Quote:
Originally Posted by EricH
I'm with Ed. If you want to see really tough matches, IRI is the place to be. Think the MI championship with teams from outside MI, and a few more teams.
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I'm not sure IRI could even top what we saw this past weekend in Ypsilanti. For the first time in my 12 year FIRST careers, I saw an event where every single robot was competent and capable of playing this game at a high level. There are many pros and cons to the Michigan district model, but if the end goal was to produce a high level, ready for TV robotics competition, then it definitely succeeded. I loved the intensity that was produced by this qualification only based on robot merit setup. All 64 teams had earned their way into this field, and they were mostly all playing for a berth in Atlanta. This event was a true "Championship", and I can only hope that the FIRST World Championship moves in this direction in the future.
Also adding to the competitive level was that every single team was attending their 3rd event of the season. The amount of "reps" that these teams had gotten in was evident. I agree completely with Chris Hibner, in terms of competitive level this was the best FIRST event in history. (Topping events such as Nationals 1998, GLR 1999 & IRI 2007)
I'd like to personally thank Paul for inviting me down and letting me be an honorary Thunderchicken for the weekend. This team is the total package both on and off the field. In my mind, they are definitely one of the favourites to bring home the Chairman's Award in Atlanta.
It was blast being a tiny part of one of the finest alliances I've ever seen, with teams 217, 67 and 65. The group of strategists that was present was awe inspiring. Seeing the interaction between this group of seasoned FIRST veterans was truly amazing. I only wish a documentary could be made featuring some of the pre-match discussions that took place. There's so much that could be learned about FIRST strategy from each person who was involved.
It was a great weekend, thanks to everyone who was a part of it.