2008 Philadelphia Regional!

[OZ_341]

I would just like to thank the many volunteers that help make the Philly Regional one of the best in the nation. The Eppley Family, Judy Vandy, the Troy family, the Perrottos, the Larocks, Carol Kauffman, Pete Keiselbach, Melissa Thiessen, the Rizzo brothers, Dave Greenley, Rich Kressly and the list could go on and on....

Congratulations to the Troys for their double award on friday. It was certainly deserved for all that they give to FIRST.

I would also like to congratulate 103, 272, 834, 809 for a hard fought finals. I still feel that you had the better alliance. I am not sure how we won. Everytime you took to the field in the playoffs all I could say was WOW!

Congratulations Team 2668 Vortex (NMTCC) our former school partner for their showing on the field and for winning Rookie All-star. You guys have a great future ahead of you.

And finally to our alliance partners 365 and 84 you were just amazing both on and off the field.

Congratulations to all of the winners at the Philly Regional.

Best of luck to everyone at the Championships!

[Akash Rastogi]

Congrats 341!! Its great to see how much you guys improved after Chesapeake. Seeya in Atlanta

[Valkyrie133]

Wow, what a competition!!

Anyone know if there are any videos posted of the finals matches? I was screaming myself hoarse even though our team (1511 Rolling Thunder) wasn't competing...absolutely amazing battles! I'd love to show friends and family so they can see what this craziness is about.

P.S. If there are videos of the quarterfinals, that would be great too. I know Rolling Thunder's robot got a last-second ball placement that would be wonderful to watch again. Many thanks!

[George A.]

Congrats to 365, 84, and 341 for their win, especially to 84 and 341 winning back to back years.

Awesome job to 103, 272, 809, and 834. Those were by far some of the best, of not the best finals I've seen in my years in FIRST.

It was an honor doing the play by play work for you guys, and I'll be sure to keep coming back year after year.

A special congrats to 1511. I don't think I've been next to a more spirited team. Even when your robot wasn't performing well, you were having a blast! Keep up the good work

"I believe that robots ROCK!!"

[OScubed]

Originally Posted by George A.

A special congrats to 1511. I don't think I've been next to a more spirited team. Even when your robot wasn't performing well, you were having a blast! Keep up the good work

"I believe that robots ROCK!!"

I for one had a blast! Looking forward to another fun event, and we had fun with you guys in the announcing booth too! I especially loved the "arnold schwarznegger" announces the match theme. Some of your random analogies were totally hilarious! It's absolutely true that great spirit and an awesome announcer create an energy feedback loop and that was really pounding in Philly this weekend!

I have to say that part of what made Philly so fun was the awesome additional energy added by our stand-mates the Duct Tape Bandits. They cheered along with us, and we cheered along with them and we all had a blast. What a fun group!

Congrats to all the teams - especially the IE and Chairman's award winners. Whether you won or lost the robot competition at Philly - you ALL won just by being there.

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by lilstogi11

Congrats 341!! Its great to see how much you guys improved after Chesapeake. Seeya in Atlanta

Thanks! We decided to simplify the arm a lot after Chesapeake. We eliminated two extension cylinders and programmed in time-delayed actuation to that our claw wouldn't "droop" and sometimes drop the ball. On top of those changes we were able to speed up the arm by almost 2:1 because of the reduced moment from the removal of the cylinders.

[kkay5]

Congrats to team 341 for winning the regional and the chairman's award! we look forward to seeing you at the championships

[nlknauss]

Originally Posted by Rich Kressly

Forget the "winners and losers" does anyone else ever stop and think about how many incredible leaders (volunteers, mentors, and students) we come to know through FIRST? I don't know about you, but when I compare it to the rest of my life it's absolutely mind-blowing.

I absolutely agree with this statement. I've attended the Philly Regional for 9 years now and have always been amazed with the leadership demonstrated by many of those leaders in attendance. Being in the presence of these mentors as a student and hearing about many of the different programs they've created really pushed me to become a teacher. Thanks!

Congratulations to all of the teams who participated and those whose accomplishments were recognized this past weekend.

[Dillon Compton]

Thanks to all the mentors, volunteers, teams, etc that made Philly possible.

As always, Philly was my favorite event that I attended this year. The energy in that arena is always intense, and the volunteers and staff are consistently of the highest caliber - from the security guards at the venue to the FIRST volunteers, the staffing at this event makes it easy to have fun while the event maintains a priority on safety, organization, and seamless operation. I also want to give a special thanks to our IFI rep this year (I forget his name...); he had a FANTASTIC energy, and was visibly present and accessible both on and off the field.

To 1712 and 381 - thanks for an AWESOME alliance. Even if we did get eliminated in the quarterfinals, we all put on an excellent showing. My only regret is that we didn't pull through a little more for you guys!

To my team, thanks for the season and congrats on the Innovation in Control Award!

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Dillon Compton

I also want to give a special thanks to our IFI rep this year (I forget his name...); he had a FANTASTIC energy, and was visibly present and accessible both on and off the field.

Tall, fun/funny, fast, looked sort of like Alfalfa with purple hair (thanks to the Roboducks) - coming from the awesome inaugural OKC Regional? Lee, maybe?

He was pretty FANTASTIC!

[Danny McC]

I dont remember who it was. But everytime I have run into an IFI rep they have been really cool people. And the Philly rep would make a great MC, me and Dustin think.

[Freddy Schurr]

This was yet again an amazing competition. From working with the rookie teams to sharing stories with the veterans, this regional made me proud to say that I am apart of FIRST. When you enter the Philadelphia Regional, for me, I get the sense that we are all one big family returning to meet/greet and have one big party for two days. With friends coming from out of state to partake in the competition, we accept them in our house and make them feel welcome. Hopefully we will see them again in the near future.

To anyone that is going to the Championship event, I wish you a good luck and may you succeed.

See you all again!

[Freddy Schurr]

I also want to give a special thanks to our IFI rep this year (I forget his name...); he had a FANTASTIC energy, and was visibly present and accessible both on and off the field.

His name was Lee.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Freddy Schurr

His name was Lee.

Yup!

[DUCKIE]

Yes, the Philadelphia Regional IFI rep was Lee.