I would like to congratulate several teams that competed at Pittsburgh.
First, our rookie team, 3492 RoboGens on their regional win and Rookie Inspiration Award. We know what it feels like to win a regional the rookie year. You guys were FANTASTIC! I would also like to congratulate 1114 Simbotics and 1503 Spartonics. You guys were incredible as well.
Team 63 Red Barons - You were definitely very deserving of the Chairmans Award, and coming from another competitor for the award, the entire MARS team would like to extend a huge congratulations.
Team 3504 Girls of Steel - If it wasn't for your number, I would have never guessed you are a rookie team. You showed amazing spirit and dedication, had a great team image, and the robot wasn't bad either. Coming from a Pitt Rookie All-Star winner, MARS also extends a huge congratulations for winning the award. I hope to keep seeing you and working with you for years to come. Have fun in St. Louis!
Teams 3193 and 1038 - Great alliance. We were still able to advance to the semi-finals despite the fact that our arm was not functioning. Great job and I must say, we put a strong showing against the #1 alliance, so great job to both of you.
Team 1629 GaCo - It has been great working with you over the years. It was good to see you winning that control system award
Thank you for all the help you have given to us over the years and for years to come.
Last but not least, 2614 MARS - While we were not as strong as we had hoped, this was definitely a huge milestone for us. It was the second time we were ever an alliance captain out of 8 competitions, and we were higher seeded than we have ever been before at Pittsburgh during most of Friday, and it was the first time we have ever won a match on Saturday morning. Also, despite shattering the worm gear 3 times, we were still able to pull off a few victories. And even better, we were able to keep smiles on our faces the whole time. Semi-finalist is something to be quite proud of. I am also quite proud of the Entrepreneurship Award. And our mentor, Earl Scime, was very very deserving of the Woodie Flowers Award. There was nobody else we would have wanted to nominate, and all the other mentors agree. I hope it was a nice surprise.