2009 IRI (Indiana Robotics Invitational)

[Jon Jack]

IRI exceeded my expectations. It has to be the best event I have ever been to. It was extremely well planned, the volunteers were the nicest group of volunteers I've had to work with. It seemed like everyone knew what was going on and there wasn't the confusion that most resetters and queuers run into at some point in the competition.

First I'd like to thank 2775, 2056 and 148... This was by far the best alliance I have ever played on. All four of us had a TON of offensive potential and worked together very well. We kept every match close. Anyone of those matches could have gone either way. I hope we all get the chance to play together again.

To JVN and the rest of 148... Your experience and fire power were great to have on our alliance. I was surprised to see you guys available in the 3rd round, you were a steal. You gave us a lot of depth. Oh, and Mark (148's Human Player), you are the patron saint of human players...

Thanks to Greg Needel and 2775 for picking us. You guys are one of the top rookies of 2009. Greg did a great job at conducting the alliance when we put in 148. I'm not sure QF1-2 could have had a chance at ending in our favor without him keeping everyone on the same page. I look forward to see what you guys will do in the future.

To Tyler Holtzman and 2056... You guys are an elite team. You guys are probably one of the most prepared and focused teams in all of FRC. Your human player was great to have in the outpost. He was a great shot, well disciplined and was by far the easiest human player to get empty cells from.

[ShotgunNinja]

Wow, thanks to everyone who made IRI so memorable for me!

To Teams 1714 (especially Chris, who told us of IRI in the first place at Nationals) and 2081, for the use of their Xboxes for some Halo in the Holiday Inn Express (and for the new nickname of "Mealstorm" I have acquired)

To 1625 (Winnovation), who lent us two of their three remaining pistons so our robot could run for the second half of IRI after being essentially reduced to a defensive bot while in alliance with 111 and 2753 (and still somehow losing? I guess our hopper really WAS full...)

To the two female drivers of team 79 (Krunch), for placating our two drivers so they wouldn't say anything too ungraciously professional...

To Dean Simmons and the Kamens, who rocked out on stage after the IRI Talent Show (That was awesome!)

To Susan K. Lawrence, for bringing me one step closer to being a FIRST Mentor

To Chris Fultz, without whose assistance our team (as well as just about every other team who attended) would not have even gone to IRI

To the host teams, who put on an awesome event which I wish I could attend next year.... But maybe as a mentor!

[Jared Russell]

Special thanks to all of the teams in the elimination tournament. Watching those playoffs from the stands was a real treat - the caliber of IRI alliances is only rivaled by Einstein!

And of course thanks to Andy, Chris, and all of teams 45, 234, and 1024 for putting on such a fantastic event. From the venue to the lasagna dinner (), Team 341 always felt welcome at IRI.

[Carol]

I have posted my photos at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8285488...7621814139331/

Not quite as good as ChristinaR's, but I got some nice crowd shots. I'll post a few of the better ones here.


P.S. Only about half of them have MOE in them

[A_Reed]

Overall great event, I had fun volunteering and donning the blaze orange crew shirt. It truly was a great honor to serve as one of the many to make the event what it was, simply spectacular. There is nothing like being field level, only feet away from the action as the cheers pour down on the field from the stands at your back, especially the later it got on Saturday.

The sheer number of recognizable mentors and students from these forums was amazing, either participating, volunteering or judging it was nice to see so many faces from the CD community taking part in the IRI this past weekend.

This was only my second time at IRI (the other being my senior year) and I hope I can make it back next year as a volunteer, and the year after and the year after that.

[Chris Marra]

It seems as though 1625 is making themselves a permanent fixture in the IRI finals recently. A divisional, if not championship, victory is long overdue for them at this point. And of course, is this the 5th IRI victory for 469? Or is it merely a paltry 4 :-p?

Sounds like a spectacular competition. Looking at the alliances, I wish IRI were played as three or four separate elimination tournaments - each with new alliance selections - over two days instead of its current format. It would be a distinct departure from the norm of a FIRST event and let us see a lot of different pairings of elite teams really prove their capabilities under fire.

[Meredith Novak]

I have posted a photo gallery here: http://meredith.smugmug.com/gallery/...10946126_xyLr7

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Chris Marra

It seems as though 1625 is making themselves a permanent fixture in the IRI finals recently. A divisional, if not championship, victory is long overdue for them at this point. And of course, is this the 5th IRI victory for 469? Or is it merely a paltry 4 :-p?

1625 was my favorite to win Einstein this year and probably had the best robot-driver combination in all of Lunacy. (and the rest of my team didn't want them on the top of 1714's list... ) I was very happy to see them win, they totally deserved it. (Not like teams ever don't deserve wins but I thought they earned it with such a spectacular robot)

Sounds like a spectacular competition. Looking at the alliances, I wish IRI were played as three or four separate elimination tournaments - each with new alliance selections - over two days instead of its current format. It would be a distinct departure from the norm of a FIRST event and let us see a lot of different pairings of elite teams really prove their capabilities under fire.

You can see those different pairings of elite teams in qualifications! At least 4 of the alliances my team was on could have made a decent run at Championship, if not all of them.

[Dan2081]

Originally Posted by ShotgunNinja

Wow, thanks to everyone who made IRI so memorable for me!
2081, for the use of their Xboxes for some Halo in the Holiday Inn Express (and for the new nickname of "Mealstorm" I have acquired)

anytime mealstorm

[Chris Marra]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

You can see those different pairings of elite teams in qualifications! At least 4 of the alliances my team was on could have made a decent run at Championship, if not all of them.

But what you see in qualifications is a fundamentally different style of play. You never have to go to a second match which includes strategy changes, another chance to prove yourself, or the need to hold your ground for another victory. You don't get to select an alliance that plays to its internal strengths, and you don't get to develop the chemistry between teams nearly to the degree as you do in eliminations. Yes, at IRI the field is so deep that you are likely to be on spectacular alliances that have chances at victory during the qualifications, but it only emphasizes the subtle differences between teams that make certain alliances successful. Look back through the years of IRI at alliances who were shut down in the eliminations despite being expected to dominate. In eliminations many more factors become integral to success compared to qualifications, in my opinion. Qualifications just don't give the same intricacies that elimination rounds do. Instead they allow for a wider field, and give you somewhat accurate rankings of who performed the best under given circumstances.

[Petra Hartman]

It was my first time at IRI, and one of the most awesome events I have ever been to. All of the teams there were incredible and had a fast pace competition, except when the field was down.

I really want to say thanks to 45, 234, and 1024 for hosting the event and letting me volunteer. As well as 365 and 341 for giving me transportation to the Indiana.

[Andy Baker]

Originally Posted by Petra Hartman

I really want to say thanks to 45, 234, and 1024 for hosting the event and letting me volunteer.

Petra,

You are most welcome.

Each year, I am amazed by the wonderful people who show up for IRI and work so hard to make this event amazing. They work very hard, enjoying themselves, giving their time and talent, and then they say "thank you" when we are done.

With this kind of service and dedication, IRI will continue to be a great event and a better gathering of good people for many years to come.

Thanks to all,
Andy

[Aren_Hill]

Originally Posted by Chris Marra

It seems as though 1625 is making themselves a permanent fixture in the IRI finals recently. A divisional, if not championship, victory is long overdue for them at this point.

Well you guys have stopped us twice.....cut that out

[rcflyer620]

A great big THANKS! for inviting the Robolions - Team 2199 - to this amazing event. We learned so much about what it takes to be a better team just by wandering in the pits and asking lots of questions. The entire experience was well worth the drive and we hope to see you all again next year!

[Codemonkey68]

On behalf of team 68 we would like to say Thank You to teams 1625, 469, and team 16. It was a lot of fun playing together as an alliance and we hope to do it again sometime. We would also like to say thank you to all them teams and people who helped run the tournament. It was a very present event and I know we had a lot of fun. Hopefully see you all there next year!