2013 Greater Toronto East Regional

[Yipyapper]

On behalf of Team 781, I'd like to thank everyone for your sincere congratulations on our Chairman's Award win. The members of our team that worked on presenting the award worked so hard to get there all season long, and it's quite a feeling to see them (and the rest of the team, of course) become this happy. In place of the nervousness they felt when they were doing it along with the admirable Team 1241--Theory 6--was replaced with tears of joy. This was worth more than our upset last year at Queen City, more than our regional win in Toronto two years ago and even more than our World Finals finish that same year (don't take that as a team opinion, although I'm sure it's echoed by at least most of them).

A huge congratulations to 1114 and 2056 for their 20th and god-knows-how-many regional wins for them, respectively. Both of you are nothing short of amazing to see year after year, what with your stunning robots and inspiration to every FIRST team. 1114 is a Hall of Fame team for extremely good reason, and it wouldn't be surprising if I see another 4-digit team from Stoney Creek join them.

Thanks for another fun regional, and Team 781 will see you in Waterloo (if you'll be there)!

EDIT: And an enormous thank you to the group who made this regional possible, the volunteers. I'm not sure if Karthik was the chair this year like last year, but whatever he did do, he's obviously included in this thanks. Can't wait to see you MC at Waterloo! (James wasn't too bad either!)

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Yipyapper

EDIT: And an enormous thank you to the group who made this regional possible, the volunteers. I'm not sure if Karthik was the chair this year like last year, but whatever he did do, he's obviously included in this thanks. Can't wait to see you MC at Waterloo! (James wasn't too bad either!)

Thanks, Aaron. Yes I was the Regional Chair once again. The regional was an amazing success, made possible by some of the most dedicated and experienced volunteers in FIRST. These people really are the heart of FIRST in Canada; I'm regularly humbled by working along side them.

It was amazing seeing Team 781 win their first Chairman's Award in their team history. For the past 12 seasons, they've been growing and fostering FIRST in their community and beyond. They've gone unrecognized in the past, which must make yesterday's victory seem even more sweet. The reactions of their team once they realized they had won were priceless.

Finally, a special congratulations to James Cerar, the 2013 GTR East Volunteer of the Year. Anyone crazy enough to be a Lead Robot Inspector, Head Referee and FTA in the same season, doing each role in a different province, deserves an award of this stature.