[2789_DrT]

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.