My thoughts are still a little disjointed at the moment, but bare with me for a moment. The double Greater Toronto Regional that took place in Mississauga this past weekend was a huge success. So many amazing things happened, let me try and document some of them.
Stan Hunter of Team 2056 winning the WFFA for GTR West. Stan is the backbone of this epic team. Back in 2006, before he even had a team, he diligently came out to 1114 team meeting to learn everything he could about running a FIRST team. Once he had his team, he's worked constantly to build them up into one of the most accomplished teams in all of FIRST. To understand the impact Stan has had at a mentor, you just need to meet the amazing students and alumni on his team and get a sense for how much they "get it".
Greg Phillips of Team 1114 winning the Volunteer of the Year for GTR East. In addition to being the lead teacher for 1114, Greg has also been championing the cause of FIRST and robotics education throughout the Niagara Region. Greg has worked with the school board to revamp technical education and push robotics fully into curriculum. He's always providing support for every demo and event put on by FIRST Robotics Canada. It's great to see his efforts rewarded.
Team 1503 winning their second regional of the season. Last year was a bit of a disaster for 1503. They'd be the first to admit they ended up with an over complicated robot that didn't perform up to their standards. But this year, they went back to basics with a renewed emphasis on simplicity and robustness. The result? 32 consecutive matches where they scored an ubertube in autonomous mode and two regional wins. To everyone who said "you have to have a floor pickup to win", their robot is the proof that you were blatantly wrong. Thanks to 1503 for serving as a nice reminder that simplicity and knowing your own resources are the key to being successful in FRC.
Team 1547 winning their second consecutive GTR. To everyone who thought their victory was a fluke last year, I hope this illustrates the flaw in that logic. It was a well deserved win for a team with an amazing program.
Team 2809 winning the Engineering Inspiration Award. Here's another amazing team, with a great program. Their robot is on the cusp of being a contender at the Championship, while their team is strong in all aspects of FIRST. It's just a matter of time until they win an Regional Chairman's Award.
Team 781 winning their first regional since 2002. It was very fitting that the winner of the very Canadian Regional, would win it in the year we're celebrating 10 years of FIRST events in Canada. This was definitely the best 781 robot I've seen in their 10 year history. Yet another testament to simplicity.
Team 2056 winning their 11th consecutive regional. This streak pretty much leaves me speechless. Just thing about this, they have never lost a regional event in five years! It's actually mind boggling. They just continue to churn out dominant yet elegant robots year after year. This streak is approaching Cal Ripken or Joe DiMaggio territory in my mind.
Stacey Willick and Mike Quill of Team 1114 both winning the Dean's List Award. You two are Simbot Rockstars, and I couldn't be prouder of you. Thank you for helping carry our team to where we are today.
All the volunteers who've been making FIRST events happen in Canada for the past 10 years. This weekend was a fantastic celebration of what's been happening up here in Canada for the past decade. It wouldn't be possible if weren't for the thousands and thousands of hours of effort and work but in by this amazing group of people. They made this weekend not only a great event, but a genuinely fun time.
Finally, a very special thank you to all the teams and individuals at GTR who helped honour our team founder,
Steve Rourke, by wearing a memorial patch or sticker. The outpouring of support was moving. It was well appreciated by the entire team and Steve's family.
