2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

What a difference a few days makes.

Chesapeake has 3 slots left. A really nice mix of old friends from out of state, local Maryland teams and new friends, some traveling quite a distance.

Look for updated information on the website here in the coming weeks re: the 2011 event.
http://www.mdfirst.org/programs/firs...-regional.html

Also has link to VIMS from mdfirst.org website to sign up to volunteer.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

We are looking at being back at our favorite event! We are looking forward to seeing many of our old friends! We are also excited about bringing a new rookie team with us! FRC 3650, the Electric Eagles from North Point High School, in Waldorf, MD is a new MD team!

Go RoboBees! Go Electric Eagles! :)

Best regards,

Steve

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Team549 the DevilDawgs are looking forward to attending the Chesapeake Regional. Any recomondations on what to do at night?

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

The Baltimore Convention Center is within walking distance to many popular attractions around the Inner Harbor-some which have evening hours. Last year I talked to teams who visited the National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Museum, and a Baltimore Blast soccer game during their stay in Baltimore.

The event also hosted a low key social on Friday night, but the planning committee has not released any info yet re: 2011

Look for more info on the mdfirst.org site in the next couple of months.

Also visit: http://baltimore.org/

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

340 is really looking forward to attending the Chesapeake Regional this year. It looks like a very competitive group of teams. Many team we haven't played with in years. We have never been to Baltimore so all of the information about the event and local activities is great.

Any good suggestions on hotels would be great also. We will be bussing down so we really don't need to stay within walking distance. I have checked the regional webite, there is some nice information there.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

The planning committee will be updating the hotel info for 2011 on the mdfirst.org site. Look for this in the next couple of weeks.

If you don't need to worry about walking to the event from the hotel, you might find some bargains closer to BWI airport including some suite type hotels. The drive into the city from that direction can be a little congested during rush hour, but it is only about 10 miles.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

1124 is one of the teams going to Chesapeake for our first time this year, and it looks like we have some friends from CT who will be joining us.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

2836 is looking forward to a great time in Baltimore! We're already starting to plan out transportation and hotel accommodations, and will be watching for updates on mdfirst.org.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

237 is thrilled to be going back to Chesapeake. I am a little sad not to be going back to Annapolis (great old school venue), but I understand the harbor area has lots to offer.

Connecticut will be well represented. It will be a blast.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Jason:

MOE 365 is looking forward to having you closer to our home this time! We are exciting to hear that you guys will be playing in Baltimore. We will probably be pit neighbors, too!

See you in a few.

John

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

;) woodlawn technowarriors team 768 looking forward to the chesapeke regionals again and seeing all the friends and making new ones this year. hope to see everyone there and we all will have a blast.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

More hotels added to the list: http://www.mdfirst.org/programs/firs...al/hotels.html

I am told the event is full with 64 great teams, including 5 rookie teams from Maryland.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

teamursamajor 2849 is looking forward to having to play close to home this time! We are exciting to hear that you guys will be playing in Baltimore.After a good run at long island we look to win it all/As u all kno we won battle o' baltimore for all you team out thier

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Team 134 is excited to be attending the Chesapeake regional for the 4th time! Looking forward to seeing some old friends and making some new ones.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Team 316 will be attending the Chesapeake regional for the first time; can't wait!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

HELLOOOooooo :D
Good luck to all from Team 88 TJ2. I think this year we will be in TYE DYE OH YEAH !!!! so you can find us Ha HA. :yikes: Just a few days and hours now,for the new game, hope all are ready for another super year with FIRST. good luck from team 88 and MOE

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Team 422 is looking forward to coming to the Chesapeake Regional for the first time in almost forever! I'm looking forward to seeing teams and a venue I've never seen before, and maybe be able to find some teams also attending the VA Regional.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Low key free team social will be held Friday March 18 from 6:30-8:30 at hotel near to convention center. Light dinner provided.

Teams will be asked to register so the committee can get a head count for food.

Sign up will be via the Chesapeake website. Link will be sent out to your main team contact when it is active.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Sure is quiet in this thread for it being a week 3 regional...

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

FIRST Team 708 is again attending the Chesapeake Regional competition. We look forward to seeing some old friends, and making some new. Baltimore is a great host city and the competition is always electric!

Can't wait to see you all there!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Updates:

Team social will be from 7-9 pm on Friday March 18. Light dinner and karaoke area. Cost is free, but registration is required. See the email sent to team leads on 3/1 for link to registration form.

Watch for the link on marylandfirst.org for information on web-streaming.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

204 will be at Baltimore this year. Im looking forward to seeing team 422 Mech Tech Dragons robot Geoffrey. Never thought I see another Geoff at a competion.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

700 registered to-date for team social on Friday night.
Be sure to let the organizers know if your team is/is not attending so they can plan for food. No walk ins.

Team leaders were sent a link to the team social registration form.

Beside karaoke, there will be some low key games (think FIRST trivia) with some special prizes!

Lots of info on the website mdfirst.org including parking options and load-in.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I'm really looking forward to Chesapeake. The venue looks awesome and there will be some good teams and lots of great people! See you all in less then a week!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Justin,
We look forward to seeing you at Chesapeake. There are a lot of returning friends and a lot of new faces.

Look forward to the webcast this week.

-Tim

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

FRC 2789: Team TechXsplosion can't wait to proudly represent the Great State Of Texas at the Chesapeake Regional this year! This will be our FIRST (pardon the pun) trip out to Baltimore, and we're bringing plenty of enthusiasm and momentum from the Week 1 Alamo Regional in San Antonio where we made it into the Quarterfinals and Captained the 6th Seed Alliance!

We're also pumped because we just got confirmation today that our congressman has scheduled a visit with us in DC on Wednesday!

We've heard great things about this regional, and the FRC 2789 students and mentors are pumped! See y'all soon!

-Bobby

PS: When you say our name, "TechXsplosion," the "X" is silent!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I am proud to share a resource we at 2789 have been working on and continue to work on through the Chesapeake Regional. This year we are focused on "Building & Sustaining Our Team," and our organizational goal for the Chesapeake Regional is to implement and share the first iteration of our new scouting system.

We built it on Google Sites because of the ease of updating the system from iPads and cell phones, and we are still in the process of transferring everything over from our spreadsheets, so please bear with us as we are continually updating. If we left something out about your team, please let us know and we'll fix it as soon as we can. Watch for updates through the regional!

You can access the site at: https://sites.google.com/site/2011chesapeake/


Or follow the link through our team website: http://team2789.com

Hope you enjoy the resource, and if you have any feedback, please let us know!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Team 686 is excited to return to the Chesapeake Regional. Hope to see many familiar friends as well as some new ones.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Hi,

My name is Sam Alexander. I am an alumnus of team 341, Miss Daisy. Since then, I have become a rather active volunteer. As a student at Columbia University, I volunteered at the NYC regional this past weekend, as well as last year. As it is my spring break, I am volunteering for the Chesapeake as well and very excited to do so. I passed volunteer screening, received my role and booked my transportation plans. Only yesterday however, after the regional, I called my friend who whom I am planning to stay to confirm the arrangement. She notified me that Johns Hopkins University on-campus housing, in which she lives as a first-year, closes over spring break which begins on Friday.

I still have a place to stay on Wednesday and Thursday nights, however, if anyone either volunteer or team has space to spare for a volunteer for the following two nights, I would so so very grateful. I only hope that this last-minute hiccup does not prevent me from attending the regional.

Thank you for all of your time and help,
Sam Alexander

P.S. I smell great.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

If anyone can give this young man a room, they will be doing a great service to the Chesapeake Regional. Sam is a caring human being, easy to work with, and a dedicated FIRST volunteer (NYC and Philly)

Please consider helping Sam to help the Chaesapeake Regional. :)

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Sam,

If you cannot find anywhere to share, a couple of us 2199 alumni have apartments at UMBC you can crash on. Campus is about 15 mins away from the Convention Center. We do plan to take the Light Rail down Friday and Saturday. Shoot me a PM if youre interested.

Ben

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Sent out to the teams attending from the Asst. Regional Director Bill.

Welcome to the Chesapeake Regional!

We're looking forward to seeing you in just a couple more days. Here are some final notes as you get ready to attend.

1) Message from the Lead Robot Inspector, Anne Shade: The Chesapeake inspection team is looking forward to working with all of you later this week. To help make our jobs a little easier and hopefully speed up the inspection process, we’d like to ask the teams in addition to the required electronic version of the Bill of Material, to also bring a printed version of the BOM. Thank you and see you all soon!

2) See our Parking and Loading information here. See you bright and early on Thursday.
http://www.mdfirst.org/programs/firs...d-loading.html

3) The Chesapeake Regional will be webcast, thanks to the efforts of Team 2641. The webcast will be hosted on their site:
http://team2641.com/2011-regional-webcast/ and will be linked from www.mdfirst.org.

4) Most of you have responded to our request for Team Social, photographer and hotel information, and we thank you. If you haven't, there's still time and a bit more space. You'll have one final chance on Thursday to sign up for the Team Social, but we will have to close it off when we reach capacity.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Some fine weather headed our way. Temps in the 60's to 70's+ during the day. See you in the pits.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Shhhh. Don't jinx it. Look forward to returning to Chesapeake.

T-minus 1 day. Who is excited? If you need any kind of help please stop by our pits (836), and ask.

See you soon.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Looking forward to seeing old friends and new in Baltimore over the next few days. Time to dig into some Logomotion! :D

Safe travels all!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Having a great time at Chesapeake, don't forget, if you need scouting info, check out our scouting site!

https://sites.google.com/site/2011chesapeake/

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Didn't have a too bad of a day overall in Baltimore. Field ran pretty well the whole day, only a few teams had problems connecting to the field. This is 340's first time at the Chesapeake Regional and we are having a great time so far!

Some teams to look out for this weekend would be:

836- During practice day they we're consistently putting up an ubertube, scoring two racks and placing their minibot every match.
1218- well rounded robot who can score 4-6 tubes a match and place their minibot
250- efficient and consistent tube scorer.
365- starting off kinda slow on practice day, but I have no doubts that their true green will show this weekend.

It's gonna be a great weekend!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I found the webcast on UStream earlier today. I have included the link below.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jordanfeldman

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I believe that this is only working on IE, I could not get it to work on chrome..did not try another browser once I got it to work on IE.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Chrome is working OK for me but it was cutting out on FF. Que sera sera.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I'm getting a screen that says ustream is undergoing maintenance for a few minutes.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

They're some great people like the ROBOBEES and The TECHNOWARRIORS at chesapeake, they are doing very well. If anyone can give me a update of the standings from fridays rounds that'd help me greatly. And if you could give them to me before 6 45 AM tomorrow that'd be even more wonderful. =) please and thank you!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

use thie link
http://www2.usfirst.org/2011comp/eve.../rankings.html

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

The standings can be found here... http://www2.usfirst.org/2011comp/eve.../rankings.html

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Ahhhh!!! The suspense is killing me!!!! :eek: Let's go RED Alliance number 1!!! :yikes:

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

All in all me and the rest of team 686 had a great experience. We overcame some very big challenges that arise the first day and are very grateful to the teams the lent items to us. We learned alot and were happy to meet some teams from around the country. :D

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

SemiFinal 1 Match 3 - Two Red Cards Given

Video Link here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13429939

Time of Red Cards in Match- Starts at 4:20
Head Referee Explanation- Starts at 11:20

Team Update #16 Link: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...nt.aspx?id=450

Please do not misinterpret this post. I am posting this with the utmost gracious professionalism possible. I wanted to share this information with everyone that has seen this match and had an issue with the decision. I know that a head referee's decision is final. Our alliance ended up coming just short on the redo of the match. We fought hard and tried our best!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Matt, I was watching from the stands, and the double red card seemed appropriate then, and after video review, it still seems like the refs made the right call. I was really hoping that you guys were going to pull off the win in the 4th semi, but it didn't happen.

By the way, you guys played some of the BEST defense I've seen in a long, long time.

(Oh, and I believe this is the First double red card I've ever seen in person...)

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

All I know is that it was awesome seeing 714 (a team that we started a while ago from Newark) being first seed and going so far as well as seeing our friends on 237 play with them. Also an awesome performance by 1218 again, one of the underrated teams in FRC. Congrats to all!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

II want to start by thanking everyone in Baltimore for putting on a great regional.

A team I want to thank especially is team 365. At every event we attend with MOE they prove over and over why they are in the hall of fame. They are a class act from top to bottom and they are a pleasure to be pitted next too. See you guys at Champs, GO MOE!

Thanks to 1403 and 88 for contributing to a great alliance. Both of your drive teams were easy to work with and handled adveristy with great maturity. It was a pleasure to be on the field with you guys, I wish we could have gone further.

Congratulations to the RoboBees, 836 on winning the Chairmans Award.

Congrats to regional winners and finalists for putting on a great show. The place was electric.

As far as the Semifinal match #3 goes, I don't want it to take away from the regional winners with any controversy. In my opinion both red cards were questionable but in the end the stronger alliance won and they deserved to be finalists.

Again, thanks everyone who welcomed us to Baltimore, good luck in your future events and we'll see you at Championship.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Well, that was a different regional for me.
Coming from a team that, while in my tenure, hasn't had to overcome so much adversity just to put the robot onto the field, it was a different weekend for me. If it could have gone wrong, it did go wrong for us. However, I ended up learning pneumatics on the job and am better for it, so that's something.

Our lift got trashed in our last match when the radio lagged out and threw our robot forward into the wall, and by then we knew we had to stick a fork in this weekend, and wait for the VA Regional.

I would like to thank teams 340 and 88 for loaning out minibots to our team. It allowed us to perfect our deployment mechanism and let us see the right way to build a minibot (until someone builds it better) Our lift is coming back home to go on our practice bot, and we are putting a word in at Diamond Springs for some large water bottles for a spirit drum transformation.

The weekend may not have gone the way my team may have wanted it to, but we got ourselves and most of the robot through it. See everyone in Richmond on April 7th, where we look to return to desired form.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I'd like to thank 340 and 88 for being amazing alliance partners. We had some really awesome matches (109 points :D ), the semifinals were tough but we played well! The anxiety when they were making the decision in semifinal 3, is something I'll never forget!

A huge congratulations to 836 on winning Chairmans, you guys really deserved it!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Congratulations to the award winners and all the participating teams. Many thanks to all the great volunteers who pitched in for this event. There were an impressive number of alumni participating.

In addition to the award winners listed on the FIRST site, there was a second VOLUNTEER award given out at this event to the hard working team - Anne and Steve Shade. Both had lead positions at Chesapeake, as well as participating on the planning committee and providing team support to the region this year.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

that was a great delpoment system

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Congratulations to 768, 1218, and 1699 for winning the Finals! Those matches were epic! Thank you to 714 and 237 - that will be a run I will never forget!

Congratulations to 3650! You are more than just a Rookie Inspiration team, you are an inspiration to all of us!

A big thank you to Jenny Beatty, Bill Duncan, Anne and Steve Spade! A big thank you to all the amazing volunteers, judges and referees! You all did an amazing job!

Thank you so much, Greg! You are a great mentor, friend - and a wonderful MC!

Lastly, a big thank you to those teams who have been such a great role model for us. The advice and support you all have given us, all these years, have shaped us to be the team we are and are still becoming! Especially to GaCo, Hawaiian Kids and Moe! I am humbled by your friendship and your support!

Hope to see you all in St. Louis!

Steve

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I would also like to congratulate the regional winners but also FIRST Team 846 the Funky Monkeys for winning the Engineering Inspiration Award. That takes a lot of work and is a huge accomplishment.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

A coach’s note:

As a tenured team mentor, a second year coach and a FIRST participant for life I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the teams who participated at the 2011 Chesapeake Bay Regional this past weekend. There were some truly exceptional teams there and the atmosphere was not only overflowing with gracious professionalism but the hospitality we received, especially as a first time participant at this event, made me and the rest of ‘FIRST’ Team 250 feel right at home! So I would just like to thank everyone for that.

I would also like to thank and congratulate our alliance partners, Team 134 Team Discovery and Team 1143 The Cruzin’ Comets for a great run! With your help we managed to make it all the way to the Semi-Finals! We put on quite the show, and with the last match ending with a 70-72 loss, I would say that we not only performed admirably but gave them a run for their money! So, once again, thanks for being awesome alliance partners! Congratulations, also, to the teams who made it all the way to the finals, and what a show the finals were; with the alliance that took us out going all the way. Finals going 1 and 1,double red cards, and a match replay; the suspense was almost overwhelming! Finally, in my opinion, everyone who showed up to Baltimore with a robot and the spirit to compete was already a winner, even before the qualification matched began!

With great competition, awesome robots, friendly participants and a gorgeous venue, I can honestly say that I cannot wait for next years Chesapeake Bay regional! I can only hope that my team decides to add this amazing competition to our list of regional events that we attend regularly.

I would just like to end this by “flocking” Chief Delphi in a manner of speaking. For those who attended this event, I am sure you are already familiar with the term and what the action of being “flocked” entails. There’s nothing quite like the first time your return to your pit to find yourself being starred back at by a tall pink bird with glassy black eyes (protected with safety wear!) and covered with various team swag. The reaction was nothing short of priceless. Thanks to the team who initiated that, and I apologize beforehand because I am still recovering from the event and cannot recall at the moment the team number, but it was a great idea to let off some steam, have a little fun and cause situations to interact with various teams in the pits that may not have come up otherwise.

Thanks again to the participants and volunteers for making this past weekend a great one!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I agree! I burst out laughing while rounding a corner and seeing the bird for the first time.
I hope the team got their flamingo back. I know there were announcements asking for it to return to home base. :)

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Many thanks to Starke for posting that link. I was paying attention to a problem with our robot and didn't see the incident that led to the double red card. There is some justice that the match was replayed and the finalists weren't determined by a red card call.

Thank you to 1403 and 340 for forming a very powerful alliance. I'm still impressed that we got past 365, 2199 & 2377 in a very high scoring 194 quarterfinal match. They were my pick for the winning alliance going in to the eliminations. Congratulations to the alliance of 768, 1218 & 1699 for proving me wrong and going all the way.

Congratulations to 866 for winning Chairman's. I had the pleasure of talking with some of their presenters in the Robobees pit and was extremely impressed.

Also a shout out to 2789 TechXsplosion for making their scouting database public. I found it a very valuable resource and it was a helpful complement to our own scouting team.

Chesapeake is a very friendly regional with lots of great teams. Thanks to all the teams and volunteers for making it such a successful event.

Finally we posted a video on YouTube from a camera mounted at the base of our arm giving an interesting view of LogoMotion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyjtAkdZEt4 (IIRC this was from match 57)

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Thanks for the Kind Words. Our alliance seemed to have gotten bit by the unlucky Bug for that match up. Between Us throwing Chain, 2377 having communication problems, and MOE losing their minibot, it just kept coming. But I think I can speak for most of the alliance when I say we thought you were the alliance to beat.

I would like to give a HUGE thanks to MOE for not only picking us, but for constantly helping us and giving pointers. They were constantly available to come to our pit to answer questions, lent us parts, and even bubble wrap!

And a huge shout out to the students and Mentors of 2199, Having a Dean's List Finalist for the Second year shows you're Definitely doing something right.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Congratulations to the alliance of 768, 1218 & 1699 for your big win. It was nice to see that if our team couldn't win the event at least our minibot could help out. I would also like to congratulate Fred Needel for winning the woodie Flowers Award. It didn't occur to me that you didn't have one until we walked out onto the field for the presentation and you didn't come with us. You are very deserving. I was also glad to see that Greg could be there for the presentation.

Congrats to 836 for winning the Chairman's Award. You are a great team and very deserving.

I would like to send our thanks out to 1403 & 88 for helping us form a great alliance. After the first round I felt we had a great chance to win it all. It seems that we got bit by the unlucky bug in that Semi-final. I am just glad to see that a red card did not make the difference in who went to the finals.

I would say the best part of the weekend was sharing a pit with MOE. You guys made the event fun for us and showed my kids what a HOF team is. I hope we can hang out again at Championship. Thanks for being a class act and a fun group. You give us something to strive for.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Congratulations to the alliance of 768, 1218 & 1699!

REX 1727 would like to give a huge thanks to teams 836 [Robobees] and team 768 [Techno Warriors] for their display gracious professionalism in helping us by providing tools we'd forgotten and helping us solve problems we could not figure out ourselves.

Great regional everybody and hope to see you at DC.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

I had a lot of fun at my first Chesapeake Regional - thanks to all of the friendly people from the Baltimore area who welcomed 1124 in, and it was nice to see some familiar faces from New England as well!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

First of all congrats to 836 Robobees for winning RCA and being a Finalist. I thought something might be brewing when you didn't win the Gracious Professionalism Award. Special thanks to all your members that helped the students of our MOEbile pit & me fix multiple robots. Also your robot probably gave the best individual performance in the elims. Best of luck at the Championship.

Congrats to 846 for winning REI. I sat behind your team and you were all very nice, and spirited. It was fun having you in Baltimore, thanks for visiting from Cali.

Congrats to Fred Needel for winning WFFA, long overdue. Congrats to the Shades for winning the second volunteer award, can't say I've ever seen that before.

Congrats to the winning alliance of 768, 1218 & 1699. It was one of the most interesting finals I've seen. See all of you at the Championship! I guess our friends, the CHAbots, will no longer be registering for Philly since they have their ticket to St. Louis punched. I am sure we will see them there Sat, anyway.

Thanks you to our alliance partners, 2199 and 2377. We fought the good fight against in the toughest QF matchup against 340, 1403, & 88. We lost the first match that featured the MD highest combined score of 194. In match 2, we had the unfortunate issue with C Company's DS reboot (their robot was fine, but never regained comms), so it was even more of an uphill battle. Our robot certainly could have performed better to give us a chance to advance.

To 340, it was great being your pit neighbors again. Whenever I got a free moment it seems like I spent it talking with your team members and/or admiring your robot. Your presence advanced minibots at this regional by leaps and bounds. You loaned minibots to many teams including the eventual champion 768. Your advice inspired minibots on 1218 and 1403 to name a few. I know we will be following the tips you gave use as we seek to improve Larry, Curly and Shemp (our minibots). Unfortunately, we never got to play on the same alliance, and the scheduler saw fit to pit us against each other in the last qual match, where we knocked you out of the top seed. It is not the first time we have knocked down a top seed, that ended up hurting our elim situation and it probably will not be the last. After the Robobees gave up their Captain's spot to join the #1 alliance it shifted our alliances into an inevitable #4 vs #5 QF showdown. Your alliance with Cougar Robotics & TJ^2 was formidable, I called out your picks in stereo, because they were the same as our list. You guys out played and out strategized us, well played. I thought for sure your alliance would go the distance, but I guess it wasn't in the cards.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

What an amzing weekend!

I was able to make the trip from Virginia Tech to see our robot in person for the first time.

The Chesapeake Regional never fails to have exciting eliminations, and this year was no different. I want to thank 714 for allowing us to join their alliance and 237 for completing the alliance. It was an emotional rollercoaster the entire time, and the better team won.

Congrats to 846 for the Engineering Inspiration Award. You guys were awesome pit neighbors!

Congrats to 768, for several different reasons. You guys are truely inspirational and deserve to win. Mr. Fred Needel on receiving the Woodie Flowers Award. I alway look forward to being next to your team in the pits.

Congrats to the winning alliance - 768, 1218, and 1699. The finals were amzing.

A special thanks to team 365 (GO MOE!). You guys are truely inspirational. Both of our teams spent countless hours working beside each other in the pits to help teams out. If we did not have the parts/experience required, I knew I could count on guys to help. Thanks again for laying out a great foundation for us to follow!

Thanks to all the volunteers! Thank you Steve Shade for heading up another awesome group of refs. I know what it is like to be the guy that has to deliver the "bad" messages, and you handled it very well.

A special thanks to Greg Needel, you are one of the best announcers out there. The whole Needel family is one to model after.

Thanks again to everybody! Hope to see everyone in St. Louis!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

REX 1727 would like to thank the ROBOBEES for their help with our programming. We figured out during one our matches that our robot had many technical issues. Robobees were a great help!

Congrats ROBOBEES! Good Luck in St. Louis!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Thanks for the shout out, MikeE! We had over 700 entries into that system, and we've got several ideas for the next iteration we'll be unleashing next year!

On behalf of FRC 2789, I have to say that I agree, this was a very friendly regional, and we would like to thank all the great teams and volunteers, especially Robyn Needel, who made it a point to make us feel welcome!

Everyone in our team's community (students, mentors, teachers, school administrators, sponsors, etc.) is beaming with pride over the fact that we're bringing the Chesapeake Regional Entrepreneurship Award home! If anyone's interested in taking a look at our business plan, one of our students has posted a PDF copy of it here on Chief Delphi, here it is if you'd like to take a look at it:

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2471

We'd also like to thank the field judges for presenting our team with the Queuing Award! While its not an official FIRST award, we are very proud and grateful that our efforts to take care of the little things were recognized and rewarded by such a hard-working group of volunteers!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Did anyone archive the Chesapeake Regional and have plans to make it accessible to others? Thanks! :)

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Hey all, congrats to everyone!

I was the volunteer photographer running all around, getting general event photos. In all, I got around 4500 photos. I will be tagging them, and uploading them to my personal site for anyone to download/use. (Here's 2010's by the way http://chesapeake.atomopoly.com/ ) I should hopefully have them up in the next week or so.

Here's some teasers:

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Great photos! Thanks for capturing the energy of the event! I can't wait to see the other 4495 of them! :D

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

MOE 365 had a great time at the Chesapeake Regional. The great venue, nice location for unloading, helpful and professional volunteers, terrific teams, and proximity to the Inner Harbor makes this a really enjoyable regional to attend.

Congratulations to 836 - Robobees on your Regional Chairman's Award. You guys are a great group and it is always a pleasure interacting with you all. Many of your team members were out and about at other pits helping teams. You are a well-deserving Chairman's team to represent the Chesapeake Regional in St Louis. Oh, you have a great bot, too!

We were so glad to see our old friends, GRR - 340 make the trek from Rochester to Baltimore for this event. It is always a pleasure to interact with you guys! Thanks for partnering with us to create our uberpit! Congrats on the RCA at FLR. Another great robot and team. Inspiration goes both ways. Thanks for your friendship and continued inspiration.

A bit shout out to the regional winners - 768, 1218, and 1699. These are a group of terrific teams. Well fought and deserved regional win to you all!

Fred Needel - Regional Woodie Flowers Award winner - congratulations! You are the embodiment of what the WFA is all about.

To our alliance partners, 2199 - Robolions and 2377 - C Company, it was nice running a few matches with you guys. You were great to work with. Sorry it only lasted a brief time. We had a powerhouse opponent right out of the gate and knew it wouldn't be easy.

To all volunteers and FIRST staff running the event - thanks for making our experience so enjoyable. You all made it happen.

All the best to teams participating in additional regionals and/or the Championship event in coming weeks. Be safe and always show your Gracious Professionalism.

Go FIRST!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Peter, as always, thank you for your volunteering and your amazing photos! :)

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

The event was great and I had a blast! It was great seeing friends (so so so many friends were there from NH to NY, PA to NJ, and DE to MD), making new ones, and most importantly it was great surprising my twin and seeing my upstate NY team 250 family! The competition was awesome and there was a lot of high energy from the quarter finals to the finals. Also, Peter, the photos look awesome, like John Said, I can't wait to see the other 4,495. :)

Cass

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Thank you to the Chesapeake Regional Committee for running a fun, color-coded* Regional.

*Color-coded = awesomely organized

Evidence of Color-Codedness at the Chesapeake Regional:

1. Lost & Found form: teams could alert pit admin of lost items by completing this form. As soon as I got this form, I knew the event was being run by color-coded people.

2. Great stand management: the aisles in the stands were kept clear. The announcers occasionally reminded people to avoid lingering in front of the aisles immediately against the field so that people in the stands could have an unobstructed view of the matches. Our scout team in the stands was especially grateful!

3. Great awards music: It seemed really pre-planned. Each song for each award really went with each award. I especially loved that they played Magnificent by U2 for the Chairman Award winners. Beautiful!

4. The music in general was awesome. I also liked that sometimes they played team specific songs, like the Jaws theme for the team with the Sammy the Shark robot.

5. Loved the placement of the vendor and sponsor booths in that concession area right against the pit area. It was very convenient to have them all there.

6. The team social was awesome!!! What a great way to build camaraderie among teams! All our students loved it! They want events like this to occur at all the Regionals we attend. They're even talking about collaborating with the Alamo Regional Committee to host a similar event next year.

7. Really great announcers. I like how they took the time to explain a few common penalties so that the audience could better follow the action.

8. The field refs had good chemistry. I liked how they conferred after every match. It made me trust their judgment because many minds, eyes, and ears were involved in the calls.

9. The Queuing Award that our team won suggests that the volunteers who managed the queuing system were making and compiling observations (maybe even data) on teams' ability to make it to matches on time. Definitely color-coded.

10. Loved, loved, loved that the national anthem was sung in 4 part harmony by a choir composed of students from several teams. I cried every single time.

And now for the shout-outs:

Congratulations to the winning alliance: FRC 1218, FRC 768, and FRC 1699! What an amazing suspenseful final round! Congratulations on having the mental toughness to keep your heads in the game and take advantage of a surprise opportunity to win this round.

Congratulations to the Chairman winners, the Robobees (FRC 836)! The work showcased in your Chairman Video was awesome and very inspiring.

Thank you to FRC 768 for helping our team navigate through this Regional. Special thanks to Robyn Needel for providing invaluable advice and assistance throughout the Regional. Congratulations on winning the Regional! I had a hunch you'd go far on Saturday by the end of the Friday qualification matches because of your team's prolific scoring and your ability to play PENALTY-FREE.

Thank you to Team Beta FRC 2836 for being great pit neighbors and for many interesting conversations. Good luck at the Hartford Regional!

Thank you to TJ2 (FRC 88) for taking the time to congratulate our scout team in the stands. It was sooo nice to get positive feedback on our public scouting database because we worked so hard throughout the Regional to keep it updated. It hurt our brains to gather all that data and it was nice to learn that we were not hurting our brains in vain.

Thanks to FRC 1124 for playing a great game of ninja with our team at the Team Social. Our team had a great time at the social thanks to your spirit and graciousness.

Thank you to the Entrepreneurship Award judges for giving our young team a chance to shine. We were not expecting to win this award until we were much older and more established. It's nice to know that we are on the right track to becoming a strong FIRST team that's in it for the long haul.

I may have forgotten people and teams because I left my little black notebook which contains at least half my brain at home. I will check my notebook later and update this post if needed.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Some team shout outs from the Chesapeake:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Maryland.../2/paCYkuoPDHE

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

This is a great video. It's good to hear from the team members at the competition. Thanks to all who were involved in putting it together!

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Any news on the photos?

I can still only see the 2010 pictures.

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

They are up :D I had to wrestle with Drupal to get them all in correctly.

Check em out at http://chesapeake.atomopoly.com/!

The filters at the top will filter by tags by changing the drop downs. There are only a few photos rated at 4 or 5. (I got a little lazy this year, but nothing is below a 3). Click a thumbnail to go to a medium sized view, and click that to get the 6 MP image.

The default page now shows 2011 photos. I rejected about 1000 or so photos, so the final count is around 3500 photos. I've posted 6mp versions of the photos, but feel free to email me with links to photos if you want the full 15mp versions, or the RAW (CR2) files. If you like a photo but it's too dim, you can email me as well. (Email is in the footer on the site)

Please feel free to use these wherever/however you'd like! :)

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Thank you! These are pretty awesome. Awesome work! :)

Cass

Re: 2011 Chesapeake Regional in Baltimore
 

Wow!!! And tagged too!!!:)