on an amazing event, I can't wait to be back here next year.

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Congrats and thank you to all that came to this event. It was great to see everyone not only compete but also socialize at the same time. I think we all made some new friends.

The event has grown to 42 teams and I think this is the right number for our event and I will keep it there for good. The excellent group of volunteers we have made this an outstanding event and I would like to commend all of them for thier hard work in making MARC such a success. MARC would be nothing without your professionalism and drive. THANK YOU ALL.

People that desrve special Thanks:
Lisa Perez- You again did an oustanding job in organizing the volunteers and selecting the right people for the right job. Who would have been able to predict the field issues? But I think you knew something when you got us three FTA's. You make my planning so much easier. THANK YOU SO MUCH

Gary Voshol- I have heard nothing but great compliments on the reffing that your team did. With the field issues happening, your team constantly kept your cool and was thinking of the event participants. Excellent job and hope you all can come back.

FTA's: (Keith Jones, Dan Kimura, Alex Fera): This trio did an excellent job in maintaining the field with some really wierd problems happening. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. The communication between you and the head ref was awesome. Freat Job guys.

Maria Perez: Thank you so much for everything. We had some serious issues happen and you were right there taking charge. Awesome job and again thank you. I am sure a few parents would also like to thank you. By the way that student is doing great. He was out by 2:30.

Ed (KoKo) Patterson: our event has grown every year and you have been there leading the way in queing. This is a very difficult job and you have made it look easy while also helping come up with ways to make it run smoother. Thank you for everything.

Congratulations to the following award receipients:
Mentor Recognition: Kevin Gay (team 326)
Planners Volunteer of the Year: Jack (the Drill Sergant) Jones (team 2612)
Tenneco Engineering Inspiration: 910
Humanitarian Award: 1741
Spitit Award: 2337
Animation Award: 1528
Finalist: 2834,2337,1732,503
Champions: 1718,33,326,1528
Mentor Champions: 573,1718,1918

The events was awesome. I enjoyed being able to socialize with everyone and hope to see you all again next year.

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This was my first time going to MARC and I have to say that it was a great experience. With our now-sophomore students taking up the roles of the seniors leaving the team (including the driveteam) everyone from 1732 really learned a lot and had a fun time at the tournament.

Congrats to 1718, 33, 1528, and 326 - you all made an alliance that was really a force to be reckoned with. It was great playing you in the finals.

2834 - thanks for choosing us for your alliance. You were really amazing in the near zone and a great team all around.
2337 - your strategist did a great job in helping our alliance to get as far as we did. Great job in the middle zone; the ball-redirecting capability your robot had was definitely key!
503 - you did a great job in that last finals match. The red alliance was certainly a tough one, especially for our alliance's robot in the third zone, and we couldn't have done it without you.

Thanks to 1528 and everyone who made MARC possible. I hope to come back again!

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Thanks for the webcast. I know that there wasn't many of us watching but it was appreciated. If you do it again next year maybe you can get one camera for the entire field. Thanks again.

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I would like to thank 503 and 2337 for being our partners in the mentor matches. I know I am shocked, embarrassed and disappointed that our students could get further than we could ;).

Big thanks to everyone who worked on making MARC such a successful offseason competition. It is a little crazy to think how fast it has grown since the first year.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

The MARC was awesome.
It was my first time driving in competition, since our normal driver was on vacation, and it was awesome to drive and win.
Thanks to our partners who were all awesome, and all of the teams who we beat, since you guys were all tough competition.

It was also cool watching some of the mentors play. Woody and Jim and Isaac (mentor drive team), you guys did great.

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MARC was a blast! We still have no idea what is wrong with our robot. Lets just say everything broke down... Drive train, electrical, and even our kicker got messed up and we still dont know why...

-To our alliance members we thank you dearly. Thanks for seeing that even though we were 42nd out of 42 teams we had potential.

2337- We love you guys! And we were with you guys for the mentor matches aswell :D. We are truely sorry about what happend during the finals but we want to say congrats for going so far in elims!

2834- You guys have an amazing robot and can score in ways we cant even attempt... lol. Thanks again for giving us a shot and we hope to see alot more from you guys at IRI

1732- You guys got taken out during that last match and to watch our robot enter "epic fail" mode as I like to call it must have been rlly tough :(. Just remember that you guys were truely deserving of the finalist role and we are thankful for your support.

910- FTW! lol :D We love you guys

573- One day we will be on the same alliance... one day...

Thanks again everyone and I hope to see you all at IRI and in the future!!!

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The NC GEars had a great time at MARC 2010. It was a lot of fun and a great chance for some of our younger members to take the lead. Winning the mentor matches with 1718 and 573 was a riot (even if they did coerce us into wearing those skirts), and now we can pretend like we know what we are doing when we offer advice to the real drivers!

Thanks to 2832 for picking us and 573 and 226 for playing so strong in the playoffs.

Great big thanks to Steve Ketron and all the volunteers who put the event together and brought it off so smoothly. You set a high standard for off season events!

Oh, yeah - and the pig roast was wonderful.

Hope to see you at the WMRI on October 9 in Zeeland!

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This was 573's first year at MARC and we all had a blast. It was one of the most fun competitions yet this year. Our only complaint was the hot gym, but we didn't let that stop the fun. Thank you to all the people who made the event possible.

1718 - It was great to play with you guys in the mentor matches. You guys have an astounding robot this year and I enjoyed socializing with you guys. We look forward to seeing you at IRI.

1918 - Once again, we enjoyed playing with you guys in the mentor matches, and we also enjoyed playing with you guys in the regular elimination matches. It felt great to be paired up with state champions and good people. We'll see you guys on the field next year.

226 - I couldn't believe that you guys weren't picked before we had the chance to pick you. You guys played two great matches and were essential to our alliance.

2832 - Thank you so much for picking us. You all have a lot of heart and pride, and we could see that in you guys by how excited you all were when you found out that you were picking. You are also one of the most selfless, gracious teams we have ever met by choosing to pull yourselves, the alliance captain, in the quarterfinals. Doing that is compelling and sends a powerful message. We can't thank you guys enough.

If anybody wants to see my pictures from MARC 2010, they can be found here. They are mostly of 573, but there are a few of other teams as well:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gi...5&id=657583153

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The Bionic Barons had a great time at MARC. Thanks to Steve and all the volunteers who made it possible. The refs were great and calls were consistent. We made some small improvements to our robot and was glad to be able to try them out at a competition. This was our last Breakaway competition for us and our robot deserves a break after 90+ matches.

I was particularly proud of our students. We are one of the few teams that when it is time for urgent repair in a very tight time frame, the students work together and rose to the challenge and did an amazing job. They built the robot and they know how to fix every part of it and they can do it very fast. It happened at Tardec Invitational and it happened again at the QF at MARC.

Congrats to 1718, 33, 1528, and 326. You guys were great. We just couldn't keep up in the finals.

To all teams who partnered with us and won the matches - Thank you for feeding us the balls. We are just a supporting robot to finish putting the balls into the goals. You made us look good.

Team 33 - Thank you to Isaac for making the lexan ball roller guide for us during the QF matches when our ball holder broke. The students kept talking afterwards about how fast and accurate you made the replacement part for us. Thank you Jim for the green signal lights. They looked cool on our robot.

Team 2337 - Thank you for your help in alliance selections. You helped us picked the two best robots that compliment our two robots. Thank you for working hard scouting teams even in the off season. We did very serious and intense scouting during the season and decided to take a break for the off season.

Team 1732 - You did an amazing job in our far zone defending and clearing balls. You even came all the way to help in the near zone when we needed you. Your ability to kick all 3 balls in the autonomous mode was exactly what we were looking for. We had fun partnering with you guys. I hope you will come to MARC again next year.

Team 503 - Thanks for your help in winning the QF with us. You can also kicked all 3 balls in the autonomous mode in the far zone to us which is great. Thank you for letting us use your practice field during the season. It really helped our driver to improve his driving and for us to program the autonomous mode. We did not take 1732 out at the last finals match. They suggested that you guys can do a better job against the #1 alliance because of your speed.

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Someone on either Team 280 or Team 1024 was wanting to trade one of their team shirts for a vintage 2005 Team 240 t-shirt. I brought it on Saturday after work and I couldn't find you. Saw some of the matches Friday and Saturday, and it looked like some serious fun was had by most, if not all.

Also, WAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! I MISSED THE PIG ROAST!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Well... I have to say, through all that, I had a pretty good time despite the issues we had back at the scoring table, especially with the FMS failure (I'll get into that in a bit) and the MARCStats failure (Still working on that.....). Also, sorry about the 9 parts the webcast recording was in, along with the missing matches (15-24 didn't record).

Yeah... that's been an issue for the past few years. We're working on getting some type of cooling solutions, and any suggestions would be great :D

Do you happen to have a valid match list? It looks like some of the results in my list from matches 1-43 may be incorrect

We are indeed his army. I was one of the folks who helped repair FMS on Saturday, but I wish I could have fixed my own system (MARCStats)

Not entirely sure what you mean, but we'll definitely try to steady the camera and use stable equipment next year. The webcast recordings are still available through the uStream site.

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One fixed view of the entire field. Somewhere up in the stands so you wouldn't have to swivel the camera. I think most webcast viewers would rather see the entire field of play at one time then a close-up. I imagine it might be difficult to find the right location for the camera and could require setting up a scaffold.

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Yah, I know. I was busy being excited telling everyone on my team about it... and then we never used it :(

But, on the more serious side, Mr. Ketron had Dan from 469, Jack Jones, and at least twenty more people in red shirts by the scorer's table THE WHOLE TIME! There were so many of you guys!

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Mr. Ketron had nothing to do with this. This is what the experts (FTA's) do and why they are in the position that they are in. They are why Michigan events are awesome. I am thankful for everyone that had a part in that problem. By the way my only part was to ask them what do they want to do?

Re: MARC 2010 IS OPEN
 

Mr. Ketron is speaking in third person now?