Silicon Valley Regional 2014

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by P.J.

Quoted for truth. I cant believe they threatened to not let a HALL OF FAME TEAM go to the championship event for doing the exact action you would expect from a HoF team. And kudos to the other teams involved as well for their displays of gracious professionalism.

Although I dont personally know anyone from 1323, I'm sorry that this could happen to anyone.

For what it's worth, that part is hearsay at this time. I haven't seen anyone from those teams come on and confirm it.

Not that I ever would be, but if I was 254 I would probably call their bluff. Kick an HOF team out of champs that won every event this year and expect it to go over well. Not likely. They'd still be at World Champs that weekend, just a different one.

[ThunderousPrime]

Originally Posted by AlecMataloni

Better yet, they should extend a free invitation to St. Louis to them as well.

I thought that this might be a good way to reconcile for the unfortunate and disappointing circumstances. It wouldn't be that hard to extend just one "wildcard" invitation to a deserving team; 2135 and 846 are both already qualified by their Central Valley and Buckeye wins respectively.

I send my regards to 1323 for such an unfortunate situation.

Props to the other alliances for trying to overturn the call. The idea that their champ spots were at risk is outrageous.

I hope that this situation can be resolved in some positive way.

[DampRobot]

I'm almost reluctant to bring this up... But the #6 alliance (1280, 604, 100) called a backup bot before Semis 2 Match 2, in which we subbed our alliance captain, 1280, for a backup bot (the Insomniacs, 2489). Could this have somehow confused the people at the scoring table? Might they have thought the captain of the blue alliance in semis 1 was trying to sub themselves out instead of in semis 2, especially with the card mixup?

[Jared Russell]

Like I said in my previous post, this was a very confusing situation for all involved. It is important to separate facts from conjecture.

While several people have reported that our team (and others) were threatened for protesting the decision, I want to make it clear that Team 254 did NOT experience anything of the sort. We are confident that no representative of FIRST would ever say something like this.

Every other detail in this thread was observed firsthand by those involved, but to reiterate, Team 254 was never threatened by anyone. I would guess that a volunteer or competitor speculated that this was the case and unfortunately that rumor grew legs.

[P.J.]

Originally Posted by Jared Russell

While several people have reported that our team (and others) were threatened for protesting the decision, I want to make it clear that Team 254 did NOT experience anything of the sort. We are confident that no representative of FIRST would ever say something like this.

Every other detail in this thread was observed firsthand by those involved, but to reiterate, Team 254 was never threatened by anyone. I would guess that a volunteer or competitor speculated that this was the case and unfortunately that rumor grew legs.

My apologies, I did not mean to contribute to spreading rumors. I've added an anecdote to my initial post as well.

[the.miler]

I'd just like to say thank you to 1323 for giving us the opportunity to be part of your alliance. It was an incredible experience working with you guys, RC and the 1323 crew are a class act on and off the field. We love you guys, loved working with you, and just know that you guys are truly the best team in FRC. What an incredible first three elimination matches, taking it so close to the 1st alliance during SF1-1 was amazing.

I was there when 1323 was pulled from their final match, and the way they walked off the field with class and dignity was proof that they did not deserve what was happening to them, proof of exactly what an amazing, incredible team they are. Words cannot express how much respect these guys deserve for how they handled this situation.

1323 has already elaborated on the circumstances; I'll simply say that from Team 846's standpoint that's exactly what transpired.

We came back from what should have been 1323's second semifinal match to see a great, inspirational team in tears, and that was just way too much for me. What an injustice and a profoundly uninspiring moment. 1323 wasn't the only team crying by the end of this.

Thank you to 2135 for playing so well for our alliance. You guys were great on the inbound, a key part of what made our alliance so strong, and we look forward to seeing you again at Championships.

Thank you to 670 for doing an admirable job subbing in during that final match. Only wish that we played together under better circumstances. You guys are great.

And of course, thank you to everyone who supported our alliance during this ordeal. A mentor from 254 (don't know his name) was clapping while our alliance was taking a group picture after the semifinals, and I cannot even begin to express how much that meant to everyone standing there. Bringing Madtown's banner up, just everything about how people reached out . . . those things were the only good about what happened.

[Eugene Fang]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

I'm almost reluctant to bring this up... But the #6 alliance (1280, 604, 100) called a backup bot before Semis 2 Match 2, in which we subbed our alliance captain, 1280, for a backup bot (the Insomniacs, 2489). Could this have somehow confused the people at the scoring table? Might they have thought the captain of the blue alliance in semis 1 was trying to sub themselves out instead of in semis 2, especially with the card mixup?

I highly doubt it. We only requested the backup bot after the match that 1323 was not allowed to compete in had finished.

As a part time mentor of 1323, I too am deeply saddened by the events that unfolded. All I can hope for is a better explanation from FIRST for why these decisions were made.

[AlecS]

Originally Posted by Jared Russell

Like I said in my previous post, this was a very confusing situation for all involved. It is important to separate facts from conjecture.

While several people have reported that our team (and others) were threatened for protesting the decision, I want to make it clear that Team 254 did NOT experience anything of the sort. We are confident that no representative of FIRST would ever say something like this.

Every other detail in this thread was observed firsthand by those involved, but to reiterate, Team 254 was never threatened by anyone. I would guess that a volunteer or competitor speculated that this was the case and unfortunately that rumor grew legs.

My apologies for perpetuating this rumor, it was told to me by several long time friends and key volunteers at the event, who I assumed would not have mentioned anything if they were not absolutely sure of the situation. The fact that this is incorrect demonstrates the immense confusion that surrounded the volunteer and competitor base after the event.

[RohitD]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

I'm almost reluctant to bring this up... But the #6 alliance (1280, 604, 100) called a backup bot before Semis 2 Match 2, in which we subbed our alliance captain, 1280, for a backup bot (the Insomniacs, 2489). Could this have somehow confused the people at the scoring table? Might they have thought the captain of the blue alliance in semis 1 was trying to sub themselves out instead of in semis 2, especially with the card mixup?

If I remember right, there was a lot of confusion about whether we would actually go in, and we didn't know for certain until after 670 went in. It was a very confusing 10 minutes, but I think that 670 was already in by the time we were confirmed as playing.

[Steven A]

I'd like to congratulate the alliance (1323, 846 and 2135) for all their achievements up to SVR and your spectacular performance in the first semifinal match.

Team 1323, your performance at CVR was something that our team looks up to and the way you (and your alliance) played during the first semifinal match was nothing short of amazing.

Team 846 and 2135, I cant thank you enough for accommodating for our abrupt entry.

From our perspective, we were quite confused about which alliance we were supposed to sub.

We should NOT have rushed into the situation as we did and instead should have learned more about the situation before making a decision.

For everyone who tried to make things right for Team 1323, thank you for doing so.

[Citrus Dad]

Originally Posted by Jared Russell

What really, really, really grinds my gears is the total hypocrisy of the situation. We have video of missed assists in many of our matches. Non-calls and phantom calls that make absolutely no sense when watching the replay. Bizarre field faults involving hot goals, pedestals, and even transitioning the whole field into teleop 1.5 seconds after the start of autonomous (!). In these situations, we could do nothing but pound sand or get a replay (in the case of the latter issue). Why the double standard when a high school student makes an honest mistake?

So I ask the larger question: Why has FIRST relied on a what is clearly a faulty technology to light the pedestal (among other technology problems) when a simple button on the refs stand would do (if even that), but hasn't implemented a very simple spreadsheet system to track when playoff teams use their timeout instead of requiring them to carry around a small sheet of paper than can be easily lost and easily confused with the backup ticket? Clearly the priorities for game and system design are misplaced at the moment.

If someone is going to tell me this is the "real world" I've got news for them--they don't live in the real world. I have almost 30 years of experience working in the regulatory and policy world. I often see empathetic rulings to accommodate mistakes that can have much more serious consequences for all of the parties concerned. FIRST needs to change its policies to reflect the "real world."

[alectronic]

Originally Posted by Citrus Dad

...hasn't implemented a very simple spreadsheet system to track when playoff teams use their timeout instead of requiring them to carry around a small sheet of paper than can be easily lost and easily confused with the backup ticket? Clearly the priorities for game and system design are misplaced at the moment.

I don't know, but my guess would be there would be too much confusion over if someone "actually" called a "verbal" timeout or backup. When they have to turn something in, they are making a clear decision that is much easier to understand than if a student runs up in a moment of panic and asks for a timeout, someone grants it, then they change their mind, etc. Having something physical probably reduces those types of possible confusions. Additionally, those papers are given to the alliance captain. Which means, whoever used them, was "authorized" by the alliance captain (they had to get them from somewhere!). If any old person ran up and asked for a timeout or backup, who knows what alliance they are really on? (Shirts, etc, are not guarantees) This makes it very clear who they are and what they want, and they are committing to it.

[StevenB]

Originally Posted by R.C.

We ripped the timout card in half and gave it to our student who ran over to call a timeout. Thinking double timeouts, use one. Nothing else on our robot was broken except one darn encoder connector.

Just to clarify - the timeout/backup cards were on one piece of paper and you ripped them apart, thinking they were both timeout cards?

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by StevenB

Just to clarify - the timeout/backup cards were on one piece of paper and you ripped them apart, thinking they were both timeout cards?

Pretty much, we thought they were both timeouts. The kid didn't know any better.

We wanted to get the timeout ASAP. We've had it where the ref wouldn't grant us one unless it was done ASAP.

The kid on the field that was there during alliance selections was the same one fixing the encoder problem. So we had another kid take up the card. Honest mistake.

I don't feel the correct call was made, especially since the opposite alliance had no issue with it. No one is perfect and this game has been far from it...

[TKM.368]

Originally Posted by hionwind

Thank you so much to our partners 368 and 4171 for helping us keep things interesting in the finals. 368's swerve drive was a thing of beauty and your ability to shoot into the high goal on the fly was amazing. This is the second time that 4171 has joined our alliance (you guys helped us win Cal Games last year) and, once again, you did an excellent job by starting the all-important 30-point assist cycle.

Mahalo to the Citrus Circuits 1678 for looking past our uninspiring 6-5-0 record at SVR and making us your first pick. Your leadership and tenacity made for great gameplay. With an excellent partner in 4171, we certainly had the potential to go all the way. Congratulations to 971, 254, and 1662 for taking gold. Your alliance was certainly a behemoth that we couldn't overcome. Congratulations also to all the award winners whose work was recognized by the judges.

It was great returning to SVR after a seven year hiatus. Mahalo to all of the people who stopped by our pit to come see the 368 Poor Man's Swerve. We've never had quite so many visitors to our pit before.

Looing forward to seeing some of you in St. Louis (including 4171 via wildcard - yay!).

Aloha!