[ColleenShaver]

posting as a coach from T190 and not as BC staff or organizer.. i've got a few opinions to share.

I think 2v2 was a fun change to the game and definitely spiced it up a bit. For the first time I saw our drivers getting psyched about what they could do in a match to outdo the opponents rather than just praying that no one else messes up so our score doesn't mess up.

As for the ref-ing.. there was no one from the 'host team' ref-ing. The head referee, same as last year, was from Aces High. Eric from FIRST was also a ref.. as well the others were from other teams/companies. Same as in the past, from the referees' standpoint, the game was called fair and without bias.

And from our very first match, to our very last match.. our respective alliance argued several calls that seemed to be cleared contradicted by the rules of the game.. but the referees' calls were final whether or not our college sponsor also supported the event.

In any case, I'm very happy that BC2 went 2v2 and I would like to see more people try it out. Part of the confusion was the newness of the game... quite logically as it is the same with FIRST.. the first regional of the year is more of a mess of what to do and how to call it when by the time you get to nationals and then off-season comps in september/october.. there is no question about rules or game play, and you can simply play. It's to be expected in a new game.. and dispite me personally not being happy w/ some rules being called oddly, I think everyone did their best considering the situation.

So go 2v2 and creative energy. And thanks for the referees for doing their best in tough situations. I doubt very few people could have called it much better in their shoes, no matter where they are from.

So thanks to everyone working the BattleCry staff... and congrats to everyone for trying something new.