The 2056 Streak has ended!

[GratefulDead]

Generally our team has a rule against posting on this site, but because of the over whelming support we are recovering after this competition I wanted to thank you on behalf of the team.

Today was emotional for our whole team, from the grade 9's to the teacher who started it all way back when. We kept a great streak and have left a permanent impression on the first world. Thanks to everyone who cheered us on and congratulations to the winning alliance for a game well played. This is the kind of competition that first inspires in the youth and you all know we will be back at Windsor playing harder than ever. Thank you all!

[BrennanB]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

Please elaborate on which competitions they "lost".

And, I also disagree that they did not lose. If 1114 did not loose comms their first match they would have probably won IMO. And also if the blue alliance robot(Forgot which team so sorry) did not loose comms in the they might have won both matches. Also if 2056 completed their scale they would have won.

I think this was a fair loss for them and I do not think either alliance played their best.

Which.... Scares me.

They "lost" in the way that they haven't won a championship yet, and a few off season events they haven't come out on the top of.

I think you are missing the point. It was a high level of play beyond anything we have ever seen yet in FIRST stronghold. None of these teams "lost" they all gained something far more valuable than a regional win, and it's something they will carry with them for a long time.

2056 is awe-inspiring as a team, as individuals, and as a member of the FIRST community. You guys are awesome!

Now take home that championship banner!

[Sperkowsky]

Originally Posted by BrennanB

They "lost" in the way that they haven't won a championship yet, and a few off season events they haven't come out on the top of.

I think you are missing the point. It was a high level of play beyond anything we have ever seen yet in FIRST stronghold. None of these teams "lost" they all gained something far more valuable than a regional win, and it's something they will carry with them for a long time.

2056 is awe-inspiring as a team, as individuals, and as a member of the FIRST community. You guys are awesome!

Now take home that championship banner!

I once again disagree. Waterloo did not IMO have the highest level of play not even close.
Was it high yes highest absolutely not.

What did 2056/1114/5912 "gain". I see 2056 who lost a very long standing streak they showed straight faces on field but lets be real here they are upset. I especially feel bad for the drivers. Then you have 1114 who had their first year without winning a regional. Lastly you have a rookie team 5912 who probably is blaming the loss on them. The only thing I see teams carrying from this is knowing they were part of the reason the streak ended. Even if they really were not.

2056 is an amazing team with an amazing robot this year. The best? no. A championships contender for sure? Absolutely.

[BrennanB]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

I once again disagree. Waterloo did not IMO have the highest level of play not even close.
Was it high yes highest absolutely not.

Then I recommend you rewatch the matches. Not only were the alliances on average on a whole new level, the strategy* that was in play was at a whole new level.

*that being said i'm positive the game will continue to evolve in new and exciting ways promoting even higher level play.

[iVanDuzer]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

Please elaborate on which competitions they "lost".

Off the top of my head:

Newton 2008 - Semi-finals
IRI 2009 - Quarter-finals
Archimedes 2014 - Quarter-finals

These are the ones we (they) walked away from disappointed with our (their) performance. I'm omitting Einstein 2012 for obvious reasons.

Also, 2056 wins Chairman's for the second straight year. New streak?

[g_sawchuk]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

I once again disagree. Waterloo did not IMO have the highest level of play not even close.
Was it high yes highest absolutely not.

What did 2056/1114/5912 "gain". I see 2056 who lost a very long standing streak they showed straight faces on field but lets be real here they are upset. I especially feel bad for the drivers. Then you have 1114 who had their first year without winning a regional. Lastly you have a rookie team 5912 who probably is blaming the loss on them. The only thing I see teams carrying from this is knowing they were part of the reason the streak ended. Even if they really were not.

2056 is an amazing team with an amazing robot this year. The best? no. A championships contender for sure? Absolutely.

They have gained something referred to as "experience". They have not only observed FRC Stronghold at the highest level of play so far this season, they have actually played it at such a level, giving them invaluable experience as they move on towards the FIRST Championship. Not many other teams have been able to experience this. These high level teams, such as 2056, and 1114, have been able to see the small flaws that can be exploited during their game play. They now have time to figure out how to counter these small exploits, which will make it even harder for them to be beaten as we approach the FRC Championship.

They have, as an analogy, had to climb Everest by competing at Waterloo. It was an extremely tough challenge. Moving onto FRC Championships, they may have to "climb Everest" again, but it will be easier this time, thanks to their invaluable experience gained at Waterloo.

In regards to Waterloo not being the highest level of play that we've seen so far...
-46 Captures in Qualifications
-Average Match Score of 101
-Average Winning Score of 120
-Highest Quals Score was 190
-Highest Elims Score was 212
-Outstanding RP Rankings: 1114 had 44 RP in Quals, 3 robots had 40+ RP
-Lowest ranked team still had 15 RP

Aside from statistics, and coming from a strategy point of view, some of the game play in eliminations specifically was strategically fantastic, with tough defensive play, making these high scores even more impressive.

In regards to teams being disappointed with how they've done...
1114: Started off fairly rough for themselves as a team at GTR East. If you look at how much they've improved over just a few weeks, and very minimal time to work on the robot, it's truly phenomenal. You'd be hard-pressed to find a team who could make the massive amount of improvements that they've been able to make. The degree to which they've been able to improve their robot is an award on it's own. 1114 also won a physical award, the GP award.

2056: 31-7 this season. 16-1 at GTR East. A 23 regional streak. Quite frankly, that's enough said. They've pushed limits that no other FRC team ever has before, they've become an idol that other FRC teams strive to be, strive to work towards. It's highly unlikely that their streak will ever be broken. On top of this, they also won the Chairman's Award.

5912: A rookie team. They won both the Highest Rookie Seed Award and the Rookie All Star Award. On top of that, ranked 26th and a Regional Finalist at what I still believe is the regional at which we've seen the best game play for FRC Stronghold.

Congratulations to not only the winners of the 2016 Waterloo Regional, but to each and every team that competed there for playing at such a difficult regional.

[RonAyyyyyyyy]

2056 won Chairman's, so I don't think they're THAT upset. And besides, at this rate they're probably going to win World Chapionships

[RonAyyyyyyyy]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

I once again disagree. Waterloo did not IMO have the highest level of play not even close.
Was it high yes highest absolutely not.

2056 is an amazing team with an amazing robot this year. The best? no. A championships contender for sure? Absolutely.

I'm curious, what do you think has been the highest level of play so far? And what do you think the best robot it this year?

[Sperkowsky]

Originally Posted by RonAyyyyyyyy

I'm curious, what do you think has been the highest level of play so far? And what do you think the best robot it this year?

Personally I think the best robot is 971.

As for highest level of play it's hard to choose.

Waterloo is up there but events like Sacramento, Central Valley, Alamo, LA, Ias Vegas, Dallas, ect and even some very impressive district events that are definitely around waterloo in terms of the highest level of play. Waterloo is definitely the deepest regional but thats a different story all together.

I will also mention in terms of the rp person that, them having 13 qaulifsctjon matches each plays a big role. That's 5 more qualification matches then we had at NYC with less then half of the teams.

[tindleroot]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

What did 2056/1114/5912 "gain".

If you are limiting yourself to the tangible forms of "success" like blue banners, then you are missing the point. Only 3 teams win any event, but if only 3 teams gained anything from competing then FIRST would not have lasted 25 seasons.

[g_sawchuk]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

Waterloo is up there but events like Sacramento, Central Valley, Alamo, LA, Ias Vegas, Dallas, ect and even some very impressive district events that are definitely around waterloo in terms of the highest level of play. Waterloo is definitely the deepest regional but thats a different story all together.

I compiled some statistics comparing average breach and capture rates in qualifications for each of the regionals you listed. LA comes close to Waterloo in breach rate, but Waterloo is by far a winner in capture rates. For reference...
Green --> Highest rate in category.
Yellow --> Second highest rate in category.
Red --> Third highest rate in category.

[Sperkowsky]

Originally Posted by g_sawchuk

I compiled some statistics comparing average breach and capture rates in qualifications for each of the regionals you listed. LA comes close to Waterloo in breach rate, but Waterloo is by far a winner in capture rates. For reference...
Green --> Highest rate in category.
Yellow --> Second highest rate in category.
Red --> Third highest rate in category.

I am going to make a bold prediction and say this graph will be different after SVR next week.

[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

If 1114 did not loose comms their first match they would have probably won IMO.

When the rubber meets the road, the robot has to perform. Reliability speaks for itself.

[BrennanB]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

I am going to make a bold prediction and say this graph will be different after SVR next week.

Good thing I said "thus far", and not "will be the best including the future"

[ns3517]

This was a shock to us all. I think we all had a moment of silence as we saw the scores and realized what had happened.