Tough PNW Champs

[Racer26]

I do wonder though, how much of this phenomenon is PNW being good, versus the District model giving teams more playtime to iron out the kinks, and the DCMP being an invite-only of the best teams in the region

IN's DCMP is similarly strong this week, and MSC has been routinely one of the strongest events outside of CMP and IRI for the last 6 years.

[dodar]

Originally Posted by Racer26

I do wonder though, how much of this phenomenon is PNW being good, versus the District model giving teams more playtime to iron out the kinks, and the DCMP being an invite-only of the best teams in the region

IN's DCMP is similarly strong this week, and MSC has been routinely one of the strongest events outside of CMP and IRI for the last 6 years.

Well, when you bring together teams that would most likely be Regional Winner/Finalist/Semi-Finalist, that event is inherently going to be good. You do that almost anywhere and you'd get the numbers PNW is getting.

[Racer26]

Originally Posted by dodar

Well, when you bring together teams that would most likely be Regional Winner/Finalist/Semi-Finalist, that event is inherently going to be good. You do that almost anywhere and you'd get the numbers PNW is getting.

Right. There is a reason DCMPs are strong events.

But some of it *is* an improvement in the prowess of the teams there, both, I think, as the season progresses (and they get more playtime) but ALSO I think that increase in playtime has a positive effect on future years too, where teams have learned more things that don't work and become better at designing FRC robots.

[YAK'ker]

I think the district model has really improved all of our teams, even those of us who didn't make it to regionals. Giving them a scrimmage (THANK you, FIRST FORCE!) and 2 districts to iron out bugs and make improvements with their 6-hour unbagging times is really a positive change. It really is a better teaching tool, as teams can review performance, think of ways to make the robots and drivers more effective, work on clearer strategies, and much more.

On the other hand...I am still tired from last week! I don't know how some of you manage to keep your energy going, you are nothing short of amazing to me.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make the PNW competitions this year the best yet!

[MikLast]

for anyone wondering just how close it is, we got about 140 points last match and raised up our point average 3 points, and went from 30th to 22nd. Talk about close matches!!

[Citrus Dad]

Unfortunately the webcast stream has been choppy. I've had problems in two locations (Davis and LA) and my sister has had problems in Seattle. I've been streaming other ones with few problems. Seems to be the data content is too high.

But a wow competition. Nice to see that the gaps can close in this game. Interesting to see what happens at Champs with the higher floor on teams.

[pandamonium]

what happened with the substitution in finals?

[MikLast]

Originally Posted by pandamonium

what happened with the substitution in finals?

we were substituted in for 1510 (i dont know why, maybe them or shockwave can answer?) and lost by 4 points, 188 to 192.

A big shoutout to 4488, 1510, and 2471 for somehow making all of that work, and congrats to all of you for making it to the finals!

On another note, I cant find the match on youtube, just 3 minutes of dancing. Anybody got a vid that they want to share?

[Dunngeon]

Originally Posted by MikLast

we were substituted in for 1510 (i dont know why, maybe them or shockwave can answer?) and lost by 4 points, 188 to 192.

A big shoutout to 4488, 1510, and 2471 for somehow making all of that work, and congrats to all of you for making it to the finals!

On another note, I cant find the match on youtube, just 3 minutes of dancing. Anybody got a vid that they want to share?

From what I understood, 1510 was broken (controls system failure?) and Circut was the team that replaced them.

From the otherside of the glass, it was extremely unfortunate that 1510 had to go out. We really enjoyed playing against all of you, see everyone at worlds!

[Thad House]

1510's drive control did not work in Finals 1. After spending the field timeout and our alliance time out trying to fix it. By the time the deadline came for calling the backup bot, they still were not working, which is why the backup was called in.

However, they were still some absolutely amazing finals, I want to congratulate 1983, 955 and 2930 on the win. The can battles were intense, and I can't wait to see how worlds pans out.

[zinthorne]

Congratulations 1983, 955, and 2930 on the win! That was a great competition! The matches were intense all the way through with 1983 knocking out alliance out by .67 of a point to make it to finals. Great competition! I'm excited to see all of you guys at worlds!

[ceolson]

Originally Posted by MikLast

we were substituted in for 1510 (i dont know why, maybe them or shockwave can answer?) and lost by 4 points, 188 to 192.

A big shoutout to 4488, 1510, and 2471 for somehow making all of that work, and congrats to all of you for making it to the finals!

On another note, I cant find the match on youtube, just 3 minutes of dancing. Anybody got a vid that they want to share?

Finals Match #2 from PNW District Champs is now up at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcmST_cm2a4

Friday's Opening Ceremonies are uploaded as well. Thanks for being patient!

[MikLast]

Originally Posted by ceolson

Finals Match #2 from PNW District Champs is now up at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcmST_cm2a4

Friday's Opening Ceremonies are uploaded as well. Thanks for being patient!

Yes! now i just need better internet...

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by Racer26

I do wonder though, how much of this phenomenon is PNW being good, versus the District model giving teams more playtime to iron out the kinks, and the DCMP being an invite-only of the best teams in the region

IN's DCMP is similarly strong this week, and MSC has been routinely one of the strongest events outside of CMP and IRI for the last 6 years.

The district model creates a step change in robot goodness. The district model makes teams better. A lot better. You have enough matches to really iron out all the bugs, and the events are small enough that you can achieve any reasonable goal you set. This is awesome year one, but much like compounding interest it really starts to pay off as the years roll by and you can re-invest the skills, energy, and experience you harvest from the year prior.

I have had the pleasure of seeing this play out in real time on 1778. In 2013 (last year of regionals), we didn't get picked at Seattle, but we were just on the outside with a 10 pt hang and an inconsistent at best 2 pt shooter. In 2014, the goal was to make the DCMP -- and we fell short. But, we did make elims as a 2nd pick at both of our events, and at the 2nd event we made it to the SF, and the kids were ecstatic to have that win. The kids put in a lot of work in the offseason, and this year made it to the DCMP as a first round pick at both of our district events. And they are even more excited about the off-season this year than last year!

By starting the district model, Michigan invested their money in Warren Buffet first. We are all just trying to catch up, but in chasing excellence we've gotten a heck of a lot better.

[SciBorg Dave]

PNW Champs was a lot of fun and the matches were excellent. With no defense it is easy to compare the different robots at all the regionals and district. I have grown to really like this game and I love the district model. We sure get to play a lot of games each year. This builds great teams and robots.