I think that was almost definitely the most fun I have ever had at a FIRST event. Of course, actually having a regional in one's own area with local teams that you know helps, but still...I think a few of us were worried that the high number of rookies would mean quite a few matches with one or more dead robots, but we were all very pleasantly surprised when pretty much everyone worked, almost every match. It was really fun to have a mix of Canadian and American teams. The qualifications and finals were a lot of fun to watch, and hey - tying the year's best score (156) in one match and then beating it by a large margin a little while later (165) helps too. My impression, and that of my parents (who were volunteers and part of the organizing committee) was that most if not all rookie teams had a good experience, the sponsors were absolutely sold on the idea if they hadn't been so already, and there was a huge amount of interest from other engineers and schools - which, in the end, is really the main goal anyways.
And then winning the regional Chairman's Award just capped off a perfect weekend...I hope everyone comes back next year, and good luck to all going to Florida!
-Ian Mackenzie
Team 188
Woburn Robotics