Michigan State Championship 2009

[klrswift]

A big thank you also goes to 469 and 703. It was great playing with you guys. I hope we get to be paired up again sometime soon. I wish both of you the best of luck the rest of the year.

I would also like to thank 27 for adopting us during our run in the elimination matches. I couldn't believe the enthusiasm you had cheering for us. When you were going back and forth chanting "Red Alliance" while 503 was chanting "Blue Alliance" I was dumbfounded. I looked around and realized that it wasn't just us or our partners, but you guys. That was by far my favorite moment of the entire season (too bad it was ended so anticlimactically with the replacement of the countdown clock on the red alliance stations). You guys are an amazing team and I wish you the best of luck in Atlanta.

[chinckley]

Where do we see the final standings including the MSC points and the district points added together? Who are the 18 teams going to Atlanta?

Congrats to team 1918 on getting into the finals.

Congrats to 548 for the fastest put together I have ever seen
in the 6 minute fix window before the final match.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by chinckley

Where do we see the final standings including the MSC points and the district points added together? Who are the 18 teams going to Atlanta?

I'm sure the standings will be placed here http://www.firstinmichigan.org/ in the Event Results tab.

Since a number of teams have pre-registered for Atlanta and some qualify directly (winners, etc), it will probably go far down the list before all the allocated slots are filled.

[chinckley]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

I'm sure the standings will be placed here http://www.firstinmichigan.org/ in the Event Results tab.

Since a number of teams have pre-registered for Atlanta and some qualify directly (winners, etc), it will probably go far down the list before all the allocated slots are filled.

How do you qualify directly?

[GaryVoshol]

From the Michigan rules:

5.3.1 Qualifying for Spots
18 spots have been reserved for Michigan teams at the FIRST Championship in Atlanta. These spots will be awarded based on performance and awards earned at the Michigan State Championship. The 18 spots are broken down as follows:
• 3 spots for each of the teams making up the winning alliance at the State Championship
• 3 spots for the top three State Championship Chairman’s Award winners
9
• 2 spots for the top two State Championship Rookie All-Star Award winners
• 1 spot for the State Championship Engineering Inspiration Award winner
• The remaining spots will go to the top ranked teams after points earned at the State Championship are used to re-compute the state rankings.

By directly I meant the spots specified in the bullet points.

[chinckley]

Thanks.

How are the teams able to register ahead of time? Are there certain rules for that? Seems like many Michigan teams have already signed up for Nationals.

[GaryVoshol]

It's done in the fall when registering for regionals (districts). See the "Wait List" thread.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Tyler Hicks

I am so glad that we qualified for the National Championship. Do you guys think that Nationals might be a little easier than MSC? Some of the greatest teams are in Michigan alone, and a lot of teams going to nationals just signed up for it. Regardless, there are going to be strong teams there.

I wouldn't go selling all the other teams short, dude. I've been to alot of competitions this year and they're are some good teams outside of Michigan too (in fact in my opinion the best robot I seen this year isn't from the states it's from Canada. 2056 is the last machine you want to see in the opposite alliance station across from you).
Michigan has the best quality top to bottom though. I predict at least one, if not two championship winning teams will come from Michigan.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

I wouldn't go selling all the other teams short, dude. I've been to alot of competitions this year and they're are some good teams outside of Michigan too (in fact in my opinion the best robot I seen this year isn't from the states it's from Canada. 2056 is the last machine you want to see in the opposite alliance station across from you).
Michigan has the best quality top to bottom though. I predict at least one, if not two championship winning teams will come from Michigan.

I'm with Ed. If you want to see really tough matches, IRI is the place to be. Think the MI championship with teams from outside MI, and a few more teams.

And on the West Coast, there are some teams you REALLY don't want to see behind the opposite glass. The longest regional win streak for one regional is on the West Coast.

[Alex Dinsmoor]

Originally Posted by MishraArtificer

Who won the best button contest?

Team 548 received the majority of the votes for their button (it was very cool, I should take a picture of it), and thus won it.

Team 1504 came in second place with their button. Our team felt it was possibly the cutest button ever (including many of the guys!)

On to the competition!

We had a great run at states, even though we were eliminated in the semi-finals by 1918, 904, and 247. You guys played some extreme defense, and scored amazingly.

Even though we wanted to take revenge for our loss to 1918 and 904 in the semis at Traverse, you guys were just too good!

I would like to thank our alliance partners 245 and 70. I still can't get over the fact that no one picked 245 earlier in the draft! You were an amazing robot, and great partners. I would also like to thank team 70, More Martians. When 247 pinned 245 in our matches, you basically held our alliance point wise. Without your scoring power we would have never made it past the QFs!

Depending on if we can find the space in our budget to go to Atlanta, we may see everyone there!

[robostangs548]

Originally Posted by Alex Dinsmoor

Team 548 received the majority of the votes for their button (it was very cool, I should take a picture of it), and thus won it.

Team 1504 came in second place with their button. Our team felt it was possibly the cutest button ever (including many of the guys!)

On to the competition!

We had a great run at states, even though we were eliminated in the semi-finals by 1918, 904, and 247. You guys played some extreme defense, and scored amazingly.

Even though we wanted to take revenge for our loss to 1918 and 904 in the semis at Traverse, you guys were just too good!

I would like to thank our alliance partners 245 and 70. I still can't get over the fact that no one picked 245 earlier in the draft! You were an amazing robot, and great partners. I would also like to thank team 70, More Martians. When 247 pinned 245 in our matches, you basically held our alliance point wise. Without your scoring power we would have never made it past the QFs!

Depending on if we can find the space in our budget to go to Atlanta, we may see everyone there!

We worked very hard this year on all aspects of the team, the spirit division was no exception... We are flattered that people liked our button. Everyone feel free to visit our pit during Nationals to pick one up... We will have plenty to go around if you are interested... Good luck everyone, and see you there!

[Beth Sweet]

I just realized that I never congratulated Jennifer Harvey!!! What a phenomenal choice for WFA!

I have uploaded my photos from States to my Picasa http://picasaweb.google.com/bethsweet/States2009#

They are 1504-centric, but if you were in matches with us, you may be in some of them!

[JVN]

I want to thank Paul Copioli and all the Thunderchickens for inviting me to come up to Michigan for this incredible event.

The more time I spend with Paul and team 217 the more in awe I become of their program. These guys are doing GREAT things and continue to provide a strong positive example for the rest of us. They were gracious enough to "adopt" a lonely Texan into their team and happily urged me to dive right in. I had a lot of fun, and was VERY impressed with the Thunderchicken students; what an amazing group. With a program like that, I could even get used to wearing that awful green.

It was also a very special experience to be a fly-on-the-wall of their elimination alliance. There were many people involved who I greatly admire and many who are great friends. (When you're discussing strategy with Adam Freeman, Tom Nader, Karthik Kanagasabapathy, Paul Copioli, Mike Copioli, Ken Patton, and Chris Hibner... well, it is easy to be overwhelmed.) I feel very fortunate to have been even a small part of such a great group.

I hope 148 gets the opportunity to work with one of these three incredible teams. I will eagerly await the division announcements with my fingers crossed.

Also special thanks again to Paul for giving me the "Thunderchicken VIP Treatment". I hope I can return the favor some day.

Kudos to everyone involved. My weekend at the MSC is one I will never forget.

Thanks,
John

[Mike Copioli]

Originally Posted by JVN

Also special thanks again to Paul for giving me the "Thunderchicken VIP Treatment". I hope I can return the favor some day.

Kudos to everyone involved. My weekend at the MSC is one I will never forget.

Thanks,
John

John,

next time we will see how you fit in the trunk of a VW.

[rogerlsmith]

Final results are now available here.