Curie Division Finalists: 399, 188, 329, and robotics wrap up/thanks

[Shankar M]

(I must apologise for the delay in posting, I had to take care of a trio of exams.)

399
When the divisions came out, we were very high on 399, but honestly knew very little about your team. As you had mentioned elsewhere, a couple of regionals that were not webcasted meant the spotlight was never really very bright on your team. However, when the OPR numbers came out along with your highlight reel, we became believers. We loved your capacity and the ability you had to quickly get in, make a dump and get out; a perfect partner to work with our low volume, quick cycle time game.

Throughout the weekend you really impressed 188, and I heard nothing but good things about your team both on Thursday and Friday night while I was in Toronto (another exam...). When I arrived on Saturday and got a chance to witness things for myself, I was convinced that your robot easily fit at number two on our list (behind a certain group of chickens).

We were honoured to be picked by your team and were thrilled at the prospect of working together. We put together an awesome run and really gave the division champions a run for their money. Thank you so much for selecting us!

329
It always seems happens at the bigger events - the robots that perform consistently well just seem to get missed. As we worked our way down the pick list, we were absolutely stunned to see you still around at 12. A robot that scored 10 balls per match AND delivered empty cells AND human loaded in autonomous AND scored super cells if required available that late? It blew our minds and we did not pass that opportunity up.

Working with you guys was phenomenal. You were so remarkably versatile and opportunistic. You took your shots when the situation called for it, but when the empty cells had to be delievered you were there to do it. In those clutch situations, when a super cell needed scoring, you were there to take care of business. What more could anyone ask of an alliance partner? Thank you for all that you did to make our deep playoff run possible.

217, 68, 247
When 217 selected 68 from the 7 spot, I think everyone on our field knew that the alliance was destined to go deep, very deep. The class of the field with arguably one of the very best dumpers together is scary stuff. Add to that the versatile 247 that could transition so well between the role of defensive behemoth and situational scorer, and a true winning alliance was born. We had a great deal of fun playing against you, and I'm glad we pushed each other to three matches.

Congratulations on your division win and your runners-up finish on Einstein. You came up against the very best, but you put on a heck of a show.

(247, for the second year in a row, our season ends at your hands, we'll get you one of these years, just you wait .)