Congratulations to 1241, 1477, and 610- 2013 World Champions!

[Holtzman]

On behalf of Team 2056, I want to express our congratulations on the huge win. It's been something that we have been chasing for years, and I can only imagine how sweet it feels. All three of you played exceptionally well, and should be commended for a phenomenal performance. There was nothing magical about it, no fancy strategy. You simply outplayed the best in the world. Simply fantastic.

And to 1241, and 610, thank you for showing what FIRST in Canada is all about. I look forward to playing both with, and against our newly crowned 2013 FRC World Champions. It sure has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

[Mr. Rip]

This weekend was an amazing experience. It was a long season for Texas Torque with quite a few ups and downs. Even as it was happening, I do not think I really believed we were playing on Einstein.

Thank you to FRC Team 1241: Theory 6 for choosing us to be part of your alliance. Along with Team 610: The Coyotes, we formed a good alliance that got better and better as we played together. T came up with great game plans for each match and managed all three teams well as he watched the field. More than once you came up during a match to remind us that we needed to cycle, ground intake, or defend. When I got a chance to watch some of the YouTube videos of the matches, I kept seeing 610 driving to the back of the pyramid shooting or cycling back to the feed station. What a work horse.

It was an absolute privilege to play against so many great teams as we made our way through the Galileo and Einstein elimination rounds. We went three matches against nearly every alliance and if we replayed the matches the outcomes could have easily flipped. Allen pointed out we played 8 win or go home matches during our run.

I wish the scoring error in Einstein SF2-2 had never happened. I have dealt with similar situations in the past and felt really bad about the emotional swing the members of teams 303, 1640, and 3476 experienced.

I also want to thank Team 118: The Robonauts for sharing their practice field and expertise with us over the course of the season. I firmly believe we both benefited from practicing together and were pushed to be better. Texas Torque appreciates your support and friendship. One of the reasons I enjoy FIRST so much is the relationships we have developed with other teams. It is so much fun to play with or against our friends.

I also want to thank all our sponsors, especially Innovation First International and Halliburton. Getting to Einstein and winning the World Championship is a direct result of all your assistance. Halliburton has sponsored 1477 since its inception in 2004 and IFI joined us this past year.

Mr. Rip

[Tristan Lall]

Great work all around.

Also, the Canadian teams have just been featured in the Toronto Star.

[Racer26]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

Great work all around.

Also, the Canadian teams have just been featured in the Toronto Star.

What a horribly written article. So many errors, plus its riddled with sentiments unbecoming of FIRST.

[Grim Tuesday]

Originally Posted by Racer26

What a horribly written article. So many errors, plus its riddled with sentiments unbecoming of FIRST.

I hate how so many newspapers (and the general public) think that FIRST is akin to battlebots. We have spent quite a few years telling our local newspaper what FIRST really is. You have to just hammer it into them every time they write an article what FIRST is really about.

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Racer26

What a horribly written article. So many errors, plus its riddled with sentiments unbecoming of FIRST.

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

I hate how so many newspapers (and the general public) think that FIRST is akin to battlebots. We have spent quite a few years telling our local newspaper what FIRST really is. You have to just hammer it into them every time they write an article what FIRST is really about.

It would be worth writing them a letter. The Star has a reasonably simple process for submitting letters to the editor. I expect that the journalist covering the story would also be notified of related correspondence.

Keep the letter relatively short—two paragraphs is good. The format doesn't require proof of every assertion, merely a reasoned opinion or two.

[Abhishek R]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

I hate how so many newspapers (and the general public) think that FIRST is akin to battlebots. We have spent quite a few years telling our local newspaper what FIRST really is. You have to just hammer it into them every time they write an article what FIRST is really about.

That is the most ridiculous thing I find from the community outside of FIRST, they all think robotics is either Battlebots or something that is easy and boring.

[Mr. Lim]

... or we could write letters to the newspaper asking them to give us more coverage on robotics, regardless of whether it's 100% accurate or not.

Convince them it's the next "up and coming" sport and that they need to be scooping it over the other media outlets.

Pat this guy on the back, and get him to come back for more.

Truthfully, I don't think robotics out of the "any media coverage is good media coverage" phase yet.

Our focus needs to be to "Make it Loud" first, then worry about the accuracy of whether G18 / G30 interaction rules were properly conveyed in the article.

These writers are covering a brand new sport they've never seen before. We sat down with them for 20 minutes to try and deliver as many salient and media worthy points to cover. It was a lot harder than you all think.

I told him that robotics is a "full contact sport," and his eyes perked up. I mentioned that robots do smash into each other at up to 20fps, and can cause some serious damage. This was not a lie. I didn't go into the specifics of protected zones, entanglement, frame perimeters and bumper rules. I didn't want him to write about them, because quite frankly a) the mainstream wouldn't much care, and b) I barely understand them myself!

Although not the focus of the competition, hard robot hits are a very salient, and exciting (i.e. marketable/LOUD) aspect of what we do. They make a good hook that leads into the discussion about "being so much more than BattleBots."

We need more "Cool article, tell us more about these robots, who built them, what are they supposed to do, how does the competition work, what's the story behind the students? I want to know more" comments to the author.

Not more "That article sucked, therefore you suck" type comments. I doubt that will get us far in terms of increasing media exposure.

In fact, the latter thinking just might be the reason why robotics isn't nearly as "loud" in the mainstream media as it needs to be. By nature, we FIRST folks are terribly picky, and detail oriented in nature. Everything needs to be PERFECT, including this article.

However, I ask that we all tread carefully, and please remember what is in the best interests of "Making Robotics Loud!"

Treat this as a great, but imperfect first step... much like our students do every day in our robotics labs. Do not shut him down, but instead demand more...

[hobbins]

Originally Posted by Holtzman

On behalf of Team 2056, I want to express our congratulations on the huge win. It's been something that we have been chasing for years, and I can only imagine how sweet it feels. All three of you played exceptionally well, and should be commended for a phenomenal performance. There was nothing magical about it, no fancy strategy. You simply outplayed the best in the world. Simply fantastic.

And to 1241, and 610, thank you for showing what FIRST in Canada is all about. I look forward to playing both with, and against our newly crowned 2013 FRC World Champions. It sure has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Thanks Tyler
It was magical, and everything one could imagine - but, how surreal it was too. It really didn't hit until later that night! We at 1241 feel especially grateful to have had the pleasure to work along side great teams like 2056, 1114 and many others. Your drive for success, and pure excellence in machine design and function, is to some degree responsible for our good work. I put out a call to all teams, all Canadians to strive to push your limits, and raise the bar so that you too will experience success at this level. See everyone in 2014 or sooner (IFI?)