First, I would like to thank the event planners and staff of the Queen City Regional for putting on a well run event.
Next, I would like to congratulate all winners on their trophies, medals, and other awards.
Finally, I would like to thank all event volunteers for their service. HOWEVER, there is one thing I feel obligated to bring up about this competition, and it involves the referee communication in Semifinal 1, Match 3. This was a pretty dang important match, as the winner would move on to the Finals, and as it turns out, the Finalist Alliance Captain would receive a Wild Card via 1939 winning EI at one event and Chairman's at another (congrats).
Please review this match -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ymz4gynmrI.
I posted my thoughts in the comments of the video, but for completeness...
Quote:
YMTC - three times through the Sally Port - only credited for the last 2. Lost out on 25 point challenge bonus at match end due to lost time dancing with the SP a third time. Would have easily parked on the batter with 15 extra seconds. Would have won the match by (at least) one point. Would have had a shot to win in the Finals. Would have earned a WILD CARD regardless (one that was bestowed upon 4028, a worthy team no doubt, captain of the alliance who advanced as a result of this referee gaffe). Would have had a chance at blue banner that has eluded us for several years. Very, very disappointing.
Our robot was the only entity doing anything RIGHT during the gaffe:
- the opposing alliance was committing a foul
- the head ref and the penalty caller were assessing that foul
- the penalty caller neglected to witness our first sally port crossing happening right in front of him, and he neglected to notice the ref on the far side of the field holding his hand out as if waiting for confirmation.
Perhaps, FIRST, you can ditch the Disney and peel the covering off the Sally Port door such that a SINGLE REFEREE might be able to clearly judge whether a robot successfully breached the defense or not?
We're going to St. Louis anyway. Thanks, Frankie and FIRST - we got the waitlist invite Thursday morning at Queen City. ;-) Unfortunately, we were still denied a medal and a fair shot at winning our first regional since 2012, and our partners in 5413, 1308, and 2603 received NOTHING but disappointment as a result of this major, major referee communication gaffe. PLEASE DO BETTER. The teams deserve it.
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This kind of oversight simply should not happen. We went to the question box and one of the refs apparently told our people that for one of the crossings, we did not fully clear the outer works boundaries. I think the video makes it eminently clear our first crossing was just hunky dory.
The game design/defense design should not require 2 separate, already overworked humans to confirm one robot crossing. Our alliance partner teams (5413, 1308, and 2603) should not have been denied their opportunity to qualify for the Championship due to these oversights. My team was fortunate to receive an invitation off the waitlist on Thursday morning shortly after arriving at Queen City; otherwise, my mood right now would be less than Stellar (sorry, bad pun). As it is, I am just extremely disappointed that these major gaffes are so frequently facilitated by the game design. I have spoken with mentors on several teams affected by similar disheartening oversights all season long. It inhales audibly every time you hear something like this happen. The more it happens, the more it shouldn't.