Who's the best team not in Atlanta in 2008?

[T3_1565]

I think from a Canadian point of view, and only judging by the two events I went to, I'm going to give this to 188, unforntaly they had some break downs every now and then, but for how simple there machine was for ball pickup, it worked really well!

[Jetweb]

My two are:

910: great robot this year and made it to finals last year, wanted to see them try it again.

342: They were great partners in Florida and it would have been cool to pair up with them again in Atlanta.

[s_forbes]

1501, they built one of my favorite robots this year (and last year, and the year before, and the year before). It's a big bummer that they only got to attend one regional...

[Akash Rastogi]

No doubt: 342

[Tom Line]

Wow!

Thanks guys. It gives the warm fuzzies to be mentioned here - especially by teams like you guys Martians and Red Tails.

Someday we'll get there. We tend to be pretty short on funding, so we can't schedule the championships in advance. We just cross our fingers for a regional win, and then hope we can get more money out of Sponsers .

We'll get there eventually!

[Lil' Lavery]

I'm going to chime in and agree with the 1731 crowd. Fresta Valley is an amazing team with an amazing robot. By far the best team to build their robot in a barn. The past three year's they've been on the #1 alliance at VCU (as the #1 seed their rookie year in 2006), but they haven't been able to win it yet. This year they also were on the #1 alliance at Buckeye, but met the brick wall of 1024 and 1126 in the finals there. At both events their captains were hurdlers, and (no offense to their partners) at both events they carried their alliances into the finals. They had a unique and effective robo-coach system (using the CMU cam and colored flashlights), effective hybrid (3 lines, 1-2 balls), solid pick-up, and great hurdling. They'll be a contender for years to come.

I saw 272 and 381 in person, and both of them were also outstanding. 272 was a great shooter and 381 is the best lap-bot I have seen, which is an accomplishment as I attended four regionals (NJ, VCU, Philly, NYC).
1655 and 405 were also outstanding lap-bots at VCU who are not going to Championship.

[AcesPease]

Originally Posted by T3_1565

I think from a Canadian point of view, and only judging by the two events I went to, I'm going to give this to 188, unforntaly they had some break downs every now and then, but for how simple there machine was for ball pickup, it worked really well!

Played against them. Very smart drivers. They got the most out of their bot every round.

[T3_1565]

Originally Posted by AcesPease

Played against them. Very smart drivers. They got the most out of their bot every round.

agreed! we played with and against them, a few times, definatly a smart bunch on that team lol. It dissapointed me that we never saw you guys on the feild ever (played with or against) because you guys were pretty good as well!

[JesseK]

I vote 1731. I've seen these guys for the last few years and not only are their designs successful, they're also unique. They definitely built a world-class bot this year and agree they helped carry more than their load in many of their matches from what I saw.

Last year's design really pushed the limits of engineering, and I'm glad to see it in the RackNRoll book.

[Jonathan Norris]

Originally Posted by T3_1565

I think from a Canadian point of view, and only judging by the two events I went to, I'm going to give this to 188, unforntaly they had some break downs every now and then, but for how simple there machine was for ball pickup, it worked really well!

I would agree with you on that one 188 had a good bot again this year, had problems with consistency but when they weren't breaking forks or tangling their ropes they could put up a big score. Again on the Canadian front 1310, who was aligned with 188 at GTR, was a pneumatic beast that was a good hurdler and placer.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Team 1726. I guess they were just unlucky this year, but their bot inspired some other very successful designs. They'd be up for a design award at the Championship had they made it.

[T3_1565]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Norris

I would agree with you on that one 188 had a good bot again this year, had problems with consistency but when they weren't breaking forks or tangling their ropes they could put up a big score. Again on the Canadian front 1310, who was aligned with 188 at GTR, was a pneumatic beast that was a good hurdler and placer.

Yes 1310 was also good, although they had a slow pickup at some points (some points they were really good at it lol) their shooter arm was awesome "Pokey Pokey"!!!

Our team mothers were calling 1310 the gaint teddy bear, cause it looked like it hugged the ball all the time!

[hipsterjr]

I would have to second 1726. They built a great bot. While talking to them, they gave us some advice that honestly defined our bot. It is funny that they shared our fate; my signature says it all.

[cziggy343]

Originally Posted by hipsterjr

I would have to second 1726. They built a great bot. While talking to them, they gave us some advice that honestly defined our bot. It is funny that they shared our fate; my signature says it all.

a yes... the distribution block... that stunck like nobody's business...

[T3_1565]

Originally Posted by cziggy343

a yes... the distribution block... that stunck like nobody's business...

We had that problem too... they don't seem to like the 10 gauge wire lol

Thankfully we had our wire at the right length and the block in a safe spot that nothing could happen to it ever lol! (although we had to push the wire back in every so often )