Pool Noodles
 

Just a friendly reminder that now is the best time of year to stock up on those pool noodles you know we are all going to need next January/February. The Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer so stores are putting summer pool toys on clearance. I've seen pool noodles as low as $0.25 on clearance this time of year. I checked 2 local Walmarts today and neither had any left. Target had a few on clearance for $0.98. Get 'em while they are cheap and still available!

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The GDC probably bought out those two Walmarts' pool noodles for the game elements for next year's water game. ;)

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Last year we had to try to find pool noodles in the middle of winter in the U.P.... NOT FUN :p
We'll be getting em earlier this year

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We bought a box from a pool supply company two years ago, I suspect we will be buying another box this fall. It was nice to have extras to take to events, since someone always ends up needing some.

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This may be a good time to get pool noodles for next year, as pool supplies are coming out and the stores are loaded with them.

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In typical First style, Bill specifically refused to speculate on the need of noodles for next years bumpers in Bills Blog. Or was that a back handed way of suggesting to buy some? :)

Anyway noodles are cheap. Buying them now is cheap insurance.

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Pool noodles are stocked at pool supply stores more or less year round; I bought about 12 at my local Leslie's Pool Supplies in January and it was rather cheap if I remember correctly. But yeah, if you get the chance, getting them earlier can be cheaper and ensures that you have them for the coming build season.

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Most of us don't live in southern California, Jonathan. Pool supply stores in north central Indiana probably do always have stock, but they're not open year round.

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And for those that wait, AndyMark has them

AndyMark

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Ah AndyMark and your $2 a piece pool noodles

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We bought this year 2 pool noodles(in the winter) in the same price of 6 in andymark

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And if you can't find any, steal the ones off your bumpers from this year, or another previous year. Just make sure they are long enough.

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I know our team purchased a bulk box of pool noodles a few years ago. We store them in our loft and just take from them when we build our bumpers of use them for nicer astetchic bumpers in the off-season. Although Bill can speculate back and forth, it's safe to assume bumpers are here to stay, in some way or form.

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That's using your noodle. :D

Jane

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He's been explicit the past two years about buying pool noodles.

2010 2011I suspect the reason he isn't saying anything this year is because of the rethinking of the bumper rules that was mentioned at FRC Live this year.

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2012

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GDC say what? ;)

Very interesting I wonder what they are thinking about for next years game. I really loved back in the day with no bumper rules where the robots looked and sounded better. They are nice now as we have less damage to our machines and I'm sure FIRST has less field damage each year as well!

Hmmm...

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If you can't find noodles at pool supply stores or walmart, check pool equipment warehouses. If they don't have them, they will generally give you leads to companies who sell pool noodles, allowing you to buy them in bulk and probably cheaper.

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We'll probably just buy another one of our every other year boxes of pool noodles and call it done. If the GDC throws us a curveball we can use them for SeaPERCH or something else.

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You're completely right, I apologize for not taking that into account.

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Trust me. Canada does not have pool stores open during the winter...
lol

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Mark highlighted the wrong part of Billl's message, I fixed it.

And that means the water game is ON!

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I was going to say, that settles it. On-water game. (As opposed to Under-water game.) The pool noodles are there to help keep the robot upright.

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Bumpers also make good game pieces for driver tryouts

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For the reasons given above, I added a box of pool noodles to my latest AndyMark order. They were delivered today, and are now stashed in the garage of my team's lead marketing mentor, who is also our bumper designer. We are good to go for next season.:cool:

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Well, in the FRC Live presentation discussing game design, they DID have a member of the GDC on stage, and after she mentioned that the 2013 game was just about finalized, the stated very clearly and unequivocally:

Don't rule out a water bottle game.

Makes you think, eh?

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Our local dollar tree has them in stock. last year they went on sale 2 for a dollar and I bought all they had for our team.

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Make SURE you get the correct diameter noodles. Like everything else being sold these days, there are cut-rate dimensions in this product. You know like the 30 oz. mayonnaise jar instead of 32 oz.. or the non-half gallon ice cream containers. Don't let the first measurement of your noodled bumpers be at the tournament inspection station.

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And if it is... don't yell at the inspector when you have to redo them.

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Anyone thought about the possibility that we won't even NEED bumpers?

What if the game has the robots separated in partitions of the field.
Without robot against robot action, bumpers might not be required.

Just an idea.

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Not a bad idea. I'd really enjoy seeing the VEX clean sweep style game applied at the FRC level.

However, surely one has to take into account that many rookies, and even some vets, sometimes field a driving base because that's all they could manage. But raising a partition and essentially eliminating defense, you really take all of these bots out of the game.

- Sunny G.

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I'm going to butcher this, but I believe it was Jim Zondag who said something like, "If FIRST wants FRC to be considered a real sport, then the GDC needs to start treating it like one." I think they have started down that path, and creating a game with no defense would push FRC in the other dierection. Not only does it make the game less strategic to play, it's also less fun to watch.

Sorry, back to the topic now.

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They won't do that again. You didn't hear about the chorus after 2001? Few people actually liked that game... the most fun part about it was "Can they balance before they hit the E-stop?"

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Hmmmmm... How about a Formula - 1 Power Boat Racing-ish type game???

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Many comics have pointed out various aspects of the use of the name sport for some of our recreational activities. According to some, golf is not a sport because there's no one trying to keep the ball out of the hole. Fishing is not a sport because it relies on fooling a vastly less capable nervous system that food is available. Weightlifting - pick up a heavy weight, put it down again. Not sport - it's indecision!

I'm not sure going after a sport metaphor is as desirable a goal as is possible.

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That's a decade before my time, but I've heard stories and seen videos that would point to that conclusion.

To take the hypotenuse (sorry, inside joke), it looks like bumpers are here to stay--water game or not--so get ready.

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I'm totally agree with you.You'r 100% good here that surely one has to take into account that many rookies, and even some vets, sometimes field a driving base because that's all they could manage.
You really take all of these bots out of the game.

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Referring back to the OP....now is a great time to stock up on pool noodles for bumpers. I just bought out the entire supply at the local A&P; they were only $0.50 each!

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We have a bulk sized box buried away some where as well as an apparatus we threw together to help make bumpers. Can't imagine we wont have enough for the next year, but now that I think about it...
Redoing beaten and torn veteran robot bumpers,
Next years robot,
Teams looking to redo bumpers at regionals...
Now that I think about it tis the season!