[IKE]

Kettering threads have gotten a bit fragmented so I want to start a new thread for folks to post what they thought about the event. I would appreciate it if folks took the time to add both positives and negatives that way the "right things" get continued, and the "Wrong things" get addressed. I use the word addressed, because what 1 person sees as a wrong thing, many others may not.

First off congratulations to the winners: I believe it was 245, 70, 2619. What a great alliance. You fought some tough matches and had a lot of great competition.

Congrats to the finalists: 65, 2771 and 2586 (I think). This alliances really maximized there potential and showed what strategy and execution were all about.

Thank you to our partners. 548 and 862. It was a fun run to the semis.

Thanks 314 for all the support for the event. You guys did a fantastic job.

2771 thanks for the webcast, I know many enjoyed it.

The Event Itself:
Kettering was a great event. It was a ton of fun and really cool to see the close competition. Due to getting 12 events, the bots were all driving well on Saturday, and the competition was really close. 3 of the 4 QF events went to 3 matches, and almost every match was within a Super Cell (which were very much in play). What a great competition. I talked with some out of town teams that were at Midwest, and they were impressed by the strategy level and usage.
Some cool things about the event. Starting a new job, I did not have vacation time. Due to the FiM format, I was able to help get things set up thursday night, only missed 4 matches (of 12) and NO TIME OFF OF WORK. Normal regionals, I would have missed 2 days, and for this I would have only had to miss 1.

Kettering had an interesting feel to it. Very much an IRI feel. The set-up was a cross between an off season and a typical regional, but with all the teams there, the excitement level was way up.

One thing I did not like initially but actually liked later on was the above level track was for Scouts and Videographers only. While initially annoying having to show a badge, this made it a ton easier for the scouts to do their job. By the end I was really thankful for that.

Probably the biggest drawback was the lack of seating. They really needed at least 10-20% more seating (others will say more, but running the numbers 10% would have helped a bunch). I talked to the folks running it and they explained the limitations and plans to work around this next year.

The 7 people excepting awards was another thing I thought I wouldn't like, but ended up enjoying it. Results will likely be mixed on this.

One of the coolest things I saw was that at Kettering they brought all of the WFFA nominees down on the field. Usually there is a statement about so many great applications, and then a winner anounced. At Kettering every nominee who meant so much to their team got to come down and be recognized.

Last and certainly not least:
Oh and congrats to the students of TEAM 33 for winning Chairman's. It has been one heck of a ride.

Thanks to all of the volunteers and the folks at FIRST & FiM for making it possible. What a great event.