Quote:
Originally Posted by 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
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I was wondering if anyone else saw this the same way I did. While coming around the curtain with Team 1712 to play in the next quarter-final match, I was all ready to pause and congratulate Paul and 217 on a great run, when I saw no one anywhere near the 217 robot. So I glance up and I see Paul standing at the 1595 machine holding a gas spring. The one he had was obviously different from the damaged 1595 part, but there he was TALKING to the parts, trying to will them into compatibility. It was in that moment I realized Paul didn't need to hear from me at all, he was obviously already hearing from several voices in his own head
and he was too busy being who he was - the kind of person we should all aspire to be. All I could do was stand there chuckling to myself at this wonderfully bizarre scene. I nearly forgot my own team was ready to play match three of the quarter-finals.
I have to say that spending Saturday time with Paul and Ken (who shared wisdom with me all weekend) on the field is one of my fondest memories in all of my FIRST experiences. Thanks for setting the example for the rest of us.