2012 - Livonia District

[BX MARK]

Coming into this week, Livonia was largely considered the “weaker” district going on in Michigan this week. Yet the competition was still, nonetheless, outstanding. MSC is going to be nothing less than amazing as always!

[Joe J.]

862 had a BLAST at the Livonia District! This was an incredibly well run event.

Team 1025: thank you very much for selecting us and giving us a chance to compete in the eliminations. You guys played some amazing defense in the eliminations and were a great partner to balance with.

Team 123: You guys have a great robot and an excellent feel for the strategy of this game. Your last second balance with IMPI in the quarters while we were caught in a pushing match with 247 was a brilliant play.

Congratulations to 3322, 1023, and 2620 those were a great set of finals matches. You were a very intimidating alliance to face in the finals. You were a class act lending IMPI a fuse before the last finals match!

Congratulations to 2137 winning Chairman's Award keep up the great work!

Thank you to all the volunteers for helping making this event run so smoothly.

[Aiyash]

Originally Posted by Joe J.

Team 123: You guys have a great robot and an excellent feel for the strategy of this game. Your last second balance with IMPI in the quarters while we were caught in a pushing match with 247 was a brilliant play.

Thank you! Our students and mentors worked extremely hard and we're very proud of our robot. We always try to make the best of our strategies, and we're glad we had an alliance like we did.

See you at States. You have an awesome fender bot!

[VexisDarksteele]

From all of us Flying Toasters, I would like to thank all of the teams at Livonia for making this one awesome event!

Team 2832 — thanks for hosting FIRST again this year. We attended your event last year and enjoyed it so much that we wanted to come back for this year. Everyone on your team and at your school are so friendly and helpful.

Team 862 — I don't think we can thank you guys enough. Your students were incredibly helpful with coaching us in our first ever attempt at Chairman's, and we wouldn't have gotten nearly as far without them. I'm glad that your team is going onto State, because you guys truly deserve it. I've never met another team where everyone is so friendly that it feels like I'm actually a member of it. Also, thank you for your help in scouting, and I hope that our members were good contributors to it. By the way, I love your mascot; Rye, our motorized toaster, proudly wore her two Gigawatts instead of toast on Saturday. Good luck, and I hope we can join you at State next year!

Teams 3322, 1023, and 2620 — You guys made a phenomenal alliance, and I admire the craftsmanship of each of your robots. Congrats, and good luck! (3322, I love how your team was cheering "Carpe Diem" in the stands the whole time. That's an awesome addition to your overall theme. )

[Debbie]

Originally Posted by VexisDarksteele

From all of us Flying Toasters, I would like to thank all of the teams at Livonia for making this one awesome event!

Teams 3322, 1023, and 2620 — You guys made a phenomenal alliance, and I admire the craftsmanship of each of your robots. Congrats, and good luck! (3322, I love how your team was cheering "Carpe Diem" in the stands the whole time. That's an awesome addition to your overall theme. )

Thank you! Your robot was definitely a threat to us! Definitely a great machine! I'm surprised to see you outside the state list, but you are very close! I think you have a lot to be proud of! Your robot is very creative! Your performance was very good! keep up the hard work!

[VexisDarksteele]

Originally Posted by Debbie

Thank you! Your robot was definitely a threat to us! Definitely a great machine! I'm surprised to see you outside the state list, but you are very close! I think you have a lot to be proud of! Your robot is very creative! Your performance was very good! keep up the hard work!

Thanks!
I think the one of the biggest things our team is proud of was the fact that the robot actually wasn't overweight this year, LOL. That was a real shocker last year — 32 pounds too heavy! I swear, the toast diet is what's making these 'bots gain so much... Good thing Patriot has been in bootcamp!

We're definitely looking forward to next year, and hopefully we'll make it next time. We plan to do a lot student training during this off-season and over summer, alongside a bunch of the local teams who reached out to us after Livonia. See you then!

[tr6scott]

TORC 2137 thanks all of the Livonia teams for a great weekend. The season has been especially tough one for us. We graduated 9 seniors last year, and only had 5 students carry over from last year. We lost some of the best mentors in Michigan from the team too. Despite all that, we doubled the team size from 14 to 28. We had huge success fundraising, with support from the school and Kettering with a new robotics lab at school. The team was instrumental in developing BOM on equipment and layouts for the lab. We were honored to receive the NASA grant for established teams that had lost sponsorship. We are ecstatic that though the school, our students can earn college credits while attended class in our lab.

This funding and sponsorship support, along with the team size increases allowed us actually work on other aspects of FIRST, besides building a robot. Last year was the first time TORC submitted animation video. This year was the first time we built a pit, and did Chairman's. We probably would have not done Chairman's if it was not for the judges urging us to do it last year, and the NASA grant required it, and for both, we are very thankful. We have never had the resources; manpower or money to complete the Chairman's requirements *and* build a bot in previous years, this year we did. This was the first year that the team actually completed all machining, and welding on the bot, in our school.

I especially like to thank Bedford for letting us play on their field, and work on the robot bridge balancing last weekend during their unlock. It was a *awesome* experience, like the kids say. I'll personally thank Debbie for sharing some of her insights with me on being a better mentor and helping me though some of the growing pains of this year. BX is the best.

RUSH, always sets the bar so high, and in every way. Although we have not interacted much as teams, you are always the (blue &) gold standard that we are all judged. It was an honor to be selected, and a learning experience on strategy, I will not forget.

3322 - What can you say, you were deadly at Kettering, and have not lost a step since.

So, So many great teams, and designs, I'm not a scout, so don't be a hater, if I miss some, I'm a programming mentor...

Lightning, always a great team.
Speed always high spirit.
Red Tails, way to go with a simple working design. Great engineering.
862 very effective from the fender...

[Debbie]

Originally Posted by VexisDarksteele

Thanks!
I think the one of the biggest things our team is proud of was the fact that the robot actually wasn't overweight this year, LOL.

HAHA I think every team has one of those moments. Ours was 2010, when we got to competition with an illegal motor. None of us had noticed it came off the KoP list that year. We spent most of the first day trying to refine a different motor on that position... We definitely learned a lot that year!

You all have so much more to be proud of than the weight. Your bot was unique and very fun to watch. You were very high scoring, and I am really shocked you won't' be at states. We had our eye on your bot coming into this.

Keep learning, and keep up the great work! If there is ever anything we can do, just let us know!

Originally Posted by tr6scott

I especially like to thank Bedford for letting us play on their field, and work on the robot bridge balancing last weekend during their unlock. It was a *awesome* experience, like the kids say. I'll personally thank Debbie for sharing some of her insights with me on being a better mentor and helping me though some of the growing pains of this year. BX is the best.

TORC has been a favorite of ours since we won with you at Livonia last year! Having you come down during unlock was a lot of fun, and a very good learning experience. Working with you on the triple balance was very helpful and we were definitely worried about you pulling that off in eliminations! i think our bots compliment each other very well. After we finish the season, you all should come down again! Growing pains are a part of growth. (intelligent I know) HaHa .. We all go through them, and you just do the best you can and you know your team will continue and you will grow stronger! Are you all going to MARC? Looking forward to seeing you at states! Good luck with Chairman's! Let us know if we can help in anyway!

[Not2B]

Being down on the field during the 3 finals matches and the time outs, you couldn't tell who was on what alliance. And that's because both alliances were talking, helping each other out, and all part of one big family. Blue called a time out to help red - red loaned parts out to blue... it was the best show of GP I've even seen.

And that's just one example - the teams at Livonia were all so friendly and so helpful across the board - may be one of the friendliest events I've ever been too.

[Debbie]

Originally Posted by Not2B

Being down on the field during the 3 finals matches and the time outs, you couldn't tell who was on what alliance. And that's because both alliances were talking, helping each other out, and all part of one big family. Blue called a time out to help red - red loaned parts out to blue... it was the best show of GP I've even seen.

And that's just one example - the teams at Livonia were all so friendly and so helpful across the board - may be one of the friendliest events I've ever been too.

Yes, the GP during the finals match was a great example of what FIRST is all about! It continued though, beyond the match. Our awesome alliance captains, 3322, let the blue alliance help cut their net, and even gave the net to them to thank them for the time out! How awesome is that?? Then, my drive team saw this and decided to give our net to team 3322 since we had one from Detroit. When my drive coach first told me he gave our net away, I was a bit confused --- until he told me why he gave it away, and then I was so proud! Thanks to all of the remarkable teams in FIRST for all they do to keep this principle strong!

[JABot67]

Originally Posted by Debbie

Yes, the GP during the finals match was a great example of what FIRST is all about! It continued though, beyond the match. Our awesome alliance captains, 3322, let the blue alliance help cut their net, and even gave the net to them to thank them for the time out! How awesome is that?? Then, my drive team saw this and decided to give our net to team 3322 since we had one from Detroit. When my drive coach first told me he gave our net away, I was a bit confused --- until he told me why he gave it away, and then I was so proud! Thanks to all of the remarkable teams in FIRST for all they do to keep this principle strong!

Wow, I didn't even know that happened; that's really cool!

Did anyone take video of the matches at Livonia? It's kind of sad that all of the focus in Michigan was on Troy this past weekend and most people want to see video of those matches rather than the very exciting eliminations matches at Livonia. But I want to see those matches!

[Debbie]

Originally Posted by JABot67

Wow, I didn't even know that happened; that's really cool!

Did anyone take video of the matches at Livonia? It's kind of sad that all of the focus in Michigan was on Troy this past weekend and most people want to see video of those matches rather than the very exciting eliminations matches at Livonia. But I want to see those matches!

I believe we have them, and I will let you know a link if I can get them uploaded. Would be neat if they streaming could be saved!

[Joe J.]

From one of our mentors just 862's matches but its a start

Originally Posted by mikesaunders

Elimination Videos
--------------------
Quarter Final 3-1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGy6Gwmxrx4
Quarter Final 3-2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEZOi0mUqJM
Quarter Final 3-3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIys8TurXvQ
Semi Final 2-1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvMbtW-TWBc
Semi Final 2-2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SDe_ZYJ7jQ
Final 1-1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejai90IFY1w
Final 1-2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VJTZTS63ig
Final 1-3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejai90IFY1w

[Debbie]

Originally Posted by Joe J.

From one of our mentors just 862's matches but its a start

Thanks for sharing!