Predictions Week 4: Bash Fests in Boston, San Diego & Waterloo. Big Scores @ Buckeye

[Ian Mackenzie]

I feel compelled to rise to the defence of our much-maligned Waterloo teams, who have really kicked things up a notch this year. Comparing Waterloo qualifying to Buckeye qualifying, we have:

Buckeye: Mean score 23 (mean winning score 38, mean losing score 8); median score 15 (median winning score 32, median losing score 4)
Waterloo: Mean score 32 (mean winning score 54, mean losing score 10); median score 20 (median winning score 36, median losing score 2)

Bashfest indeed. Eliminations, at first glance, tell a slightly different story:

Buckeye: Mean score 61 (mean winning score 88, mean losing score 35); median score 63 (median winning score 76, median losing score 37)
Waterloo: Mean score 51 (mean winning score 73, mean losing score 30); median score 42 (median winning score 66, median losing score 32)

So, a simple interpretation gives Buckeye a slight edge in the eliminations, lending credence to the old "Waterloo eliminations: Minus arm, plus dumbbell" theory, but remember that in Buckeye only a select less-than-half of teams (24 of 58) make the eliminations, while in Waterloo almost every team does (24 of 30). (Not really meaning to pick on Buckeye, but hey, Joe J. started it )

I, for one, am quite proud of how far our local teams have come in the past few years. 610 used to be feared for their wedges; for the last two years, they've been scoring balls and ringers like nobody's business. 854 has perfected holonomic drive and now uses it more effectively than almost any team I've seen. 2056 and 2166 have exploded out of nowhere (well, all right, not quite nowhere) with, respectively, some of the coolest autonomous modes and one of the nicest ramps around. And that's leaving out the obvious ones - 188, 1305, and The Robots Formerly Known As The Triplets.

EDIT: If that 'quite proud of...our local teams' bit sounds a bit weird, it's because I'm really speaking as 'Ian the Waterloo Regional planning committee chair' instead of 'Ian the Simbotics mentor'.