2008 Florida Regional

[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!

[Nawaid Ladak]

hey guys

there is an article on the front page of the local section in the Orlando sentinel. i have yet to read it but it shows the pink team as the head picture and the article is wisly titled "born nerds...proudly". so if you get a chance pick up todays copy of the paper.

[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!!!!!

[AdamC]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

About safety.
There was a major incident in the pits yesterday where a member of 395 lost a part of his finger in the robot. I know you guys at times find the safety aspect of the game to be annoying and intrusive but it's incidents like this is why FIRST drives the safety initiatives so hard. Your body does not have replacement parts. Follow all safety procedures to the fullest even if it adds minutes to what you are doing. It'll be worth it in the long run.

What happened to our man was tragic, and it was largely due to a lack of communication among team members. However, let's not let a lack of time get in the way of proper safety. We now require that all team members step back a foot when the robot is on, and they cannot touch it until it is off. Also, all testing MUST be announced multiple times, and cannot commence until all team members are clear of the robot. Accidents happen, but they can be prevented with just a LITTLE bit of forethought.

[Swampdude]

Ouch, I think about that every year. I get in a rush and find myself willing to take risks, but then realize this competition is just a temporary thing. I did break my finger in 2003 in Atlanta, but it had nothing to do with the robot, we were goofing around in the hotel room.... heh.

OK so I wanted to say thank you to 1592, 1403, and 180 for giving us your Van door motors. We got about 4 matches out of each one. Thank you so much for those!

I had a great time this year, our students really stepped up to the plate and ran everything smoothly, I got to sit back for most of it and enjoy everything. I'm just very proud of these guys and girls. Our programming team are hero's to me. Scouting was great, and Sean (our driver) blew me away.

Big thanks to 69 and 342, it was a blast, and as Eddie said (from 69) we lost to the best. That couldn't be a truer statement. The pink tiger resistance solidified a strategy we couldn't get around in that last match. 86 played great defense on us. Frankly I didn't think we were going to get past the #1 alliance in the semis. Those were some incredible matches. It was great to see everyone again, it always feels like a family thing to me, great people and friends.

Congrats to 1523! Thats amazing, you guys are on fire. OH I FORGOT MARS GAVE US A MOTOR TOO! lol

[dmellich]

Originally Posted by Swampdude

The pink tiger resistance

Wow, I like that Dan. Do we have your permission to use it?

Originally Posted by Swampdude

Congrats to 1523! Thats amazing, you guys are on fire.

Mega Dittos.

[Swampdude]

Sure, do I get some kind of royalties? Spare van door motors?

[Pat Arnold]

The Florida Regional was fantastic; great weather, a new arena, strong competitors and wonderful volunteers, crew, judges, refs, & announcers. A huge thanks to everyone.

Congrats to the phenomenal winning alliance of teams 233, 86, and 1251. It was amazing watching you in action against the powerful robots/drive teams of the finalist alliance 69, 179 and 342.

MARS would like to thank alliance partners Teams 1065 and 2564 - it was fun working together; we really respect your teams, robots & efforts.

Thanks also to Josh, Team 86 alumni, who for the 2nd year made our amazing pit banner, and to Team 180 for giving us some needed nuts & bolts and your unique SPAM team award for our Autodesk Visualization entry (that means a lot coming from your talented team who ended up winning the regional's Autodesk Award, and the GP award!). Sincere thanks also to Team 179, our rookie year mentors who continue to share their experience (& put on a great preseason scrimmage). Your robots stand out every year & congrats on winning the Delphi's "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" Award. Treasure Coast teams in Palm Beach & Martin Counties sure shined at the event.

MARS is humbled to have been selected as the Florida Chairman's Award winner. Apologies to anyone sitting in the stands nearby; we truely were amazed, giddy and in shock as the selection was annouced.