[ATannahill]

The final alliances were

1-1345, 233, 2556
2-2757, 1649, 2797
3-179, 744, 1889 (finalists)
4-832, 1592, 2425
5-2383, 1523, 386
6-180, 1251, 1557
7-665, 2023, 21
8-1369 (79), 1902, 801 (winners)

This is an email I received from the coach today.

It was strange yet familiar for me as circumstances unfolded yesterday; yet in hindsight it made perfect sense. I was making one of my many walks to the car yesterday morning and as I went out the back of the Dome and down the loading dock I came upon a team doing what I thought was unloading for the event; a late arrival. What I learned instead was that the Middleton High School Team was packing up to leave. It seems they had arrived without their all important radio needed to link their robot with their controller. I asked that they hold up on leaving and return to the Dome as we would find them a radio and if that proved impossible, they could use our radio when we were not on the field.
Well, that convinced them to come back into the venue to compete and my idea worked; well sort of worked until we had matches back to back or with them in the same match. It was very hectic changing the radio and reprogramming it every time. We made several announcements for a radio and finally Team 180 graciously provided a spare that worked. The Middleton team competed the rest of the day as we moved toward the seeding for the alliance picks.
This is where Ken Gardner comes in; he pulls me aside and said "Coach, we have 8 alliances with 3 teams chosen for each alliance giving a total of 24 teams competing in the final elimination rounds; however, we have 25 teams here. Wouldn't it be a great idea if Team 79 graciously backed away from being chosen to be in the finals and to compete only as an alternate?" WOW!! what a great idea; I gathered this year's student officers and explained the scenario to them and asked for them to make the decision whether we should put ourselves in a position to compete or not. Without hesitation on their part they unanimously agreed to sit out the picking of alliance teams.
The team from Middleton was in and we were out and waiting. As the elimination round began and continued throughout the afternoon the Middleton Team started experiencing mechanical difficulties. Our crack team of Honeywell engineers and students jumped in and repaired the robot and back to the floor it went to compete once again. I am not certain but, I believe their robot failed twice before the Middleton Team graciously removed themselves from the semi-final round allowing space for Team 79 to step in. And as fate would have it TEAM 79 and their alliance partners went on to "win" the competition.
But, more important than winning is the lesson we learned yesterday; it is all about the choices we make every second of every day and the circumstances that present themselves to us. If I had not found Middleton outside loading their robot into their vehicle, they would have left, leaving the magic number of 24 teams to compete in the finals and none of us would have been the wiser. But they didn't leave; we were given the opportunity to make a difference and to learn a lesson. A lesson more important than winning; a lesson about life.
And that my friends is what we are here to provide our kids. I understand why circumstances like this are placed before us; it is a long story that one day may make a great book.
Thank you again.
Best regards,
Coach

J. Paul Wahnish