[KrazyCarl92]

Our last qualification match at IRI this year was with 1114, Simbotics. Planning for it on Friday night, we realized that it was quite likely that Simbotics would be in the running for the top seed going into this match. Because our robot had broken on Friday and did not operate properly for any of our 6 qualification matches that day, we were 0-6 going into Saturday. Our priority was to showcase our robot's capabilities so we could possibly stand a chance at being selected. Obviously Simbotics priority was winning the match to stay undefeated and seed #1. In the end, they would have seeded number 1 anyway with a 8-1 record, but going into the match strategy discussion it wasn't necessarily clear.

When speaking with Simbotics, they were very receptive to our desire to look good in the interest of getting selected. We knew we had to do what we could as alliance partners to help win the match for them, but for us looking good was the key. Our autonomous went well and we were able to hang, but unfortunately our collector jammed when getting hit by 234 after only 2 trips to the pyramid to shoot, rendering our teleop performance less than impressive.

Simbotics also did something very awesome in our strategy discussion. They admitted that they were likely to miss some of their shots. At IRI, some teams had an illusion that their shooting accuracy was 100%. Not a single team shot at 100%. Only a few even shot above 90%. It is strategically important to be realistic about one's own performance. Many people simply stated that there would be fewer discs on the floor at IRI because the teams were better. However, teams doing 6 cycles at 80% accuracy will on average leave the same number of missed shots on the floor as teams doing 3 cycles at 60% accuracy. We got push back from some teams about employing a floor loading strategy, likely because they did not understand this concept and how it can apply even at high levels of play (admittedly it is situational). 1114 understood that this floor loading strategy made sense for achieving both goals of us trying to look good and working together to win the match.

The way Simbotics kept their eye on the prize of maximizing their chances of winning, but still were considerate of our desire to showcase our abilities is something I really appreciate. That is what FIRST is all about: gracious professionalism.

Congrats on the second straight IRI win to you and your alliance, very well deserved!