[jcbc]

I would like to add my personal thanks for the Philadelphia Regional. I am a rookie, so if I say anything the wrong way or mess something up, please blame me and not my team. I apologize for the delay in posting my thanks; I am still stunned by the experience of attending my own personal first regional ever.

First and foremost, I would like to thank the volunteers who made the Philadelphia Regional happen. It is truly amazing the great event that they ran!

I would like to thank Miss Daisy (341) for hosting the Ramp Riot. It gave me my first glimpse into how competitions work when I attended it this past fall.

I would like to thank Lansdale Catholic Robotics (Cyber-Crusaders, 272) for running their software seminar back in December and the mentors who made presentations there, including Bob Bellini and Paul Gehman from DAWGMA (1712) as well as Frank Larkin (272). For a rookie who had never used LabView or seen a robot being built, this seminar really helped me hit the ground running in January.

Speaking of January, I would like to thank Royal Assault (357) for hosting the Kick-Off in our area. Great job! I also need to thank Frank Larkin (272) again for the seminar on sensors he gave at the Kick-Off; the information that he presented proved invaluable as our team dove into brainstorming the next day.

To all of the posters on Chief Delphi, a big thanks to you for sharing information and being helpful throughout the build season, whether you knew it or not. :-)

To ALL of the teams who competed at the Philadelphia Regional, thanks for making it so fun and crazy! I especially liked sitting next to the Firebirds (433) and seeing their reaction when the Chairman's Award was announced. Congratulations!

Special thanks to the #1 alliance of Iron Devils (1647), Miss Daisy (341), and Lumberjacks (1517) for being such a formidable alliance. I said to others on Saturday that if we faced you in the finals, you would almost certainly come out ahead. (Also thanks to the Lumberjacks for handling the Webcast!) Thanks to our opponents in the quarterfinals for close and exciting matches: Anomaly (816), Cougar Robotics (1403), and DAWGMA (1712). Thanks to our opponents in the semi-finals for thrilling matches: Cybersonics (103), ROBBE XTREME (56), and Team Lionheart (1302). Big thanks to our opponents in the finals for the heart-stopping matches: Positronic Panthers (486), the Metal Moose (1391), and LuNaTeCs (316)!

To our alliance partners, Miracle Workerz (MOE, 365), Panther Robotics (303), and Fighting Robo-Vikings (2607), HUGE thanks for the tremendous effort from everyone and for coming through for the alliance!

Finally, to all the members of Sab-BOT-age, past and present, I would like to thank you for the hard work and perseverance that got the team to this point, for allowing me to participate, and for forgiving me my "deer in the headlights" moments!