Attending Manchester Regional?

[Ian Curtis]

So...

Seeing as all of you got done early and are discussing what you saw, or will be shooed out of the pits in half an hour by the pit admin table , how did today go?

[BrendanB]

It went pretty well for us. Our team spent much of the day bringing our competition bot up to speed with our practice robot and have a few more bugs to work out for tomorrow morning, but are feeling confident.

Team 1922 put on a really impressive show with their robot today, definately look out for them over the weekend.

Good luck and see everyone tomorrow!

[Nathan Streeter]

"Typical Practice Day"
Well, I think that for a "Practice Thursday" today was fairly typical. Some robots were already "done" and ready to go, while others were still making improvements. At the beginning, 3 or 4 robots were on the field, while at the end of the day the field normally had either 5 or 6 robots.

"Alot of Teams Worked on Robots All Day"
It did seem that an unusual number of teams were still working on their robot just before the pits closed! Even some of the annual greats (175, 126, 121, etc.) were working throughout the day, when in past years they have only had to complete small maintenance tasks.

"Scores a Little Low"
As in past years, the practice match scores were pretty low. The "average match" ended with each alliance with 2 or 3 points; however, 0 and 5 point matches were not uncommon. I think the highest final score I saw was 8 (although I only watched about half the matches). My feeling is that, with little defense, the average Saturday morning scores will be around 5 and 6, with 10 or more being scored by the strongest alliances. So, even though the scores were not high today, I believe that will change.

"Balls Carry the Match, While the Tower Tips the Balance"
From watching the matches, very few teams (about half a dozen?) were consistently hanging. 58, 126, and 78 all had nice, quick hanging mechanisms working; however, these were a minority. Most matches would witness no action at the tower. So, it appears that most matches will be primarily scored through the soccer balls; however, the hangers will probably swing plenty of matches.

These are just some of my preliminary thoughts - I only watched about half the matches today... I spent much of the day getting our own robot working, and I took time today to check out robots in the pits. I'm looking forward to an exciting two more days!

[Andy Grady]

It was a very interesting day at GSR today. Many of the usual powerhouse teams were in rebuilding mode. Teams like 20, 126, and 175 only made it out to one or two practice matches. Here are the teams to watch as of Thursday:

58 - Have we ever walked away from a practice day saying anything other than "Yep...Riot Crew is good again!"? The most consistent performing team of the Granite State Regional is back with a slick shooter and hanger.

78 - Another given here. They shoot and hang very well. Suction is pretty nasty for ball handling.

1922 - These guys may have the single most effective shooter that I have seen this year. They can clear a zone of balls in no time what so ever. Absolutely, fantastic.

1519 - Very consistent looking shooter.

131 - Probably one of the most solid ball control dribblers at the competition. They were rocketing balls high off the glass from all the way across the field.

126 - Though it only ran for one round and its kicker wasn't kicking, the hanger was the best there. Up in seconds once they latch the bar.

20 - Once again, only out once or twice but gets the award for most maneuverable. If they get the kicker working, look out world.

2342 - They are making a mark. Very very effective at clearing a zone. Looks like they got alot of practice driving and maneuvering balls off the wall.

Of course, its practice day so its not always a great indicator, but tomorrow should be very interesting.

Good luck teams!

[SteveGarward]

Team 3132 had a great day! A few minor issues, even though we were working pretty hard in the pits all day, but mostly adding finishing touches to our bumpers (which were kindly built for us by 2343, as we couldn't ship plywood into the USA), or overcoming unforseen issues due to the surface area of the field that affected our drive wheels.

It was great having everyone stop by (come back Friday - we'll have stuff for you!), and thanks to all that welcomed our SafetyRoos as they came around the pit area!

And remember... Aussie Aussie Aussie... OI OI OI!!!

[JGecko146]

Hi!

I'm Jen, a mentor on team 501 from Manchester High School West, the PowerKnights. See you there!

[Aaron Lussier]

After looking at the rankings posted at http://www2.usfirst.org/2010comp/eve.../rankings.html Congrats to 151 for having the highest hanging points of the day.

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by Aaron Lussier

After looking at the rankings posted at http://www2.usfirst.org/2010comp/eve.../rankings.html Congrats to 151 for having the highest hanging points of the day.

Than hanging points shown in that column are a total of all hanging points earned by that team's alliance in it's matches. You could lead in hanging points without having a hanger (although it would be very unlikely)

[Aaron Lussier]

Originally Posted by Vikesrock

Than hanging points shown in that column are a total of all hanging points earned by that team's alliance in it's matches. You could lead in hanging points without having a hanger (although it would be very unlikely)

Oh... my bad. Good to know thanks!

[Ian Curtis]

I'm showing up bright and early tomorrow morning. Pretty pumped!

[skiswitch6]

Originally Posted by Vikesrock

Than hanging points shown in that column are a total of all hanging points earned by that team's alliance in it's matches. You could lead in hanging points without having a hanger (although it would be very unlikely)

Haha. Thanks. We actually did hang ourselves (yikes) 5 times. We actually have been elevated 6 times of our 7 matches, however for one of them we were penalized 2 points for hanging on the wrong bar (our hook was bumped to the other bar when we were hit by an alliance partner).

Oh well. We are very pleased. We wished we could have seeded a little higher... but we're excited anyway! Come check out our robot on the corner station of the queuing area. Good luck tomorrow!

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by skiswitch6

Haha. Thanks. We actually did hang ourselves (yikes) 5 times. We actually have been elevated 6 times of our 7 matches, however for one of them we were penalized 2 points for hanging on the wrong bar (our hook was bumped to the other bar when we were hit by an alliance partner).

Very nice! I was merely posting an informational warning, not trying to downplay your team's amount of hanging points.

[LegendOfSteve]

"Alot of Teams Worked on Robots All Day"
It did seem that an unusual number of teams were still working on their robot just before the pits closed! Even some of the annual greats (175, 126, 121, etc.) were working throughout the day, when in past years they have only had to complete small maintenance tasks.

Yeah, we had a bad day in the pits on Thursday, but we got it all sorted out by that evening THANKFULLY.

[BrendanB]

GSR was AMAZING this year! Congratulations to team 1547 on their Chairmans award and to team 131 on their Engineering Inspiration award!

To teams 78, 134, and 1922: You guys are three great teams and going to 4 finals matches shows that it was some of the best of the best in the finals!

To teams 1073 and 1058: You guys were amazing partners and I can't imagine a better alliance, both of you were key on our alliance. And to 1058, winning a regional with your brother on the same alliance as you and a bunch of your friends is wicked awesome! Good luck at Chesapeake and Connecticut, you both will rock there! The Mechanical PVC Force!

Now to find something to sooth my throat!

[Kage]

GSR was alot of fun! 238 only had some minor computer issues in 2 of our matches yesterday, but other than that, we had no problems at all! it was a nice, clean played competition, and there were minimal to no field issues!
that was great!
great job all you teams from GSR!