2009 Philadelphia Regional

[Dillon Compton]

The Philadelphia regional is always a fantastic experience for us, but this year was particularily exciting. Going in I was unsure about the (temporary) venue change, the lack of some familiar teams, and our spotty record in NJ.

None of these things, luckily, made the tiniest amount of difference this weekend.

Going 6-0 on Friday was fantastic - going into Saturday undefeated is a brilliant feeling that I hope I have at all FIRST events in the future... This is a nice change of pace for our team and I think we really showed what our robot and especially our driver are capable of. We expected to do far better than we did in NJ, but it was gratifying to show everyone else that we weren't just crazy.

1279 and 834 thank you for a fantastic run in eliminations. With a little more luck (loosing by 2 points one match and 6 points the next is very close) we'd have taken it to the finals and put some heat on the winning alliance. I hope we managed to make 103, 1153 and 708 sweat a little during the semis and I really think that if we did it again it might go either direction. Very evenly matched alliances. We got shut down by 708 in that last match and coulden't pull through for you guys.


222, 316, and 11 - you guys were tough. Our first-round loss had us worried and we barely squeaked by in the second round. Good defense, especially from 316. 11 and 222 you stepped up the scoring and slammed our trailers more than any of our qualifying match opponents. Something clicked on our alliance between our 2nd and 3rd matches and it definitiely showed - without that luck on our part you could easily have taken it to the semis or finals.

103, 1153, and 708 - well fought. You guys were a powerhouse of an alliance and (rightfully so) the 103-1153 team-up worried us from the moment it happened. You both showed fantastically this weekend. 708, you did a fantastic job shutting us down in the second semi-final match. It was frustrating to watch from the stands as we sat there with a full hopper, unable to get even a few moon rocks into a trailer. You did what you needed to defend against us and took the match because of it. As I said before, a fantastic, powerhouse alliance. I was frankly surprised you did not take the regional.

The rest of the alliances (from what few matches I saw) solid games and great strategy. Very impressed all around.


Fantastic regional, fantastic teams, and fantastic people. As usual the Philadelphia Regional was incredibly competitive with a deep field, had good, vibrant energy about it (somewhat dissapated due to the size of the liacouras center when compared with the Drexel Atheletic Center), and was overall one of my best FIRST experiences to date.

[ChristinaR]

This was my first visit to not only the regional but Philly all together! I came in Thursday, but spent most of my FIRST time Saturday. It looks to be a very strong regional, so kudos to the people that make it run.

I was glad to see 103, 1153 and 708 making it to the finals - I hadn't expected some fellow MA residents to be joining me there (1153 is 4 towns away).

BIG congrats goes out to 56, 395, 365! These are three teams that I've always loved. In fact, to any MOE member I encountered I think I said, "I love you guys!"

And of course, congrats to 433!! Another deserving team makes it on the RCA list.

Some other shoutouts go to 1089, 11, 222, 1923, 341 (congrats for EI!), 834, and every other team there.

The energy here in Philly was great - the crowd had a super spirit to it. Everyone was so nice, I think I may have to come back next year (without peer pressure )
If they stay at the Liacouras though, I'm hoping for more pit lighting, not only is it tough for teams, but tough for those trying to photograph them!

[galewind]

I can't speak for the rest of my team (but I think they share similar sentiment), but I have to say that I absolutely loved this regional. It was nice to have a different mix of teams around, but at the same time feel similar enough that it did feel like home. I can't compare it to Drexel since this was our first time competing here, but I really liked the venue, and the volunteer staff were all top-notch.

As far as matches were concerned, I really thought that the depth of field was a bit better than in NJ, and the eliminations were much more exciting to watch. I have to say that alliance #1 vs alliance #8 in the quarterfinals was the most EXCITING Lunacy I have seen played yet. 1923, 341, and 272 made it so that I was literally on the edge of my seat. Those matches were both within their reach, but an awesome #1 alliance scraped by. I was bummed for 103 that they were unable to get a win this season, but, as we all know, things "just work out like that".

I had a great chance to speak with a lot of great mentors, including those from 11, 103, 293, 1403, 341, 357, 365, 1267, 1923, 2729, and more. FIRST is in really good hands in this area, I really have to say.

I also got some amazing impressions from some teams I never personally met with before, like 223, 224, 816, 1143, and 1267. Each of those teams were a class act, and I felt very welcomed at the event.

Now onto congrats:

To 341, congrats on WFFA and EI! With all of the work that you guys do for other teams and community, it is great to see you recognized.

To 433, congrats on Chairman's! I got chills down my spine watching you guys get all excited sitting in the stands before you won, knowing what it felt like doing the same thing 3 weeks ago. What an honor! Congratulations for the recognition for all of your work!

To 365, 395, and 56 -- Congrats on the win! You guys put up a heck of a fight out there against the #1 seed!

Lastly, a point of business: Our team found a black insulated hoodie (with like grey flannel print on it) that I took home with me. If anyone knows that they lost it, please PM me and I'll ship it to you.