Michigan State Championship

[Tom Line]

Originally Posted by eyu100

Wow, they are really good! Even better than 1718...

We're very very proud of 3539's performance. They were chosen for the eliminations, and made it to nationals based on points!

(For those who didn't know, very few teams are eligible for the nationals from Michigan based on their points: I believe it's something like 12).

Now they're desperately scrambling to put together the funding. Go BULLDOGS!

For a hint of how hard it is to get in from Michigan, 3539 won a district (Waterford), were the finalists at Troy, won 2 Rookie allstar awards.... and was the LAST robot to make it to nationals in Michigan based on points.

[IKE]

What a wonderful event. The actions was absolutely unbelieveable. This Link really says it all:
http://www2.usfirst.org/2011comp/eve.../rankings.html
With an average RS of 60.3 points!!!!!!! That means the average "losing" score was over 60 points before penalties.
I was in the TV truck a good deal of the weekend, and the footage should be amazing.
Thank you to all 64 teams for putting on a great show. It was truly a sight to behold.
Eliminations were as to be expected... Complete wild cards. 2 weeks ago I looked at the stats and saw that there would likely be 7 alliances capable of 100+ points. Then a couple more teams stepped up, and there were 8 alliances that really could have taken it yesterday. There were only 2 pairings that only went to 2. The QF were so exciting. 3/4 going to 3 matches. Semis were amazing as well. Then the finals really could have gone either way.

[Bjenks548]

Are videos posted anywhere of all the matches? Also thanks to 74 and again to 3098. Congrates to 33, 67, and 70 (just realized all 2 digit teams).

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Bjenks548

Are videos posted anywhere of all the matches?

http://www.youtube.com/user/FIRSTinMichigan

[Jim Zondag]

Originally Posted by IKE

Then the finals really could have gone either way.

Amazing event! That was the most competitive action I have ever seen in 15 years of FIRST. It was a real Championship. All 8 Alliances were stacked. Giant scores, major strategy, serious fun.

The HOT team lived up to their long standing reputation of being the best team in the world. Adam, Jim, it was great finally playing with you guys, after 12 years of playing against each other. You have a great team, great strategy, and a great robot. You are an inspiration to us.

More Martians were a steal. I could not believe that your team was still available at the 15th pick. Great job with the defense, tube delivery and minibot. You were the key to our victory. Excellent grace under pressure doing a Crio swap in 5 minutes in the Semifinals.

IKE is right, the finals could have gone either way. ONE POINT determined the winner. ONE POINT in 3 matches with totals over 200! Split second finishes on the minibots made the difference. Amazing.

Great Job by RUSH, Adambots, and Bedford Express! Your alliance was great and it was an honor to play against you. I hope at least one of you is in our division in St Louis.

I can't wait to see the ABC program next weekend.

[ChristopherSD]

Originally Posted by TEE

This competition was not good to us... just check our qualification match schedule. Oh, and we're only 1 team away from qualifying for nationals -__-

We knew it would be close, but not that close. Our matches were very difficult...

If a backup is needed, at least we're the first to be used.

Congrats to the winners!

[AMYO]

Wow what a great event... One big official mistake was elimination match 2-1 EngiNERDs clearly won this match but it looks like the refs or the score keepers got it wrong in the mini bot race. 245 did deploy a mini bot, but it finished 2nd!!! 1718 score there's first. The 30 points went Team Rush with 20 going to the EngiNERDs alliance. Finial score 101 - 98 The EngiNERDs alliance went on to win the next match. It should have been over. Competition VS GP you telling me after watching 3 days worth of mini bot racing that anyone would get this wrong? 1718 clearly had a faster mini bot they demonstrated it throughout the event. So sorry for the EngiNERDs alliance 1718 and 326 you guys got robbed. I did not check but I am sure this changed who is qualifying for nationals.

VID: http://www.youtube.com/user/FIRSTinM...33/LTnOYwfay34

Maybe I did not see this correctly it would be nice if we could get some GP out of teams 27 245 1023 lets hear from you guys.

[Wayne TenBrink]

I want to explain the TRUE reason that the NC Gears didn't repeat as MSC Champions. It wasn't our robot, our drivers, our strategy, our opponents, or our "other" alliance partner - nothing as rational as that. It was the NC Gears/Martians Curse! Since 2009, the NC Gears have been winners or finalists at every event we attended with a few "curious" exceptions:

- 2009 TC Disrict: No Martians - Finalist
- 2009 Lansing District: With 494 Martians - Semifinalist
- 2009 WM District: No Martians - Winner
- 2009 MSC: No Martians - Finalist
- 2009 Newton: No Martians - Finalist
- 2010 TC Distric: No Martians - Winner
- 2010 WM District: No Martians - Finalist
- 2010 MSC: No Martians - Winner
- 2010 Archimedes: With 70 More Martians - Quarterfinalist
- 2011 TC District: No Martians - Winner
- 2011 WM District: No Martians - Winner
- 2011 MSC: With 494 Martians - Quarterfinalist

Not only that, but 2 of the 3 qualification matches we lost at 2011 MSC were with or against Martians. Yikes!

Oh, well. The NC Gears, Martians, and More Martians all qualified for the Championship. I just hope that we wind up in different divisions!

As you may know, my younger brother Jay is a mentor for the Goodrich Martians (494) & More Martians (70). As kids, we always played well together. As adults, apparently we don't. Maybe our Mother needs to have a few words with us.

But seriously, MSC was a great event. In the five matches we played on Saturday, there was only one where the losers (us) scored less than 100 points! Congratulations to everyone who made it there. Thanks to 494 for selecting us and 3539 for joining our alliance. Congratulations to 33, 67, and 70 on a well deserved victory. Thanks to all who make this event possible!

[Don Wright]

Originally Posted by AMYO

Wow what a great event... One big official mistake was elimination match 2-1 EngiNERDs clearly won this match but it looks like the refs or the score keepers got it wrong in the mini bot race. 245 did deploy a mini bot, but it finished 2nd!!! 1718 score there's first. The 30 points went Team Rush with 20 going to the EngiNERDs alliance. Finial score 101 - 98 The EngiNERDs alliance went on to win the next match. It should have been over. Competition VS GP you telling me after watching 3 days worth of mini bot racing that anyone would get this wrong? 1718 clearly had a faster mini bot they demonstrated it throughout the event. So sorry for the EngiNERDs alliance 1718 and 326 you guys got robbed. I did not check but I am sure this changed who is qualifying for nationals.

VID: http://www.youtube.com/user/FIRSTinM...33/LTnOYwfay34

Maybe I did not see this correctly it would be nice if we could get some GP out of teams 27 245 1023 lets hear from you guys.

Actually, I believe I see 27 finishing first, and 1718 finishing second... It was a great and close match.

FYI...accusation and confrontational posts like this and then calling out the teams for GP to post their opinions won't get you very far on CD...

[dodar]

Ya, 1st = 27 2nd = 1718 3rd = 245

[HighLife]

Originally Posted by AMYO

Wow what a great event... One big official mistake was elimination match 2-1 EngiNERDs clearly won this match but it looks like the refs or the score keepers got it wrong in the mini bot race. 245 did deploy a mini bot, but it finished 2nd!!! 1718 score there's first. The 30 points went Team Rush with 20 going to the EngiNERDs alliance. Finial score 101 - 98 The EngiNERDs alliance went on to win the next match. It should have been over. Competition VS GP you telling me after watching 3 days worth of mini bot racing that anyone would get this wrong? 1718 clearly had a faster mini bot they demonstrated it throughout the event. So sorry for the EngiNERDs alliance 1718 and 326 you guys got robbed. I did not check but I am sure this changed who is qualifying for nationals.

VID: http://www.youtube.com/user/FIRSTinM...33/LTnOYwfay34

Maybe I did not see this correctly it would be nice if we could get some GP out of teams 27 245 1023 lets hear from you guys.

If I remember correctly, the ref at that tower ruled that we deployed too early and we did not get points for our minibot. We didn't think it was possible because we have a 10.3~5ish second timer in code, but when teams are deploying their minibots that close to 10 seconds, how can a ref really tell? That being said, I think there could be a points argument for both sides, but that's just competition.

[AMYO]

I think 27 tower was disabled that is why I edited my post. It would be GP for the teams to let CD folks and me who had to watch the hole thing on the web cast what went on.

Can't see but the lights show the tower is disabled

[dodar]

Even though 27's lights didnt trigger they did hit before 1718 and it was 245's pole that was disabled.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by HighLife

..., but when teams are deploying their minibots that close to 10 seconds, how can a ref really tell? That being said, I think there could be a points argument for both sides, but that's just competition.

I recall that match -- was sitting right behind 548, across the aisle from 2337, so I had a good view of the tower. I thought 245's deployment might have been a little early, but it was a close call.

Generally, I thought the MSC refs got nearly all of the close calls right. The endgame moves very quickly, making those calls very tough for the refs.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by AMYO

Wow what a great event... One big official mistake was elimination match 2-1 EngiNERDs clearly won this match but it looks like the refs or the score keepers got it wrong in the mini bot race. 245 did deploy a mini bot, but it finished 2nd!!! 1718 score there's first. The 30 points went Team Rush with 20 going to the EngiNERDs alliance. Finial score 101 - 98 The EngiNERDs alliance went on to win the next match. It should have been over. Competition VS GP you telling me after watching 3 days worth of mini bot racing that anyone would get this wrong? 1718 clearly had a faster mini bot they demonstrated it throughout the event. So sorry for the EngiNERDs alliance 1718 and 326 you guys got robbed. I did not check but I am sure this changed who is qualifying for nationals.

VID: http://www.youtube.com/user/FIRSTinM...33/LTnOYwfay34

Maybe I did not see this correctly it would be nice if we could get some GP out of teams 27 245 1023 lets hear from you guys.

27 Alumni here also a 2337 mentor, you heard from me ... not sure what this has to do with GP though. Oh wait, it is just another example of people using GP as a shield for them saying whatever they want and slandering other people/teams.

The call on the field stands there is no recourse, when a ref makes a call and stands by it there is nothing we can do after the fact. Evaluating why it happened and how we can avoid calls like that in the future may be of some value but calling out well respected teams sure isn't the way to do it.