2006 Waterloo Regional

[Lindsay Davies]

As a member of team 1114, I'd like to thank everyone who has congratulated us. It's really nice to see that we've "spread our patches" to many teams, and as one of our two Chairman's presenters, I hope to spread more patches along the way.

As well, congrats to everyone who made it past the elimination rounds, and thank you to teams 1503 and 1281 for being our support.

[VEN]

I agree with Vince....teams 1305 and 1114 did an awesome job helping us gain weight (the body weight i gained from the pizza wasn't their fault though ) on the robot....they made quick decisions which turned out to be very useful

[Jonathan Norris]

610 would like to thank 188 for putting together a truly great alliance of 188, 610, and 771. During both Thursday and Friday we were having many major mechanical problems, leading to a lackluster 14th ranking. But 188 saw how effective of a shooter we were and that we were truly a top team and chose us for the third alliance. 188 did some great scouting homework and we stuck to a great strategy. In auto 771 reliably scored 6-8 balls in the lower goals while we played defense stopping all opponents auto modes until the finals. Our basic strategy in auto lead us to only loose 1 auto mode, only when were were not able to get in the way of 1114.

During the matches 771 played some tough defense while 188 focused on herding and parking themselves in front of the ramp to shoot. We were able to split our time between quickly scoring our load of balls and playing some strong defense. Both 771 and us both went for the ramp at the end of most matches.

This simple strategy let our alliance win matches by scores of 76-25 and 85-18.

When we reached the final playing both 1114 and 1503 was very difficult. In auto we could stop one of them but not both, luckily in the second game 1114 missed all their balls letting us win auto. In the matches both 1114 and 1503 had very similar shooting styles to ourselves, but because of their very strong drive with the combination of programing no one could move them when they lined up for their shots. We fared very respectably coming very close to winning the second match until both 771 and ourselves climbed the ramp a little too early allowing 1503 to score 5 balls right in front of us . We fought hard all the way through and competed very well against such tough opponents.

I would like to thank 188 for their strategy, knowledge, and energy. Also 771, for their amazing energy all the way through and very reliable auto mode whose simplicity won us all but 1 auto modes in the elimination rounds.

[EDIT] Videos of finals and elimination rounds to come .

[SugaRaXie]

Waterloo was amazing -- we did far better than we'd expected. 2nd of 30; semi finals -- wow. But...during our first semi match, our robot died -- literally; during the second semi match, our wheel broke. Soo...yeah. But, congrats to the alliance that did beat us -- and to the winning alliance of 1114, 1503 and 1281 -- awesome job.

But -- we were BEYOND ecstatic when we won the Radio Shack Innovation in Control Award.

We did better than we had expected because we'd only really gone to Waterloo to get practice driving and such -- so our new drivers [since our drivers from last year are now alumni] could gain some experience driving.

A million thanks go out to our alliance! 1596 & 912 -- you guys were AMAZING!

[Sagar Vyas]

From 1503, Thanks to all teams that participated with us at Waterloo Regional 2006



See you at the Greater Toronto Regional next week =)

[Adam McLeod]

I guess that if this is a thanks/congrats thread now, I should comment.

The story of this regional began for me on Thursday from my place at York University (I couldn't make it until around noon on Friday). I was, of course, in constant communication with Jeff (or "J Flex 188" if you prefer...heh), and as he gave me the run down, he said something that stuck with me: "Man," he said, "when you get here, check out 610, they've built their best robot in years". Little did I know that we would have a chance to pick them on Saturday, and let me say that I was extremely happy with the way the draft went. We had a fun time, and a great run.

I'd like to thank 610 for being right there with us the whole way, sitting in front of the ramp and lighting it up. When it comes to doing my job (strategy, the one with the terrible hair) being easy to work with goes a very long way, and it was a pleasure to work with you guys.

I'd also like to thank 771 for being right behind us the whole way, getting robots off of our back, driving amazingly well, and flying around the field playing great defense (err...defence? I for one never knew that we spell it that way in Canada). You were just as easy to work with, and knew exactly what you were doing all the time.

The three of us together showed teamwork and trust, and I'm proud of everyone. As we move forward, I know I'll remember that, and I look forward to working with you again. If not this year, then next, or the year after!

To our friends on the winning alliance...thanks for not beating us too badly. The final matches were some of the hardest fought matches we've ever been in, and you guys completely earned and won this championship. Totally dominant, is all I have to say.

To 1114 in particular, I know you've been in anticipation all year, and team 188 congratulates you on the Chairman's award. I don't know a more deserving team.

To 772 ("same to you?"), thanks for lending us your incredibly loud voice in the eliminations and for being fun neighbours in the stands all weekend.

Everyone else, thank you too, we had a good time. See most of you at "the Hersh" (<--does anyone call it this?) next week.

[MacFlightSierra]

Now that its all done... it was GREAT!!! A lot more competitive and intense than I expected. Despite the constant problems our team was faced with, I still had the best time!

A BIG Thanks to our alliance - 1219 & 1596, you were outstanding!

610, 188, 771 - your bots were incredible and I salute you for putting up a great fight against 1114, 1503, 1281

Special thanks to 1114, and all others for your help on our problematic drivetrain, and congrats on the regional win with 1503 and 1281!

see ya'll at GTR - cant wait!!

[Theory6RobotiX]

It seems that every year, one robot from the winning alliance at waterloo has replaced their manipulators (arm/shooter) with a useless, heavy object before the elimination rounds.

Coincidence?

[VEN]

we have a lot of pics and videos which should be uploaded soon...i hope...

[SpaceBoy2000]

Originally Posted by kayla13

I am so pleased with the whole regional, also if anyone wants pictures or any videos of the matches contact me and I might just have what you need.

How about posting all the videos of the quarter, semi, and final matches? I'd simply love to have that.

Wow, Waterloo Regional. What a great time! Really big thanks to team 188 for compensating for my horrible scouting. Those games of X-Com and Starcraft in between matches were not exactly the brightest, though fun, ideas I've had. I better go and get my stuff in order for the GTA, so it won't end up to be a, "Mike, who are we up against and what do they do in autonomous?" "Aww...crap. Hey look behind you! A distraction!"

Thanks to team 1114 and 1503 for not wiping the floor with us. The wall was much more preferable. Looking forward to seeing you kick butt again at the GTA!

Very big thanks to team 188 for their great strategy. You guys actually put an amazing amount of work into it, unlike my, "Okay, just, drive around and , uh, give 'er!" And team 771, you were amazing, and let us play chicken with the other robots.

Also, thanks to everyone for lending us their voices. Though we brought our whole team of a dozen people, hearing the crickets when our number was called was...ackward.

[Bongle]

Originally Posted by MustangBots

we have a lot of pics and videos which should be uploaded soon...i hope...

JL has all the finals footage on his camcorder. I've got a couple pics and very short videos up at http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ahare/robotics/. DA has a match video on his laptop that I'll have to grab.

http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~...ics/pushin.avi highlights one instace of what we eventually settled on for a strategy: pushin'
http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~...s/PICT3329.JPG : 1114 launching balls at the goal
http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~...s/PICT3349.JPG : hot hot drivetrain action

Thank you VERY much for 1114 and 1503 picking us. I don't think anyone on our team expected to be picked for drivetrain alone before this competition. Heck, many people on the team didn't think we would go to elimination rounds after the qualifying matches were over.

[Jonathan Norris]

Posted some video from 610's point of view in this thread: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...920#post476920

[AGadgetGeek]

Waterloo was amazing, next to Atlanta, it was the best trip i've had in my life.

Our team was doing horrible during the practice matches but we pulled it off and did surprisingly well considering that we thought it would be just a practice match and we'd do better in GTR. It was defintely a fun experience but I really think they should do something about the no standing against the fence to record rule, since the announcer and the crew were giving me a hard time about it. The least they should do for the remaining events should be to allow one team member a media pass that allows them onto the field; theres plenty of areas that are never occupied.

Regardless, see ya'll in GTR Missassauga !

Pics and videos will be up on our site soon enough.

[geo]

Team 1281,1114 and 1503 were the winner of Waterloo regional. Good job guys!
Can't wait 'til GTR

[Karthik]

Well, I don't think I can really find a way to succinctly sum this past weekend. The event was fabulous, and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thanks to Team 1281 for being such a solid alliance partner. You guys took a big risk in changing your robot for the eliminations rounds, thanks for trusting our gut instinct.

Team 68. It's always fun tangling with you on the feel. You're one of the toughest opponents we've faced all year long (along with 469) and I just hope you end up in Atlanta so we can be on the same side of the field.

Team 1305. You and 68 had us really scared. We did not want to face you and deal with your smart defensive play. Congrats on your 3rd EI over the past two years. That's just amazing.

Team 771. Your team is absolutely amazing. From what I saw and learned this weekend, you're Chairman's material. You played well all weekend long, constantly making improvements. Good luck next weekend.

Teams 188 & 610. Along with 771, you gave us a great run for our money. It was really fun playing against you. For anyone who plays against 188 this season, watch out. They are one of the savviest teams in FIRST when it comes to strategic play.

To everyone who was part of 1114's Chairman's award. When I joined 1114 in 2004, I never though we'd win this award. But over the years our team has grown. I'm extremely proud of the accomplishment, thanks to all who helped make it happen.

Now, to clarify what happened in the finals. During Match 1, 1114 & 1503 had the worst run of bad luck. 1503 had a near dead battery from the outset, and 1114's launcher and elevator stopped working after autonomous mode. Basically we had to cling to the 40-7 lead we took in autonomous. It was a challenge, but we barely managed. The win was actually secured by 1114 pushing a dead 1503 up the ramp. In the 2nd match, 1114's launcher and elevator were not up to full speed as well. The problems have been diagnosed, and look for us to return back to fine form in Toronto.

This was one of the most fun weekends of my FIRST career. Thanks to everyone who made it possible.