[dlavery]

OK, here is where I get to tell a quick story that illustrates why these guys are WFAs.

On Saturday afternoon at the Championships on the Galileo field, the Red Alliance of 45, 217 and 2272 was up against the Blue Alliance of 93, 116, and 1595. It was the third match of Quarter-finals #4, both alliances had one win, and whoever won this match would go on to the Division Semi-finals.

After a very hard-fought match, the final score was Red 22, Blue 80. The Blue Alliance moves on, and the Red Alliance is out of the competition. But during the course of the match one of the gas springs supporting the arm of Team 1595's robot had been damaged, and it was not clear if the arm could be made operable again.

I walked back off the edge of the field and around the curtain to see what the Blue Alliance was going to do to get their Alliance Captain back into the game. I fully expected to see the three teams crowded around the robot, working feverishly to fix the problem. And that is exactly what I saw – except there, right in the middle of that crowd, were Paul Copioli and several other members of Team 217. Not thirty seconds after being knocked out of the competition, Paul was there helping the team that had just beat him get back on the field. And in possibly one of the funniest moments of the whole weekend, he was fuming and getting all angry – not at his opponent, but at himself for not having exactly the right part that he needed to fix the opposing machine!

It was, without a doubt, one of the best displays of good sportsmanship and inter-team support that I have seen. When people ask "what are the attributes of the really exceptional mentors?" this little event is exactly the sort of thing I think of. The grace, poise, and behavior exhibited by Paul, his team, and the rest of the WFAs set a standard that the rest of us strive to emulate.

-dave (Salmon) lavery