[Kevin Leonard]

Wow. What an amazing event.
First off I'd like to thank all the volunteers that made this event possible. I'd also like to thank Frank Merrick for coming and seeing what the capital region is made of!
The event was run so smoothly. The only problem (and I think quite a few team had this problem on Thursday) was the balls being slightly over-inflated throughout, but I think everyone learned to deal with that and it taught us some lessons about how to design an intake.
The referees were consistent and fair, and despite the match-killer tech fouls being still prevalent, the referees called them evenly and according to the rules.

We were taught a lesson on Friday about our catching mechanism (that it sometimes catches too well), and we learned from that too. (I encourage every team to find some way to prevent the ball from falling from the sky into your robot).

Thanks to Team 1126 Sparx for selecting us and forming that crazy alliance. Your cannon is absolutely frightening, and I can't wait to see you guys at FLR!
Thanks to Team 229 Division by Zero for your crazy drivetrain and passing abilities. With your collector fixed for elims, you were the perfect third partner for us!

Congratulations to Team 340 on your RCA. You guys have an extremely professional team and a consistent robot. We hope to see you guys go farther in elims at Finger Lakes.

Congrats to Team 1511 on your Engineering Inspiration Award. You guys had a great robot and one of the smartest drive teams in the whole arena. Your spirit and professionalism filled every room you were in. "I believe that Robots Rock!" We'll see you at Finger lakes as well!

Congratulations to the finalist alliance of 250, 3990, and 145. The instant your alliance came together I knew you'd be one of the toughest alliances in the place.
250's half-match T-Bone on 1126 shut us down for Finals-1, and made us very afraid for what could happen in Finals-2.
3990 had one of the best shooters in the place and a downright gorgeous robot. I only wish you could have played in Finals at full strength.
145's hammer was making shots all day, and their smart drivers knew how to skid around defense with their mecanum drive.
Good luck to 3990 in Quebec, and we'll see 250 at Finger Lakes!

Congratulations to Team 5030, The Second Mouse, on your Rookie All-Star Award. Your smart strategy took you all the way to a number one seed and two smart picks. We'll see you at Championships!

One last shout-out and that's to the Rookie Inspiration Award winners of 5236, Man-O-War Robotics. Besides building an incredible robot for rookies and making an impressive showing in eliminations, they also had an extremely professional team who really "got" the spirit of FIRST in their rookie year. They also had an extremely smart drive team who was fantastic to work with. They delivered on everything they could have, and be ready for them to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.