UFH: Thomas Dale Nader

[Andy Baker]

I'd like to share a story about Tom:

This story takes place during the 2000 IRI, in Kokomo. It was the final round of the competition. The HOT team was in the finals, paired with Truck Town Thunder, I believe. They were going against an alliance led by team #1, Juggernaut.

As usual, Tom was the field coach for the HOT team. You would probably recognize Tom with his face painted as he enthusiastically led the drive team.

Tensions were high, as this was the final round. The competition started to get rough and alot of blocking and battling was taking place. Juggernaut got caught under the goal as they were trying to block the HOTBOT from scoring. As Juggy got itself free, it pushed up from the bottom of the goal and moved the pipe structure a bit.

The match ensues and T^3 goes for the chin-up bar to get 10 points. If they get on the bar and pull up, they will win the match. Once they grab the bar and pull, the bar falls out of the Kee-Klamp fitting and falls down. A few seconds later, the match is over.

I was head ref. Myself and the other referees decided to re-run the match due to the chin-up bar falling off. The fact that the chin-up bar fell off could've been due to the lifting action that Juggy did to free themselves, but we had no idea what caused it. We decided to re-run the match.

So, I go over to the 67-68 alliance station and tell the drive teams that we are re-running the match. They are not happy, as they want Juggy DQ'ed for moving the goal. I explained that we are not DQing Juggernaut and we are replaying the match. Team 67's drivers continued with the arguement, pushing the issue further with me. Here is where Tom stepped in.

Tom put his hand on the shoulder of the driver arguing with me and said "what did the referee say?". The student said "he wants to replay the match." Tom replied: "then that is what we are doing." Simple as that. He didn't yell at the student... he simply gave him some direction.

At that point, the entire drive team of HOT shook my hand and said nothing. I knew that they were not happy. However, they had so much respect for Tom that they took his direction without wavering one bit. It was one of those moments where you see complete respect from a student for an adult.

Obviously, Tom has earned that respect from his teammates. As a fellow engineer, competitor, and friend, I also have great respect for Tom. I'm sure glad that he's a part of FIRST.

Andy B.