Seattle Washington Recap/Thanks

[Navid Shafa]

*Disclaimer: My opinions do not necessarily reflect the views held by Skunkworks Robotics Team 1983 and it is certainly not my intent to leave anyone out, offend or otherwise harm anyone in the process. Also, I have alumn friends and coworkers from many of the teams mentioned below and it was fun to share this regional experience with them

Seattle felt weird, a good weird, but undoubtedly different. It was strange not having 360, 488, 1318, 2046, 2557, etc... i.e. (a lot of teams who’ve been going to their home court from year to year.)

Washington continues to grow fast. We had and astounding 15(+?) rookie teams at the event and certainly a few who well, “Just get it”:

I’d like to recognize 4579 for not only being the highest rookie seed, but for seeding 5th overall. I watched this robot play and didn’t get a chance to see it in person until much later. I was shocked to hear that this was their first year and that nobody on their team had previous FRC experience. I’m ecstatic that they were wildcarded, because they will give teams in Saint Louis a run for their money!

4450 received Rookie All Star and I certainly hope we see them at champs. Our team was blown away talking with them and we hope that other teams will join us in supporting them on their way to Saint Louis in whatever capacity they can.

In the competitive arena we saw plenty of great teams and we were thankful that we got to play with and against some of the best. I would first like to say that the Robo-Eagles (4579), CPR (3663) and the Tater-botz (2930) made an amazing alliance and it was apparent throughout their eliminations matches. 4579 will make Washington and Rookies all around proud at champs, I have no doubt!

At the end of the season when 2522 released their robot video, I was impressed to say the least. 2522 was a totally revamped team this year. They had a great looking robot, nice new shirts, clean design and execution and much more. It makes complete sense to me that they received the Quality award.

Another team with beauty in execution as always was 1899. I’m perpetually envious of the clean wooden frames they build and the manner in which they approach a design challenge. I was disappointed to see that they didn’t have their climber functioning and I hope to see their 1023/1114 style climb ready for Spokane!

2910 won Gracious Professionalism this week on top of their EI at Ellensburg last week. I’m excited that they will be going to Champs and I admire this team’s passion for not only robotics, but for what they do at the events and in their community.

To our Canadian friends 4334, we were glad to have you and hope to see you again in the future. Ever since 1346 left us in 2010, we’ve been in need of a little more of the “Eh” class robots 4334 continued to improve the entire weekend. I have no doubt that their full-court shooter will be dialed in for the Western Canadian regional and that they will be a driving force next weekend! *Nice meeting you Joel!

3574 got their ticket to St. Louis in Oregon with their EI win. It didn’t stop there for them this season. This weekend they picked up a Judges award, a Safety award and added a name to the WFFA pool. Congratulations to Fred Leuke. His kids clearly look up to him not only physically , but metaphorically.

And of course I’d like to thank our alliance partners 948 and 492 for making the regional win possible. I have yet to see a better full court shooter than NRG globally and would be surprised if anyone else could match their accuracy. After some scary CG problems in Ellensburg, they knew what to do here in Seattle. They can shoot every disc available and had no need for their climber. They took this opportunity to replace it with some weight low on their chassis to make defense and stability improve. They went undefeated at this event and won every match they played be a large margin. We were glad to be able to add to their score and had a great time playing with them. When it comes to Titan, I’m shocked that they were still around for us to pick them. They may have ranked low, but apparently other alliances looked past their consistent autonomous and shooting capabilities. We knew this would make them a great partner, but what really made our win possible was their driving. They played interference for NRG with their dual CIM per side 6-wheel drive. They kept people off NRG and left them free to pound in the discs. What an amazing Elimination experience!

And lastly, I want to thank everyone who made Chairman’s possible. We are blessed to have some amazing students who truly go above and beyond. Students who “Inspiral” and understand what it means to give back. I am proud of all the kids who organized outreach events and all the parents and mentors who supported them along the way. It was an honor to work beside them over the past year and I was definitely left a mess as we walked onto the field.

Thanks again to all the teams, sponsors and volunteers for yet another successful FIRST event in Seattle, home of the robotics motto:
“World Domination”!

I am again looking forward to seeing old and new friends at our next regional. See you all at the Spokane regional next weekend!

[joelg236]

Originally Posted by Navid Shafa

Nice meeting you Joel!

You too! You guys deserved that win.

[fb39ca4]

It was an honor playing against you in qualifications. We'll see you in Spokane!

[Stephi Rae]

Well said, Navid. I'm more proud than ever to be a founding Skunk, and so happy to be finally be able to be back as a full time mentor with the team! It is clear to me that these students are as passionate and inspired as we were "back in the day".

Keep up the good work, kids!

I'd also like to mention the incredible work of all of the senior mentors on the team including but not limited to Coach Steele, Ken and Steve Burke. It is people like you that give us young mentors people to look up to and emulate as we find our stride in the FIRST mentoring scene and keep a great program like this running. Now that I have been a part of a few different teams it becomes more clear to me the unique challenges you face every day by leading such a large group of kids (I believe it is around 55 this year!). It is not the Skunkworks I knew with 7-15 students and a couple of mentors, but I couldn't be prouder of the team you have led us to be!

I love you all, Skunkfamily, and I know there are many others that feel the same. The sheer number of alumni and family of alumni that are at every competition is astounding.

[MrJohnston]

Navid,

Team 948 very much enjoyed playing with you guys yesterday afternoon - in every aspect, from casual conversations, to picking alliances, to planning strategy to playing the game. We could not have asked for better partners than you and 492. We very much look forward to seeing both of you in St. Louis.

I'd also like to recognize 2930. The Taters were a great group to play against and we certainly enjoyed playing with them in Ellensburg last weekend.

Matt

[Navid Shafa]

Originally Posted by joelg236

You too! You guys deserved that win.

Thanks Joel and I wish you luck at your next regional!

Originally Posted by fb39ca4

It was an honor playing against you in qualifications. We'll see you in Spokane!

I am looking forward to it. I didn't get to spend much time checking out other teams, but I want someone from 1899 to go over design in depth with me. Especially how you made the decisions you did about climbing. See you soon!

Originally Posted by Stephi Rae

Well said, Navid. I'm more proud than ever to be a founding Skunk, and so happy to be finally be able to be back as a full time mentor with the team! It is clear to me that these students are as passionate and inspired as we were "back in the day". ]

Thank you Steph, it's great to have you back <3

Originally Posted by MrJohnston

Navid,

Team 948 very much enjoyed playing with you guys yesterday afternoon - in every aspect, from casual conversations, to picking alliances, to planning strategy to playing the game. We could not have asked for better partners than you and 492. We very much look forward to seeing both of you in St. Louis.

The feelings are certainly mutual and I hope that as we both continue to improve over the years that our cross-team friendship will as well. Good luck in St. Louis!

[jhill0914]

On behalf of FRC team 2930, the "TaterBotz", I would like to extend our thanks to several teams. We are a small team with limited resources, so it was very exciting to be contributing to and competing against such powerful alliances in this year's elimination tournaments in Ellensburg and Seattle.

First, to our Ellensburg alliance partners, teams 1318 (IRS) and 948 (NRG). I was so impressed with the capabilities and professionalism of both of these teams, and the support they gave us throughout both regionals. Even though 1318 wasn't competing in Seattle, they had several team members there who made a point to stop by our pit and wish us well, and cheered us on in the tournament.

Next, to our Seattle alliance partners, teams 4579 (Robo Eagles) and 3663 (CPR). 4579, an amazing rookie team who somehow had it all together in their first year, and a worthy recipient of the wild card ticket to St. Louis. And CPR, a great group of students and mentors that consistently brings a high-quality robot to the competitions every year. I really enjoyed getting to know the people involved with all of these teams.

To team 1983 Skunkworks - thank you for consistently providing an example that teams such as ours can learn from and aspire to, in all aspects of FRC.

Finally, I would like to extend an extra thanks to NRG, team 948. What an amazing group of kids and mentors! It was so great to get to know some of the people behind your team, and to see you cheering us on through the Seattle regional. I'm so glad that you are heading to St. Louis - you guys deserve it!

Jeffrey Hill
FRC Team 2930
Mentor, programming and controls

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by Navid Shafa

[b][u][i][size="1"]

I’d like to recognize 4579 for not only being the highest rookie seed, but for seeding 5th overall. I watched this robot play and didn’t get a chance to see it in person until much later. I was shocked to hear that this was their first year and that nobody on their team had previous FRC experience. I’m ecstatic that they were wildcarded, because they will give teams in Saint Louis a run for their money!

4579 was, indeed awesome... but the story is actually better than you describe.

They did have one member with previous FRC experience. He was a Dean's List recipient at an East Coast regional last year. When he moved to Seattle he did exactly what you'd expect from a Dean's List recipient.

I don't know if people can be "renominated" for a championship Dean's List award, but if it can be done... it should be. No disrespect to the other awesome achivements that took place last weekend but that was the story I'll be remembering for a long time to come.

Here's another view of the finals action:

Final Match 1
Final Match 2

Jason

[Navid Shafa]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

that was the story I'll be remembering for a long time to come.

Wow, that really is amazing.

[darkgiant]

This is Rohit - Team 4579's Captain.

It was an honor to play with one of the best teams participating at the Seattle Regional, we really appreciate the great assistance every team provided! I have had previous experience with FRC, and so I knew it would be a challenge on my end to work a rookie team, but in the end it all worked out!

It was amazing to be a rookie team and go onto the field and select our two other alliances (CPR and TatorBotz), making a strong and great alliance. Furthermore, it was a true honor to play against SkunkWorks and NRG, they served as true role models for our Juniors, who exemplified exactly what FIRST is.

Team 4579 The RoboEagles wants to thank everyone, and hope we get to see you all at St Louis!

-Rohit

[Kara_Walker]

As a member of team 1318 I can say it was definitely strange not competing at Seattle this year. However it was a great opportunity to watch the competition, check out all the amazing robots, and wish luck to all our friends at the regional. We're really proud of 948, and 2930 our alliance members from Ellensburg, congratulations to both of you for doing so well. An additional congratulations to NRG, Skunkworks, and Titan Robotics for their regional win. Lastly, great job on Chairmans 1983, and Engineering Inspiration 948. Good luck to those teams also competing in Spokane this weekend, and to those going to St. Louis.

[varunv]

Thank you all for the fantastic regional. We have made many friends this year that we would definitely want to keep in contact with. off season and during the season. It would be great to take part in various activities over the year with you guys! Mr. Hill is there a way we could get your team contact? We would love to be able to meet and work with each other more!

[jhill0914]

Absolutely! Our team's contact is Jin Hayashi, and I'll send you his email address via PM.

[Joe Ross]

Does anyone have alliance selection results (in order) for Seattle?

[joelg236]

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

Does anyone have alliance selection results (in order) for Seattle?

1. 492 948 1983 (W)
2. 4089 1899 3684 (QF)
3. 4579 3663 2930 (F)
4. 1294 2907 2928 (SF)
5. 1258 4681 4542 (QF)
6. 3238 3219 2605 (QF)
7. 3826 2412 4512 (SF)
8. 4772 4077 3588 (QF)