On behalf of all the students and mentors of 148:
Dallas is our "home" regional, and we're proud to have competed here for all 7 years of its existence. We love having so many of our alumni, peers, sponsors, parents, and supporters able to attend. To see the overwhelming support of the Greenville community is an amazing thing.
Like all FRC events, this weekend had many, many, many incredible moments.
Being able to play with our long-time friends from 987 for the first time was a privilege. As anyone who has interacted with them can attest, they are a class act worthy of the highest praise and accolades.
We've similarly known 3802 for a long time, and enjoyed getting to work with them. They made huge contributions to our alliance being able to put up the world-high score, and helped (almost literally) through a weird semi-final series.
This event was filled with friends, and even some teams we consider family. The camaraderie around the field and in the pits throughout the weekend was unlike any event we've attended.
Special thank-you to our fellow #TeamIFI teams 1296 and 3310. If you think our robot is crazy, you should see what these two teams have going on.
We feel no disappointment in losing to two #TeamTexas powerhouses, two of the best teams in the world, and some of our closest friends: 118 & 624.
Many of you noticed 3802 sitting out our first quarterfinal match. This was because all three of our alliance teams were working to upgrade their machine (with the oversight of the inspectors & within the rules of the game) to pull cans off the center step. We (as an alliance) discussed them "sitting" to give us more time for the modification, and 3802 eagerly agreed. Everyone on 148 was thrilled they were around for us to pick, and could not have asked for a better 3rd partner.
Like during most competitions, there were a some frustrating moments during the playoffs. Many of you have commented on a few of those.
Regarding SF2:
-148 was informed we were not allowed onto the field because we were late to the match. The ruling on the field was that we were called several times and did not respond in time.
-987 was disabled. The ruling on the field was that they took too long during setup, which is something they had been warned about multiple times.
Regarding F3:
-987 was disabled, their robot was measured by the inspectors and determined to be over the height restriction after setup. This was not an "added" mechanism. That mechanism was always on their robot (all weekend), but was not used in "can grabber" configuration until F3.
While we are disappointed in the results and disappointed in the way some of this was handled, it in no way detracted from our team's experience at the regional. We had a great time at the event, are incredibly proud of our performance and are thankful to all the event volunteers for donating their time. We appreciate the referees always taking the time to explain their rulings to our student representatives even when we did not agree with their interpretations of the rules.
We are all learning the new playoff format, and as such need to be especially careful about setup time, and getting to the field on-time. We are somewhat disappointed by the guidance, information, and warnings our team received from event officials during "the strangeness" of these playoffs. However, we understand that if the field staff feels that our alliance was adequately "warned", there isn't anything else we should expect, and appreciate their openness in discussing their feelings on the matter.
The "snow delay" schedule caused a lot of problems this weekend. The event management, teams, and volunteers all did their part to overcome these problems and hold a GREAT event.
Our team is eager to continue our competition season in a few at the Las Vegas Regional, and then showcase Batman & Robin at the Championship Event in St. Louis. We have 3.5 weeks of iteration in front of us, and a lot of motivation.
On a personal note...
I am extremely proud of our "kids" on how they handled themselves this weekend, even in (abnormally) stressful circumstances. The students of Greenville High School continue to astound me, even all these years later. I'm proud to call myself a Robowrangler.