CowTown ThrowDown
 

Hi, seeing as how my team, 2345, has already signed up for the Cowtown throwdown, i was just wondering who all else from the Kansas City area is excited to get one last chance at breakaway before we get lost in the new game in January.

I also wanted to say thank you to Cerner and team #1730, Team Driven, for putting on this event to give us FIRSTers in the KC area an off season event.

Looking forward to seeing all of the amazing KC-area breakaway robots in action one last time.

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Team Titanium 1986 will be there. After 68 matches this year, our bot is "high-mileage" but ready for more!

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Team Stealth will be there.

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Glad to see Team Titanium is gonna be at the event, loved your robot at KC, and loved it even more at Nationals. its gonna be good to competing agianst you all again.

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The Metal Mustangs are going to do everything in our power to compete at CowTown again. It will be a pleasure to compete Breakaway again.

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Quick question, have you all got confirmation on your registration? we registered a few weeks ago, however we have not recived any sort of email or phone call to let us know that we are register. Our sponsor needs this so that she can do po's for the school district before the deadline.
Thanks in advance.

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

If you sent in your registration you are probably signed up even if you have not heard back. If you would like to confirm your registration, I would suggest you contact Kate Farrar at Cerner. Use the "Contact Us" link on the event registration web site at http://www.cttd-robotics.com/registrations

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Thank you very much.

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Cowtown starts tomorrow, good luck to all of the Kansas City teams participating tomorrow and saturday. I Can't wait for one last chance to Breakaway, thats for sure.

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Should be a great time! Team 2410 is excited to be bringing over half of our team as rookies!

Best of luck to all.

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Team 16 is bringing 12 students and another 14 mentors and family members. We are excited and looking forward to it. Throwing down the cows is so much fun.

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Will this event be webcast?

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I still laugh every single time I see "CowTown ThrowDown". Whoever came up with the name is my hero.

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Glad to see Bomb Squad will be there. Looking forward to Breakawaying with you again.

I checked the website, and it doesnt look like the event will be webcast. However, I do not know for sure.

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Thank you! I just hope we remember how to Breakaway. We have been busy with fundraising, mentoring FLL teams, gearing up for our state FLL tournament and FTC. We may be "Getting Over It" and "Body Forward-ing."

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

I just heard from the AndyMark guys who are there this year: Jerry Budd and Brant Bowen. The field is mechanically set up and wiring is beginning to be connected. Brant and Jerry are excited to be there, and make some new friends.

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

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Yay! We will be sure and throw some cows their way!

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Team Titanium is excited about playing Breakaway one final time.

Our lead driver and programmer is now at MIT enjoying his freshman year. The rest of the team put in some tremendous work this summer absorbing his knowledge of Labview, and the details of our swerve drive logic. They are anxious to see the code in action.

We did set up a practice field this week and gave our new drive team some stick time. It'll be nice to get back on a real field tomorrow though and make sure the autonomous is still tuned up.

A big thank you to CERNER and Team Driven (and all of the other teams who provide volunteers) for putting on this event. It is a fantastic way to excite our new class of rookies about FIRST.

PS. We will have a wide assortment of nuts and bolts at our pit again this year to share with teams in need. "Somtimes you feel like a nut, somtimes a bolt."

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

The CowTown ThrowDown finished up this afternoon. Here are the results (Alliances are listed in the order picked.)

1. 1986, 16, 2874 (2001 subbed for 2874)
2. 1730, 935, 1737
3. 1987, 2345, 1775 (1710 subbed for 1775)
4. 1094, 1806, 1802 (1984 subbed for 1802)
5. 1810, 1825, 2346
6. 2560, 1939, 1782
7. 2353, 2894, 1777
8. 2164, 3284, 1108

Quarters
1 vs 8 --> 1 advances 2-0
2 vs 7 --> 2 advances 2-0
3 vs 6 --> 3 advances 2-1-1
4 vs 5 --> 4 advances 2-0-1

Semifinals
1 vs 4 --> 1 advances 2-1
2 vs 3 --> 2 advances 2-0

Finals
1 vs 2 --> 1 wins in 2 matches.

A big thanks to Bomb Squad (16), Eagles (2874), and Voyager (2001) for joining us on the championship run.

The elemination rounds here were as tough as the regionals we played in during the season. That was incredible considering that the number of entrants was roughly half of the larger regionals we attended. I was impressed that several teams had made improvements to their robots after the season to become even more competative. Kansas City has a wealth of robotics talent and we look forward to seeing nearly all of you back for the KC Regional on March 10th.

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Did anyone get a photo of the 3 Lee's Summit teams standing as the #1,#2, and #3 alliance captains during picks? Now would be the time to lobby to have the city of Lee's Summit officially change its name to "Dean's Summit."

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Team 16 had a great time at Cow Town. Thank you to Team Driven, KC FIRST, and Cerner Corporation for another excellent event. Thank you to our alliance partners, Teams 1986, 2874 and 2001 for some exciting (and grueling) finals.

We were testing out a new drivetrain on our practice robot. Playing 14 matches in one day with a new drive train on a practice robot was a pretty good trial by fire for our rookie team members!

The drivetrain preformed even better than we hoped and the new team members were amazing - if they don't run screaming after that.

I have uploaded a gallery of photos. There are some of the alliance selections. (Since my daughter, Riley, was out there. ;) )

http://meredith.smugmug.com/FIRST-Ro...14561379_t4Eqc

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

Does anyone have a list of the other awards given out at the CowTown ThrowDown? I would like to give props to those teams as well, but I didn't write down who got what.

Here is a list of the awards.

Cerner Industrial Design Award
The Cerner Industrial Design Award celebrates form and function of one specific aspect of a robot that effectively achieves the game challenge.

"Driven" To Success Award
This year's "Driven" to Success award celebrates a team's overall effort in the competition. It is based on robot design, team effort, and gracious professionalism.

Imagery Award
This award celebrates a team whose robot has an outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine appearance.

Most Gracious Professionals
This award goes to a team who best exemplifies the meaning of "gracious professionals." They are the first ones to offer a helping hand in every situation.

Team Spirit Award
This award goes to a team who is undeniably full of team spirit. They let you know they're here and ready to play.

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

I think I am starting to remember some of the awards. Someone correct me and/or fill in the missing information. I am replaying the awards ceremony over in my head and after a couple days go by that only works so well.

Cerner Industrial Design Award FRC 1825. One of only two robots to hang in the competition. This is a homeschool team that always brings a robot that plays well. They did not disappoint this year. Good luck at the BEST competition as well.

"Driven" To Success Award ????

Imagery Award FRC 1094. The Channel Cats have an original look, and found a way to show off their orange even with mandated bumper colors.

Most Gracious Professionals FRC 1108. I had a chance to talk with these guys on Friday, and have always found them to be a class act. One of the most experienced and wisest teams in the KC area.

Team Spirit Award: FRC 1710. You guys always bring the energy. Congrats on another spirit award. It will be good to see you at the KC regional again this year. You were missed. (I thought FRC 1723 brought some great spirit to the CowTown too.)

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Although Team 2410 was having major dificulties, on behalf of the team I would like to say we had a great time anyways. It was an amazing chance to introduce our new members to a less competitive competition.

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I believe SWAT Team 1806 won the Driven to Success Award and Team 1939, Kuh-Nig-Its (sp?) was the Best Dressed.

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We anticipated your robot being a major player in the event, and were sorry to see your "difficulties" leave you helpless on the field. It was very classy to turn down the draft selection when you realized your robot was not functioning. We know you'll be coming back strong in the regular season.

That sounds about right. 1806 is probably the most consistent team in the KC regional's short history. 2007 Finalist, 2008 & 2009 champions. They followed up an early quater final exist this year with a trip to the finals in St. Louis. They were the only robot to hang more than once at CowTown as well.

I love the Kuh-nig-its. I can't believe I forgot about the best dressed award. The killer rabbit hats are iconic.

Re: CowTown ThrowDown
 

You are correct. And correctly spelled :]