[dtengineering]

It's been a while since I've taken a team out to Toronto, but I have to say that I have a great respect for all the teams out there and the organizing team that puts these events together. I still follow the results with interest. (particularly to cheer for 1241...)

I continue to be amazed at how 1114 puts in such consistantly outstanding performances year after year. I believe this is the seventh consecutive regional championship they have won. I've had a chance to sit down and talk to some of the mentors and students in the past (when you play against them three times at a regional, you kind of want to get to know some of them) and... yeah... they're the real deal. I learned a few things from them that helped make our team better. I keep hoping they will take home the Championship Chairman's one year.

But I also have empathy for teams that feel frustrated by repeatedly losing to an 1114-led alliance. I don't condone that frustration being expressed by name-calling, bullying, or other inappropriate activities, but I do appreciate that otherwise rational, caring people can sometimes do and say things they will later regret.

During the years our team played in Toronto, however, we also played on the west coast. It was fabulous (and healthy) to experience two completely different sets of teams.

I realize it is expensive to take a team on the road (that was, after all, how we got from Vancouver to Toronto...) but it is also healthy. There are excellent regionals in all sorts of exciting places... if a team is feeling frustrated playing in (or near) Ontario then maybe they need a breath of fresh air. It's a great way to make some new FRC friends and keep your focus on what this whole crazy venture is really about.

Believe me... It's a lot easier to take delight in the extreme awesomeness of an 1114/2056 led alliance when you know you don't have to play against them ALL the time.

Jason