[A Mountain Man]

Hello again, all. I've been busy watching all of the regionals that have happened, and since Western Canada was put in a weird time slot, I didn't write up anything last week. Sorry about that. On the bright side, another week went by and more mountain events happened! Let's take a closer look. Also, be sure to take some time to respond to my poll to settle this "the Appalachians are/aren't mountains" dispute once and for all. They aren't, by the way.

Week 5:

Week 5 had a ton of upsets. Disbelief came from places like Waterloo and Hawaii after the top seeds at the event were eliminated. However, not even the finals of Waterloo could stop me from watching my mountain events. Two of them occurred during Week 5, and both had their own special flavors.

Idaho Regional:

I used to think that the only people that lived in Idaho were potato farmers or people hiding from the government. Surprisingly, that's not the case. There are a lot of normal people in Idaho and enough to have FRC teams, and as of this year, a regional. The inaugural Idaho Regional seemed to be a success, with a number of teams debuting and some walking away with hardware.

After losses in both Salt Lake City and Denver, 3230 looked done with their season. However, they decided to give Stronghold one last shot by signing up for Idaho on Wednesday at 1:30 PM, hours before early load-in. Once in Boise, PrototypeX played exactly as they had in Denver, and seeded second once again. During eliminations, 3230 fought their way to the finals and by using a combination of high goals, low goals, and strong defense with their partners 3245 and 5931, upset Team Tators in the finals. It may have taking them three regionals, but PrototypeX has finally qualified for CMP. Congratulations to them and their alliance partners!

2122 showed off some big improvements to their robot. Since their debut at Arizona North three weeks before, Tators had since added a high goal capability and put their scaler into full working order. They were a dominant force for the entire event, and although they ended as finalists, still have a lot to be proud of. Good luck to you guys during St. Louis, and I look forward to seeing what else you all have in store!

1569 may have only low goaled, but they were good at it. They would spend the match cycling and weakening the tower for the capture. They seeded 4th and unfortunately were eliminated in the semifinals, but they still picked up the Woodie Flowers Finalist and Deans List Finalist Awards. Haywire had a great season, and the team from Pocatello should be proud of their season.

Speaking of teams from Pocatello, 3562 also went to the regional. They may not have done as well as Haywire, but LiveWire was able to secure their spot in St. Louis by picking up the Engineering Inspiration Award. Congratulations to them, and good luck!

Las Vegas Regional:

While teams gathered in Boise to compete, others traveled to Nevada to prove their worth in Vegas. And I'm not talking about through gambling in the casinos. I'm talking about good, old-fashioned robot competition. A lot of great teams came to Vegas, and some struck it rich.

Previously, 987 had only barely scraped by in the finals of Los Angeles. In Vegas, however, they showed what they were truly made of. The Highrollers lost only one match during all of qualifications, and although they sometimes ran into problems with their shooting mechanism, still led the #1 seeded alliance to victory. Their high goal capabilities were unmatched, and it showed. They also picked up the Chairman's Award, which is a huge honor for them. They have done more since then, but I'll save it for later.

The regional was 842's second, after they had previously gotten to the finals in Flagstaff weeks before. Since then, Falcon Robotics perfected their high goal shot, and even added a grappling hook scaler. They showed what they could do during qualifications, were picked by the Highrollers, and won the tournament. Congratulations to them. Keep improving, guys!

I'd like to give a shoutout to 3009, 3200, 60, 2486, and 2972. All of these teams improved immensely since their last performance, and all of them made it to the playoffs in Vegas, Raptacon, the Coconuts, and RC Dawson unfortunately were eliminated in the finals, the High Scalers made it to the semis, and the Bionic Bulldogs made it to the finals. Great job to all of those teams! Your hard work earned you all a dance in eliminations, and you all should be proud of what you all built.

Week 5? Week 6? Who knows...:

As I previously stated, the Western Canada Regional was put into a bizarre time slot. Similar to Israel earlier this year, Calgary's competition was a Sunday to Wednesday event. While it technically was a Week 5 event, it made for a nice debut of Week 6.

Western Canada Regional:

Yes, Canadians in the Rockies are mountain people too. And Calgary is so close to the mountains that their regional deserves a writeup. Teams came in from many different countries, with Canada, Australia, Mexico, Israel, and the United States represented. The mix made for a fascinating event.

Since winning the Utah Regional, 4334 improved their high goal capabilities. They fought hard and seeded first at the event, picking fellow Canadian teams 2013 and 4625 to help them pick up their second blue banner this year. The Alberta Tech Alliance's hard work paid off. Congratulations to them and their alliance partners, and good luck in St. Louis!

Another team was there this year with a strikingly similar acronym to ATA's. In fact, I think they're a sister team. I'm talking about the CTC, or Calgary Tech Coalition. It may have been 6082's rookie year, but what a first event they had. They showed that they could compete at a high level, seeding fourth in the qualifications and enlisting the help of Australians and fellow Canadians. Much to the surprise of everyone, they put up high scores during the eliminations, making it all the way to the finals. They may have lost, but they got a wildcard spot nevertheless and proved themselves in their rookie year. Congratulations to you guys! Not many rookie teams achieve such success, so it's something to really be proud of. Keep improving for St. Louis!

Another successful rookie team was 5897. They seeded higher than most rookies do, and even after losing in the quarterfinals in a tiebreaker match, they still brought home the Rookie All-Star Award. Great job to them, and good luck in St. Louis!

Week 6:

Only one event occurred in the mountains during Week 6, and it was an exciting one. Phoenix had a lot to offer this year, and I enjoyed watching it.

Arizona West Regional:

Back to 987. Since the week before, the Highrollers tested a two ball autonomous, and it worked for them in one practice match. 987 had what was arguably their best event this year, with 8 captures in their 12 matches. The Highrollers seeded first, leading the second seeded team, 2468, by nine ranking points. 987 then picked Team Appreciate to go on and win the event.

4183 had an unfortunate tip during the finals of Arizona North. This time around, they performed much better than they had at Flagstaff. The Bit Buckets seeded third overall, picking 1538 from San Diego and 4146 from Scottsdale. Once again, they got to the finals, and even beat the Highrollers' alliance in one of the matches. Although they couldn't quite seal the deal and lost to 987 in the finals, the Bit Buckets and Sabercats did pick up a wildcard slot and are going to CMP. Good luck, guys!

2403 had a good tournament. They seeded 9th overall, above where they were in Flagstaff, and lost in the semis in some hard fought matches. They also picked up the Regional Chairman's Award. Great job, Plasma Robotics! Good luck! While on the topic of other awards, congratulations to 3019 on EI and 3853 on winning the regional with 987 and 2468!

Also, a shoutout to teams 3187 and 3944. 3187 competed hard, and unfortunately didn't get to play in the eliminations. However, they walked away with the Gracious Professionalism Award, which is a great honor. As for 3944, they had a great robot. It must be tough for them to not be attending CMP this season (especially after their run on Einstein last year with 2056, 330, and 492) but receiving the Creativity Award is no small feat. Both teams have a lot to be proud of, and should be proud of what they've built.

Next Time:

As Week 7 is solely for DCMPs, I will have nothing to say next week. The next time I write will be when the divisions for St. Louis are released, and in said post I will be making my predictions for the mountain teams in each division. So long, everyone!