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Unread 30-03-2003, 02:42
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MikeDubreuil MikeDubreuil is offline
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FIRST becomes incompetent...

I was very excited going into alliance pickings Saturday. After Friday we were seeded 24th and after seeding rounds were over Saturday we worked our way down to 16th place. Our record was 6 wins and 3 losses; seeds 14 through 16 were tied with a 100 average quarter points and our highest match was a respectable 152. We were pumped and couldn’t wait for the alliance pickings; unfortunately for us our world was turned upside down by the end of the day.

At the Philadelphia regional it appeared as though the referees did not fully understand the rules of the game. Almost as if they did not read all the rules or FIRST failed to properly brief them before the game.

During match 25 we were tipped onto our back in our opponents’ zone. Our opponent team 816 was just feet away from us. They decided that they would finish the job and hit us to fully turn us onto our top. This was the first time we had ever flipped over. They had the opportunity to drive around us, but instead they preferred to not allow us to right ourselves and take us out of the match completely. This is a violation of GM 28, “Tip over another robot.” Team 816 never apologized for flipping us. On a more humorous note, 816 gave out flyers Saturday morning thanking us for our sportsmanship.

During match 50 our opponent team 87 competed in the whole match playing with the incorrect lens color on. This made the match very confusing for our operators and coach. Due to us winning the match, we did not take the matter up with FIRST. Their shenanigans continued in the finals when Team 87 played with the incorrect lens once again. Their opponents ended up winning the match and did not dispute the lens issue.

It was time for the alliance picking to start. In Manchester we were pulled from the 32nd to compete with the great alliance partners of teams 95 and 501. We were almost certain that we were going to the finals…

It was the first round and the 6th pick and team 204 picked 1218 the Cha Bots. Suddenly the video wall showed that we were the 8th seed. It was mathematically impossible for us to be the 8th seed; we went into the picking ranked 16th.

Unfortunately due to an error by FIRST either software or human we were erroneously placed on the video wall as a top seeded team.

During the course of picking two seeded teams picked two other seeded teams. Instead of immediately shifting a new 7th and 8th seed as it occurred, FIRST waited until the 6th seed selected to tell the crowd who the real 7th and 8th seed was.

Unfortunately our team remained on the video wall during the second round of alliance picking. Obviously, during the second round a seeded team can not pick another seeded team. Throughout the vast majority of this round it would have appeared to alliance captains that we were ineligible to be selected.

FIRST realized their error after the 6th seed of the second round selected. The announcer simply said, “Alliance captains please disregard the video wall, it’s not correct”. Unfortunately, our chance to play in the finals never came.

I was left dumbfounded- due to an error by FIRST our opportunity to compete in the finals was jeopardized. We knew that the finals couldn’t be changed now, we just wanted an apology. Several of my team mates and I talked to a very compassionate head pit administrator. He offered to talk with the two people from FIRST who were at the competition while they were on their lunch break.

Our team waited, the finals passed, and then the awards ceremony passed with no apology. FIRST never owned up to the error and we never received an apology, public or private.

The very same organization that taught me Gracious Professionalism also taught me that they don’t practice what they preach. All we wanted was an apology and we would have felt extremely better about the situation.

It was because of the finals issue and the fact that the FIRST field crew was unable to properly conduct the competition to a level that made it fair for all competitors that I call FIRST incompetent. With out serious intervention we will see more and more veteran teams drop into other competitions or stop mentoring high school students completely.

I can not speak for the team, but I can see that this competition seriously ate at team morale. We will have a lot of explaining to do to our sponsors as to just why we were not in the finals. When you explain to an executive that FIRST dropped the ball and most likely caused our issues he or she may not be thrilled at the idea of funding the team for an additional year. FIRST must consider this in their operation or face the unfortunate death of major corporate or university team sponsorship.
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