2009 Philadelphia Regional

[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.

[Shelbo]

Originally Posted by Phil Ross

Alliance #4: 222, 11, and 316. You guys were awesome. Individually each of your teams showed great ability to carry an alliance. When you were put together I thought you guys were going to be unstoppable. Unfortunately, alliance number 5 had other plans. After emerging victorious in match 1 Cold Fusion, Spartechs, and Metal Moose were not going to let you guys go any further. 222, you showed a consistent promise of racking up tons of orbits balls each match. Also, congratulations on the Industrial Design award, truly deserved. Team 11, I am glad you guys traveled from Jersey to compete with us here in Philly. 316, as the weekend progressed, so did your abilities on the field. The drive team you sent to the field had an exceptionable ability to control that robot and every match I saw there was improvement.

Thanks Phil. Everything you said means a lot to me. The respect of other people is something that our team strives for and your acknowledgment is appreciated.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Shelbo

The respect of other people is something that our team strives for and your acknowledgment is appreciated.

Same goes for us, I couldn't have said it better myself.

One thing that was awesome about Philly was how stacked each alliance was (atleast I would call them stacked)

We're thinking of coming back next year but only if its at Drexel and still in the same week =)

Hopefully Boston, DC, and Philly won't conflict with each other. Anyone know if there will be venue/date changes for Philly next year? This was also a really fun and affordable regional for us. Only thing I'd complain about would be the pit lighting. But not a big deal.

[Josh Goodman]

Well 316, looks like you guys had the same fate as us. We got taken out by number 1 in MD. We miss you guys! Hope to see you next year! (May be volunteering, may be coaching haven't decided yet. )

[rcmolloy]

Congrats to all teams that participated. I was extremely surpised with the competition and how it played out. Us at 1647 are young but most of the members know what were facing next year and we will be back.

Congrats again everyone!!

[nlknauss]

Excellent job to all the teams in who participated at this regional. Team 2729 would really like to thank everyone for openly welcoming our Team into the Philadelphia region through the many forms of GP demonstrated by countless numbers of teams (365, 272, 103, 87, 1647, 433, and 1089 to only name a few). We are looking forward to returning to this regional as our "home regional" and look forward to working with you all in the future.

From a Philly Alumni perspective, the Philadelphia Regional still rocks! Since I was in high school so many teams in our area (87, 103, 365, 272, 341, 433, 816) have grown in ways that make this regional one to remain exciting and competitive.

And, as an alumni let not forget Dean's homework! Get this link out and let's get in touch with the alumni that helped make this region what it is! http://firstcommunity.usfirst.org/

[Mr MOE]

Thanks to everyone who made the 2009 Philadelphia Regional another special and memorable experience.

Event Organizers - even though every had to get used to a new venue, from a participant's standpoint, everything seemed to flow extremely well.

Event Volunteers - part of the charm of Philly regionals are the solid group of veteran volunteers who know how to get things done effectively. 2009 is no different. Thanks for all your energy and enthusiasm throughout the whole event!

Teams - It was great to see old friends (316, 1495, 1370, 357, 222, 272, 84, 87 etc.) and, at the same time, see some friendly new faces at this year's event. It was great interacting with teams like 1507, 1153, 1089, and 395 (I'm sure I am forgetting some of you). Thank you for joining us "locals" in the City of Brotherly Love.

Drexel University and Temple University Without either of you, this regional would not have been as successful as it was. Thank you!

433 - Firebirds, congratulations on your well-deserved Chairman's Award. I was extremely impressed by the set-up you all organized for the Girl Scout activity. I also know about all the hard work you have put in over the years to spread the message of FIRST locally and globally. Keep it up!

341 - Miss Daisy, congratulations on your well-deserved Engineering Inspiration Award. We are fortunate in the local Philly area to see first-hand all your team does to inspire others. Great job! [also, thanks to the Daisies that joined in cheering for our eliminations alliance!]

103, 1153, 708 - Alliance #1, you were a tough opponent in the finals and played hard the whole time. Also, thanks to all the eliminations alliances. Matches were hard-fought, regardless of who was playing who.

395 and 56 - 2Train and Robbe Xtreme. Thanks to 2Train for selecting us for eliminations. You have a fantastic team and robot. Robbe - MOE loves being alliance partners with you guys! We are so glad you have come back to Philly! It was really neat seeing students from all of our teams standing along the balcony with MOE wobblies cheering our alliance. We also had spirited groups of team members on the floor and behind our alliance station. We worked extremely well together. You guys were great.

For those teams going on to other regionals or the Championship, good luck. For those of you whose official seasons are finished, see you during the off-season!

[thefro526]

Well, Philly '09 is in the record books.

The weekend was a rough one for us, things just didn't fall into our favor. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who came up to our pits and complimented us on our design or on our driving. It's true, we really don't have traction control of any sorts, there are no joystick filters, it's just completely open loop. (Some people refused to believe us.)

Some other Thanks and Congrats are in order though.

11- What can I say? I love you guys to death and it was great to finally play with you guys and I wish you the best of luck in Atlanta. Thanks for all of the kind words and moral support (Both on CD and in Philly) over the weekend, it means a lot.

222- You were by far my favorite team to play with all weekend. We worked so well together and it broke my heart that we couldn't ally together in the Elims. Oh well, there's always Atlanta

316- You were awesome through out the weekend, even though you were plagued with drive train issues you still managed to get out and do well. Thanks for the support on and off the field and also thanks for the Driving advice. You guys are an awesome team, Maybe we'll see you at PARC.

365,395 and 56- Losing to you guys was rough but I'd have to say you were the best alliance through the Elims. No one expected you guys to come out and play as well as you did but you definitely deserved the win.

816- We did what we came to do, we got out there and played as well as we could with what we had. I'm so proud to call you guys my teammates, We built a Strong machine so don't let losing get you down. We'll get our wins where they matter the most, In Atlanta.

There's so much more I could say but I've spent too much time writing this post. See some of you in Atlanta.

[Libby K]

I just wanted to thank everyone involved with the Philly Regional for putting on a great event. My team had a lot of fun, and we can't wait for the Championship

Our alliance partners- 272 and 341- thank you for being you. We played well, and it was fun working with you guys.

For a team that had never been in an elimination round -EVER- in their first three years, a strong showing at both NJ and Philly was a dream come true for us.

See y'all in Atlanta!

[George A.]

I'm back from Philly, and every year I'm falling more and more in love with this event.

Some regionals give off the feeling that it's too professional and distant from the volunteers/students, but every time I go to Philly it feels like I'm coming home to an extended family reunion.

To all the volunteers that worked with me: THANK YOU.

The people who were in charge of getting robots to the field did so with expertise, we never had to wait for a team that ran late.

Pit Admin: It's not easy being behind the curtain, but somehow you work your magic year after year.

The ref crew was outstanding, they made my job a lot easier explaining penalties to the crowd. I felt their calls were fair and justified all around.

The scoring table: Andrea, and Mike, it was a pleasure working with both of you again.

The field reset crew: You guys kept were awesome at your job, every time i turned around after a match the field would be cleared in seconds! I am still amazed at your speed and efficiency.

Pete and DeAnn: You kept this regional running. The work you do is so undervalued it's really criminal.

Maureen and Anne: As volunteer coordinators, it's a thankless job trying to fill in all the positions, but you two pull it off with flying colors!

Carol: Thank you for letting me continue to work the event year after year, your generosity goes above and beyond anything that I deserve.

Chiniqua: What can I say? We've been doing this for 5 years, you've given my best friend a nickname that precedes him, and we've got the rhythm down to a science. I can't wait to work with you again.

Finally, to the teams: Thank you for doing what you do. The energy that all of you put out over the three days really makes my job easier. You all are one of the main reasons I keep coming back year after year.


Sorry this post was so long, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some people. But I can't wait for Philly next year!

[Chuck Glick]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

We're thinking of coming back next year but only if its at Drexel and still in the same week =)

Hopefully Boston, DC, and Philly won't conflict with each other. Anyone know if there will be venue/date changes for Philly next year? This was also a really fun and affordable regional for us. Only thing I'd complain about would be the pit lighting. But not a big deal.

Philadelphia will once again be a week 5 regional next year. The regional is traditionally held during our spring break as the DAC is constantly booked until that week. However once the Armory is done, the regional may be moved to another week, but only time will tell.

[Big Kid]

Philly was even more exciting for me this year then the last. I'd like to thank team 1791 for the Personal Recog. Award they gave me.

I'd also like to thank teams 87 (RV Diablos) and 223 (Extreme Heat) for being great alliance partners. things just didn't go as planed unfortunately.

Great job getting the victory 365, 56, 395

See you all in Atlanta, I'll be the only underclassman there for Team 816.

[ezygmont708]

TEAM 708 would like to extend an enormous thank you to Teams 103 and 1153. For the first time in our team's history we made it to the finals!!! As always you both fought exceptionally well, I just hope that we were able to live up to expectations.

Congratulations to Teams 56, 365, and 395!!! You all fought valiantly... and it was an honor to go down against teams of your caliber!

1391 - You were a formidable opponent!!! We enjoyed dancing with you through the semi-Finals

816 - You guys gave me a deep butterfly feeling in the pit of my stomach every time you got near our trailer... I am reviewing our video reels, I'll have to forward you along some of it...

341 - As always you are a great opponent!!! Look forward to seeing you at the Championship!!!

1712 - We look forward to seeing you at the National Championship. Hopefully we can avoid getting tipped by you this year!

If any team would like a copy of the awards presentation I will be making it available (minus Dean's Speech) later this week. I was unfortunately in the pits for the majority of his speech!!!

Good Luck to everyone going to the championship, hopefully we'll see you there!!!

[Phil Ross]

Originally Posted by ezygmont708

1712 - We look forward to seeing you at the National Championship. Hopefully we can avoid getting tipped by you this year!

Yea...about that. I definitely look forward to seeing you guys in ATL. Hopefully we wont tip you guys again this year.