2008 Florida Regional

[hoorayforpink]

Originally Posted by hipsterjr

I just watched that video. Your not crazy! If you even try to add up the points displayed on the board, you realize that the score was 84 to 74!...not 72 to 74!


Points break down:
Hybrid=42
3 Hurdles x 6pts = 18
1 ball underx2pts = 2
11 lapsx2pts = 22
Total = 84pts!!!!!

I know it is said and done, but I feel a little robbed. Still, congrats to Team 233, 86, and 1251.

At about 1:15 swamp hurdles a ball over but it hits their bot so it gets descored. Then at about 1:38 swamp tries to hurdle again but doesn't get the ball over the overpass. So for the entire match I only count 1 hurdle by 69. Maybe thats where your counting three hurdles?

But maybe I'm missing something. If we lost in the finals due to field error I would feel robbed too. And if we did win the match on field error I am really sorry.

Anyway, I want to say a huge thank you to 1251 and 86. You guys were amazing alliance partners, and I hope we see you guys in Atlanta.

Also I want to thank all the teams who attended. The energy of the crowd definetly made this the best Florida regional I've ever been too, even if I've only been to three.

[Jetweb]

thanks everyone for looking at the video and pointing out things that I missed. It looks like after 2 mis-counted hurdles by swamp (one that didn't go over and one that hit us befor the floor) and a mis-counted autonomous (4 extra points for 342 not being over the third line before the buzzer) we should have lost 64 to 74

My faith in scoring is still gone though and i hope there are some corrections on how matches are scored before nationals

[Salbert]

Hey, I'm from Team 1523 MARS (we won the FL Regional Chairman's Award) and I just wanted to say that the FL Regional was awesome! It was my first time to a FIRST competition and the experience was great.

But anyway... I did our team's winning Chairman's Presentation and here are tips:

- Wear nametags
- Firmly shake the judges hand and say "Hello"
- Give them a folder/binder with info and tell them what's in them while others set up. We gave them a business plan and event documentation, I told them about it while my partners set up.
- Leave them goody bags (we had our MARS alien inside)
- Comment on their buttons (one judge had a SPAM button, I told them we did a demo for GE with SPAM)
- Anything you didn't cover in the presentation, try to bring up in the Q & A
- Make a business plan, the judges loved it!
- At the end, shake their hands FIRMLY and thank them for your time

I wish you all the best of luck, and for those of you going to Georgia, MARS will see you there!

P.S. Pink Team 233 was awesome. MARS' friends Swamp 179 was excellent. Cybersonics 103 was good too. The suction cup robot was cool too, it picked itself up when it tipped over.

[Barry Bonzack]

Congrats to all of the teams, which I have far to many accolades to mention than I have time to post.

Thanks to Mike and Nancy for the great coordination, and to all of the other volunteers I had the pleasure of working with. I am beginning to really enjoy announcing, feel free to PM me constructive criticism so I will be able to improve for future competitions. Greg, Wayne, and Dan are all excellent company, and a blast to work with. Don and the referees are great people and called matches accurately. Best of luck to all,

onward to Oklahoma!

[Mr B]

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Florida regional. It was a truly incredible event. One thing that struck me at UCF was the sheer number of friends made over the years with FIRST. It was nice to see so many familiar faces of both students and mentors, and I am humbled and grateful to have the chance to associate with so many wonderful people.

In my opinion, the Florida regional has set the stage for how this year's game will be played for the rest of the country. In a word - defense. Some of these robots score so fast that alliances simply must stop or at least delay them to have a chance at winning. (e.g. if you let 103 have free access to balls, they can beat your whole alliance by themselves) Another thing I noticed was just how valuable a good hybrid mode can be. It is really tough to overcome a 20+ point deficit in 2 minutes. Team 233 had some difficulties with our encoder gearing so we could only cross 2 lines - hopefully we can get it worked out in Hawaii.

The robots at UCF were amazing. For starters, there were several rookie robots who were really competitive, something you don't often see. Team 1649 had a suction device that worked exceptionally well, which is uncommon to say the least. There were some great scissor lifts too. Typically that type lift lurches when lifting and then is floppy once extended. Among the great lifters at Florida, team 79's lift was smooth and rock solid which gave them a quick and reliable scoring machine.

Usually you can look at the alliances in the finals and see which one is the "one to beat" - (and maybe we'll get lucky and they will be knocked out before we have to face them ). The alliances at Florida were all top notch, and any one of them could have won it given the right mix of circumstance and luck.

Thanks to all of you in the stands who cheered and injected so much excitement into the event - you turned a competition into a party. Believe me, the people on the field felt the love, and it made the experience that much better. Also, thanks to you all who worked to make this event happen - you did a great job. Things went so smoothly that we sometimes had to pause the competition to keep from getting too far ahead.

Thanks to our alliance partners 1251 and 86, you rocked and were fun to hang around to boot. And thanks to all of you other great friends in FIRST that came to play robots. It's awesome to be able to compete among so many outstanding folks. Finally, thanks to all the great people on team 233 - you make me proud to be pink!

[hipsterjr]

Originally Posted by hoorayforpink

At about 1:15 swamp hurdles a ball over but it hits their bot so it gets descored. Then at about 1:38 swamp tries to hurdle again but doesn't get the ball over the overpass. So for the entire match I only count 1 hurdle by 69. Maybe thats where your counting three hurdles?

Oh, ok. However it turned out, 233 and the blue alliance played a fierce match. It took everything short of a yellow flag to slow you guys down. With some luck 342 might win palmetto and see 233, 86, and 1251 again at Atlanta.

69 and 179 were incredible. We started off a little shaky, but by the end of eliminations, we were a considerable force.

342 had a great time and would like to thank all the event staff.

[techtiger1]

Thank you too 233, and 86 for being the best alliance partners anyone can ask for. For once, it was a nice for a change to play with instead of against 233. Thank you to the Fl regional committee for putting on yet another outstanding event. To all of my FIRST friends from Fl you guys are awesome glad I got to see you. 179,342 and 69 you guys were one tough alliance and I'm sure you guys will be successful at your next regional or the championship. Congrats to 1523 for winning a chairmans award as just a 4th year team.

-Drew

[Cowmankoza]

Originally Posted by techtiger1

For once, it was a nice for a change to play with instead of against 233.

Seconded, 233 always puts out a top notch bot which always had a tendency to show up on the opposite side of the field as us.

Now we just gotta wind up on the same alliance as 179, after playing against them in the finals at UCF 3 times and Palmetto once, I think its time we get together

[LordRed]

The Florida Regional was my first regional and I have to say it was a lot of fun. I loved the venue, energy of the crowd, and talent of the teams. I have to tip my hat to the winning allience (1251, 86, and 233). We almost won our match against them, but I guess that is the way the ball bounces (pun intended).

And thank you team 79 for selecting us as your allience partners. And thank you team 348 for completing the allience. I think we where a great allience.

See you in Atlanta.

[Adare180]

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this year's regional. It was my first time volunteering at a FRC competition and I enjoyed every second of it. (Especially dancing on the field with Michelle, Dan, and Barry.)

I really want to give a huge congratulations to the Mars team. You guys are Mega Awesome. A role model to every team for sure! Props to Tim and the rest of your team on winning this year's award.

Best wishes to everyone in Atlanta!!!!!