Mayhem in Merrimack 2016

[first3234]

If you would like I could make a match schedule for you guys for the event and send the match schedule to you so that's one less thing you would have to worry about the reason I offered was because I have the off season cms that first gave to the scorekeepers

[Dan Petrovic]

Hey everyone,

We've had a few teams drop out and we have exhausted our wait list, so we now have an open space for Mayhem in Merrimack 2016.

Here is the list of registered teams:

58      Riot Crew
131     CHAOS
133     BERT
166	Chop Shop
213	Dirty Birds
238	Cruisin' Crusaders
319	Big Bad Bob
501	The PowerKnights	
811	The Cardinals
1058	PVC Pirates
1073	The Force Team
1289	Gearheadz
1519	Mechanical Mayhem
1729	Team Inconceivable!
1735	Green Reapers
1768	Robo Chiefs
1922	Ozram
2713	iRaiders
3467	Windham Windup
4546	Dover Shockwave Robotics
4906	The Collective
5687	The Outliers
5962	perSEVERE

Originally Posted by first3234

If you would like I could make a match schedule for you guys for the event and send the match schedule to you so that's one less thing you would have to worry about the reason I offered was because I have the off season cms that first gave to the scorekeepers

Thank you for the offer. I'll mention it to the rest of the committee to see if that's something we'll need.

Also, Francis from GameSense has graciously offered to broadcast a live stream of this event. We have a pretty formidable team list this year, so it could be a lot of fun to watch!

[Jay O'Donnell]

Francis, how easy will it be to have the match videos saved from the broadcast? Sounds like it'll be a good time, can't wait to MC Mayhem again this year!

[Dan Petrovic]

Hey everyone,

If you can't make it to Mayhem in Merrimack tomorrow, then feel free to check out the live stream that is graciously being hosted by Francis O'Rourke of GameSense!

You can see it here: https://www.twitch.tv/frcgamesense

Results and videos will also be on The Blue Alliance and Youtube some time after the event.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Thanks to everyone for making Mayhem in Merrimack 2016 an awesome event! Chop Shop did a great job as always running the event, and I had a blast MCing and Game Announcing with Brandon and Adam. It was also fun to watch so many good teams duke it out late in the day, it seemed like the top 4 alliances all had a good chance. Congrats to 133, 1519 and 4906 on the win!

[kstl99]

Thanks to 166 Chop Shop for a great event. Jay, Brandon and Adam did a fine job as MC/Announcers. I figure that to be one of the harder jobs in FIRST and you guys nailed it.

[kstl99]

Would it be possible to post what the awards were and what they were for?

[demosthenes2k8]

Thank you, all, for attending Mayhem in Merrimack in our twelfth year!

I was one of the judges this year (the goofy one, if you don't recognize the face), and expecting that question I made sure to get a copy of our poems.

Herbie Award
The Herbie Award is for the robot that the judges consider to be the "cutest".

It has lights and it fights
and it brawls with them all,
It shows off its arches
and triumphantly marches.
Above all of this, they look good too.
This award is for you, Team 1922!

It's tough to figure out what makes a robot "cute". Sometimes it's googly eyes, sometimes it's something that we think just looks nice. The arches, as well as the lights, made this robot stand out in our eyes.

Gracious Professionalism
Voted on by other teams for the team that best embodies Gracious Professionalism.

Even under pressure, this team gives it all,
Hex shafts, bread, and parts big and small.
Embracing the spirit, as all teams should,
They are, truly, a force for good.

The winner of the Gracious Professionalism award is team 1073, The Force Team!

This one was the first poem finished. By sheer coincidence, we didn't realize until afterward that nearly all of the poems used the -all rhymes... I only realized it as I was typing them up.
The nominations for this team mentioned people going around giving out free hugs, as well as sharing many parts (hex shafts were specifically mentioned) and bread (not sure I want to know the story about this).

All That and a Bag of Chips
This award is for the robot we consider to be the "best feat of engineering"

Everyone knows they can't be stopped.
With their elevator arm they climb to the top.
Their system can make a call, or aim the ball.
Atop the tower, they rule them all.

The All That and a Bag of Chips award goes to Team 1768, the RoboChiefs!

If you're unaware, we DO normally give a bag of chips with this award. The judges were impressed with the extremely efficient use of space on the robot, as well as the stylish two-stage elevator system. The robot was sleek, and the students showed pride in their work.

Cotton-Eyed Joe
This award is for the team that we felt showed the most spirit.

A team with spirit shines with great might.
Just as the sun breaks the dark, blue Knight.
Standing out ahead of their peers,
this team functions like a set of matched gears.
The Cotton-Eyed Joe team spirit award goes to Team 1289, the Gearheadz!

The judges loved the spirit that this team showed during the competition. Unfortunately, it appeared that they had headed out before getting to receive their award, but their representative had enough spirit to make up for it.

Judges' Award
The Judges' Award is tough to describe. It's up the judges' discretion, and can be awarded for anything from "creative design" to "entrepreneurship" to "innovation in control" - sort of acting like any of the awards given out during official events.

The judges' award this year goes to a team that captured our attention in many different areas.
They have a diverse team with gender equality.
Despite mentors' doubts they still hit the mark,
this team really seems to have a spark.
Their rotating turret is nothing to mock,
Their team is sure to make waves and shock.
This year's Judges' Award goes to Team 4546, Dover Shockwave Robotics!

The judges were all impressed with all aspects of this team. At the end of their fourth year, they've prepared for next year when there are no more founding members remaining as students. They've implemented fantastic training, and by the time we had talked to them every one of their underclassmen had driven in a match. On top of that, their team had inspired a large number of women to join the team - they estimated 50%.
Their robot was well-organized and had an innovative turret design with clever counterweight usage. Not only did it look like a puppy (at the right angle), but it was well-positioned and brilliantly wired with an organized centralized box that both protected the control system and made it easy to swap out parts if needed.



If you have any feedback for the judges (even if it involves telling us that you hate our attempts at poetry), feel free to let me know!

[kstl99]

Great explanations. Thanks.

[EmileH]

Originally Posted by demosthenes2k8

All That and a Bag of Chips
This award is for the robot we consider to be the "best feat of engineering"


If you're unaware, we DO normally give a bag of chips with this award. The judges were impressed with the extremely efficient use of space on the robot, as well as the stylish two-stage elevator system. The robot was sleek, and the students showed pride in their work.

Is this for team 1768 last year?

[DinerKid]

Originally Posted by EmileH

Is this for team 1768 last year?

Elevators all day, every day.

~DK

[EmileH]

Originally Posted by DinerKid

Elevators all day, every day.

~DK

Ahhhhh, that. Pardon my ignorance, now I really look dumb.

[Greg Woelki]

Huge thanks to team 166 and to all of the volunteers, I had a blast! Will the match data be making its way onto TBA?

Originally Posted by EmileH

Is this for team 1768 last year?

It was a risky strategy for FIRST Stronghold, but the judges really appreciated that.

[Zac Schofield]

Originally Posted by demosthenes2k8

The nominations for this team mentioned people going around giving out free hugs, as well as sharing many parts (hex shafts were specifically mentioned) and bread (not sure I want to know the story about this).

I will happily share the story with you! This goes way back to week zero, when our team had to dropout early due to us bending a huge part of our side plate while crossing the rock wall. We were all kinda moping around in the cafeteria, and someone was talking about how good the bread he had bought was. So some of us bought some bread, and then the team bought almost ALL the bread you were selling. It made a frustrating day better. At Mayhem in Merrimack, a bunch of us were all talking and I decided I was hungry, so I bought two loaves of bread for like $2.50, sat with my team, and they all remembered Week 0, so they all got up and bought bread. And that's the story of how we ate all of your bread

[Aboudy Dairi]

Originally Posted by demosthenes2k8

All That and a Bag of Chips

If you're unaware, we DO normally give a bag of chips with this award.

They were some good chips too...

I had loads of fun driving at this event for a second time, the double bracket elims meant a lot of pressure fighting through the losers bracket. It was also fun to play with 9319, that alone brought plenty of laughs.

Any idea when match videos will be up? TBA has no records of the matches either. I was told there was a qual where we scored 9 high goals, thats definitely something Id like to watch again.

The food was awesome, too!