3 Team Alliances

[archiver]

Posted by Chris, Coach on team #308, Walled Lake Monster, from Walled Lake Schools and TRW Automotive Electronics.

Posted on 3/28/99 5:21 AM MST


In Reply to: 3 Team Alliances posted by Tom Vanderslice on 3/27/99 6:12 PM MST:



: So, now that it's over, how did the 3 Team Alliances
: in the finals go?

I thought the three team alliance worked very well. It definitely helped
speed things up. A couple of time outs were called but a few times a
robot was switched due to problems. In fact, one of the top 8 seeds had
a problem with their robot and had to take themselves out of the rest
of the tournament.

: Anybody unhappy with the rule?

A few teams voted against it. I didn't personally notice anyone unhappy
with it.

: How were the alliances chosen? Did the top seeds tend
: to choose 2 offensive robots, 2 defensive robots, or
: 1 of each?

Most seemed to be picked base on individual needs and what their overall
strategy was going to be. Defense seemed to be pretty big for a lot of
teams. The ability to get on the puck and keep other teams off seemed
to be another attribute that was popular.

: And, of course, the biggest question of all:
: Will it solve the problem?

: Digging for info,
: Tom
: Team #275

Teams still tended to call timeouts instead of changing robots. However,
with the timeout time cut to 2.5 minutes, it is possible that it will
eventually save time. The elimination matches at this regional seemed
to go faster than at Chicago. Although I didn't actually time anything,
it just seemed faster.

I personally like the rule from a strategy standpoint. I allows a team
pick one alliance partner for one type of strategy and another alliance
partner for a different strategy. The captain can then decide which
alliance partner they want to use (and therefore which strategy)
depending on their opponent alliance.