IRI - A HUGE THANK YOU!

[Chris Fultz]

A huge thank-you to everyone who made the IRI such a fun and exciting event.

There is always as risk in naming names, but i will do my best to capture everyone -

72 teams who played awesome matches on the field, then came off smiling and excited and friends with everyone.

Paul Copioli - our awesome MC
Dan Green and Collin Fultz - the greatest announcing duo in the land
Mark Leon - NASA tv from the IRI? - Fantastic!
Mark Koors and Jerry Budd - The field was nearly flawless for 2 days
Molly Menges, Brandon Martus, David Kelly, JAckie Abbott and everyone who was on the scoring table / music selection / team
Brant Bowen - great job with the volunteers and everything else we needed
Matt Fultz and Cathy Warner - Super Judge Assistants / Advisors
Ryan Dognaux - Great job organizing and managing the talent show
Jeremiah Johnson - You kept the pit news flowing
Team 45 Students and Parents - for set up, clean up, T-shirt sales and help all around the event
Aerfin Bari - Always on "Que"
Team 461 - Tarps, set-up help and anything else we needed
The Referee Crew - You set the standard!
Talent Show contestants - Great
DSATK - Great show - I think you should let your sister sing more!
Judges - You made great selections and we know it was tough work
Many, Many other volunteers who helped with queing, field reset and anything else needed
Team 1024 - fantastic facility and great concessions and help with so many electronical things
Kelli V - for the great pictires and capture of the event
Teams who stayed late to help clean up - 93 and 2194 (I think)

Team 234 Students and Parents - video feed for the field, pits and NASA TV!, set-up, clean-up, volunteer and judges rooms, silent auction, DINNER for 1400! and anything else we asked.

And, Andy Baker - always fantastic to work together. What a great event.
(p.s. - and Copioli did bring us onto the field in the right order....)

[Mike Martus]

The 2007 IRI was the best ever. This event brought together 72 of the best teams in FIRST. This was evident by the quality of the matches. Every match was like a finals match at the Championship.

We all owe a special thank you also to all the people that made this great event happen. This event is the jewel of the off season events and continues to amaze us with surprises like the awesome banners showing winners of every past IRI - Great touch.

Again - Thank you IRI!

Looking forward to next year already - start the count down.

BTW - the rule changes were brilliant!

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Mike Martus

BTW - the rule changes were brilliant!

Yes, they were. Especially the 15 pt. bonus for keepers. Good autonomous deserves this kind of recognition.

My team was on the losing end of this rule, by the way. One very defensive qualifying match went 17-16 against our alliance when we put up a row of four ringers -- but I agree that the keeper our opponents got should outweigh that.

[team 1094]

i like to thank all the teams who made IRI possible and all the volantears for making it run smoothly. THANKS TO ALL AND SEE U ALL AT THE NEXT IRI.

[mrs. p]

a word or two of thanks to

the planners of IRI - it is definitely my favorite off season and maybe my favorite competition of all

chris fultz - for helping us with housing accomodations again

the "moms" of 234 - the kids loved staying with you

the volunteers that i worked with this year - a great bunch of people

the parent committee of 234 - great food and snacks again

all the teams - i love talking to teams that this seems to be the only time we get together and for meeting so many new people

jane young - my harry potter book which i shared on the ride home to florida

the talent show committee - it was awesome, especially the martians

the refs, judges, volunteers and everyone else - just because

a big thanks for inviting 233, we LOVED it!

[Herodotus]

Congrats to the winners of course, but also congrats to every single team that made it to IRI. It's obvious that all the best teams attend IRI as I found myself constantly wondering during the pickings how certain teams got picked 2nd or 3rd or didn't get picked at all when they had absolutely awesome robots and drive teams.

Thanks 968, 330, and 177 for being great alliance partners. Also a huge thanks to 469 and 33 for always lending a helping hand when we need it. Most importantly a huge thanks to everyone who managed to make IRI a success. That was quite possibly the best competition... ever.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

IRI has been the highlight of the off season events and this year Indiana outdid themselves. The event was perfectly planned, executed and had plenty of everything an event should have. Thanks for the invitiation to play with such great teams and visit with friends. The trophies were great, the venue wonderful as always, the talent show hard to describe, the ceremonies top notch, judges were outstanding, overall a wonderful experience. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped pull this off. You should be very proud of what you accomplished this weekend.
Congratulations to all the final teams, you gave us one of the toughest finals ever recorded. Congratulations the teams who received judged awards.

A special congratulation goes out to Mike Martus, mentor on Chief Delphi, 47. You deserve this great honor of Mentor of the Year. FIRST exists because of dedicated people like you who know the value of working with students and keeping a program alive that has so many benefits. I am proud to know you.

[Ralph Lambert]

The 30+ contingent from the River City Robots Channel Cats (Team 1094) had a great time competing, volunteering, participating in the talent show with a more reserved FISHBOY this year and just visiting with other teams. The whole IRI crew and participating teams deserve a big THANK YOU for this outstanding event which, deservedly so, gets more popular every year.

We hope to see many of the same teams at the St Louis Regional next year and again at the 2008 IRI.

[Joe Ross]

With only 3 students and 2 mentors at IRI, 330 was very short handed. We want to especially thank 447 for helping us unpack the crate Thursday night and and 910 for helping us pack on Saturday. We also want to thank all the teams we borrowed parts or supplies from.

Thank you to 968 for picking us and 177 and 910 for making a great alliance. We almost made it, and those two quarterfinal matches were some of the best of the year.

Finally, thanks to all the IRI staff and volunteers for a great event. We look forward to being back in the future.

[JaneYoung]

While refining some special features for the Pit Announcer <grin>, I was approached by a young team member. I would like to guess that he is from 1114 but not sure. He comes up beaming with a big magic marker and an outstretched arm and says:
"JANE! - would you write 'GO GDC with an exclamation point' on my arm and then sign your name?"

I was a little taken aback but I said sure and did as he asked.

So - from the wisdom and arm of a very smart FIRSTer:

GO GDC! (please note the exclamation point)

Thank you everyone for an amazing time in Indiana.
Jane

[Karthik]

Every time I try and write one of these posts, it ends up being ridiculously long. I'll try and keep this brief.

First off, thanks to the amazing IRI organizing committee. For the 3rd consecutive year, this was by far my favourite event of the season. All facets of the competition were executed perfectly. Many FIRST events could stand to learn a lot from this amazing crew of people.

Thanks to Jim Zondag for creating an amazing scheduling algorithm. Despite the claims to the contrary by lesser programmers, Jim showed that we could have a schedule without ridiculous amounts of duplication. This was such an improvement over what was forced upon us this season.

The alliance of 968, 330, 177 & 910. No #5 seeded alliance should be that ridiculously stacked. As happy as I was with our alliance, when I saw what we were up against in the quarters, I just shook my head and said "Only at IRI". Thanks for being a part of the six keeper match, possibly the best match I've ever seen.

Team 494 - It was great having you as part of our alliance. Even though we didn't have an opportunity to put you in a match, you did everything else you could to help the alliance.

Team 111 - For years, Team 1114 has been waiting for the day when we could finally be on an alliance with you. Your amazing designs have been inspiring us for years. Thanks for having us as a part of this amazing alliance. It was such a thrill.

Team 2056 - I can't quite explain it, but whenever our two teams get together, everything seems to turn to goal. For those who weren't there, 2056 was actually the highest scoring capper on Friday, averaging 5.5 tubes per match. We were ecstatic that you flew under the radar and fell to our alliance. You're definitely not a rookie anymore.

The "Team Canada" contingent - This weekend, Team 1114 had a few special guests, representing some of the best Canadian teams in FIRST. We had current and former members of teams 188, 296, 610 & 1503 all in attendance helping us out. It really felt like the Canadian National Robotics team. Thanks to Adam, Jeff, Pat, Jonathan, Sagar, Steph and all the Willicks (Ray, Jean, Kyle, Stacy, Who I've considered to be full 1114 members all season long) for being a part of the Simbot family.

Also, a special group of 1114 who deserve some recognition is the 1114 pit crew. Our robot was in rough shape this weekend. Friday night, we had to replace all 6 drive wheels and sprockets. It was not a pretty situation. On Saturday morning, they were still frantically working in the pit trying keep everything running. It seemed like after every match, a new problem was introduced. In the elims, at various points we lost use of our camera and elevator, and it looked like we might not be able to open the ramps. Yet time after time, they made last second repairs, nullifying the impact of the damage.

Thanks to everyone else who was a part of the Team 1114 IRI experience. It was definitely a weekend to remember.

(So much for brevity...)

[Pat Fairbank]

I'd like to congratulate and thank the IRI planning committee and volunteers for pulling off such an amazing event. IRI 2007 definitely ranks among the top three events I've ever been to in all my years in FIRST.

I'd especially like to thank Team 1114 for welcoming me to join them for IRI when 1503 wasn't extended an invitation. As Karthik just mentioned, there were actually six Canadian teams represented at IRI instead of two, but it really felt like just one. The Simbots are an amazing group of people, and I'm honoured to have shared the experience of competing at IRI with them.

[Jonathan Norris]

IRI was my first competition in a while where I was more of a spectator and a lot less involved in the competition, and I must say that this was the best competition I have been to yet. Between how well run the event is, and the number of great teams, it is the type of event that will attract me to come back year after year.

I would like to echo Pat's comments by thanking 1114 for their hospitality. It was really a fun weekend, and the Simbots are a great group of people (even the little simbots).

Ohh, and Pat even though most people thought there was only one Canadian team, getting the highest scoring robot in the second round was a total steal. Congrats to 2056 on the best rookie season a team could hope for; 2 regional wins, strong showing at the championship, and an IRI win!

[Cory]

IRI was an absolutely amazing competition--I only wish we could have gotten out there prior to this year.

We had a great time visiting with many of our old friends, and making many new ones.

The match scheduling algorithm was, as Karthik pointed out, simply awesome. We loved being able to finally play with, and not only against many amazing teams.

This was by far the best event I've ever attended in my seven years of FIRST. It would be hard (if not impossible) to identify a point in time in which a better group of teams have gathered together under one roof.

Thanks to all the volunteers and organizers of the event--I doubt it could have been more smoothly run. Without a doubt the IRI is more well run than many official FIRST events.

Many thanks go out to BAX Global, who helped 254, 330, 968, 980, and 1577 get their robots to the IRI. Plus a nice little goodie bag

The six keeper match was without a doubt the best I've seen this year, and one of the best I've ever seen. The moment when the last keeper fell on the rack was absolutely insane--the crowd was Einstein-like.

Congratulations to 111, 1114, 2056, and 494. I was stunned when 2056 lasted as long as they did. You all were truly a force to be reckoned with.

Anyone who was at IRI was lucky to see such amazing alliances, as it would be near impossible for them to occur in the regular season. 111 1114 2056 494. 968, 330, 177, 910. 233 71 1902 1732. 48 67 469 148. Absolutely insane. All those alliances have Einstein written all over them.

The 2007 IRI was fantastic, and I'm sure we'll be coming back in the future.

[John Wanninger]

IRI 2007 was an absolutely magical event - Team 1732 feels so lucky to be part of it! A big, big thanks to all of the outstanding organizers and other volunteers who worked so hard and so smartly, and to all the teams who pushed up the level of play to quite possibly unprecedented heights. In every facet and at every level, this event is the model for all others - This one had it all.

Congratulations to 111/1114/2056/494 for your hard fought victory and to all of the award winners for their excellence!

Thank you 233 for picking us as a backup so we could be in alliance with you, The BEAST and Exploding Bacon - wow!

Experiencing that six keeper autonomous was utterly amazing and downright spooky.

910, you were so close with your two tube autonomous! - we anxiously await seeing it at MARC!

I'm awestruck.