Quote:
Originally Posted by George C
Isn't it time to stop referring to Ontario's (or Canada's) "second tier". 1114 and 2056 (and many other teams) build excellent robots and have great teams but I don't think it's fair to go on about how they set the bar higher etc. If they weren't around would any team feel they could slack off on their design? We design and build the best robot we can with the resources we have - regardless of what other teams are doing.
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I don't think so. The truth of the matter is that 1114 and 2056 are both significantly stronger than their nearest competition in Ontario. Teams like 1241, 610, 188, 1334, 1310, 4001, 4343 and more just aren't as strong. With good strategy and luck 1114 and 2056 can be beaten by them, but the strength to do it consistently is not there. Indeed, at ONTO this year, the #3 (4343) and #4 (1241) seed had a combined OPR of 87.0. #1 seed (2056)'s solo OPR was 86.8.
These '2nd tier' robots, for lack of a better term, are definitely strong enough to be considered powerhouses in their own right, when playing elsewhere, but up against 1114 and 2056, they really don't compare. Not yet. The gap IS closing though. 1114 and 2056 are already stretching the limits of what is possible in each FRC game. The '2nd tier' are consistently getting closer to that point as well.
If 1114 and 2056 did not exist, I do believe that the rest of Ontario's teams would not be as strong as they are. Winning events in Ontario would not require the same level of competitiveness, and so teams would opt for safer, more easily achieved strategies. I would even go so far as to suggest that 1114 and 2056's influence has driven many Ontario teams to have a better program in terms of better fundraising to build a better robot, and to travel further and in general have a greater impact on their students. I don't think 610, for example, would have as strong a program as they do without that influence.