[pHolmgren]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

PNW District- Auburn-Mountainview:
Auburn Mountainview has consistently been the strongest event since the introduction of districts in the Pacific Northwest. While it still boasts many of the usual contenders and local powers, all eyes will be watching this preview of Philomath. Five out of the Six previous AMV winners will be returning, along with a quarter of the elimination teams from last year's District Championship. Trying to top a 6 banner season sounds near impossible, but 1983 is looking to do just that. With its 16 motors, and complex design, this "White Knight" had a slow start to the season, but they have new-found programming capabilities this year to make up for it. With fast breach times, and an even faster hang, they should be able to get the points to stay on top of the pack, even without a shooter this weekend. 2522 is trending up after several seasons of growth, and have stepped up their game again this year in preparation for their trip to Hawaii. If their machine functions as well as it looks, they’ll be quite the force this year, especially with their well tuned autonomous. Both 2046 and 3663 ended their 2015 seasons on a high note, playing together at the Championship and reaching their subdivision finals. These two teams have built robots that look to be competitive over the course of the season, but week 1 is a different beast. Bear metal’s week 1 jitters look to be the only thing between them and a solid finish this weekend. CPR will be looking to dial in their camera-assisted shooter. 2557 and 488 are both looking to bounce back from poorer than usual district performances last year. The SOTAbots are going back to their roots with a catapult somewhat reminiscent of their 2014 robot, which should bring them back if it can perform even half as well as that robot. The build season has had its ups and downs for the XBots, who have lost a sheet metal sponsor, but could be the dark horse when eliminations roll around. Few teams have more to prove this weekend than 1318 or 360. After losing key mentors and students, both of these teams have worked hard this season to try and repeat their strong 2015 showings. The PNW has a handful of rookies this year, and the two to watch are competing this weekend. 5803 is looking to come home with more than a Highest Rookie Seed trophy. While they won’t be shooting, their strength may lie in being one of the few local teams to tackle all 9 defenses alone. If their climber is ready in time for the weekend, this rookie may be in for quite the debut performance.

Cannot wait for tomorrow! This is going to be a fun competition and I can't wait to see all 40 of the teams playing (even if it is a ton of teams.