2010 New Jersey Regional

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Anyone who does not know Chris Gregory needs to get to know him. Such an amazingly friendly person and an amazing team leader. Everyone should take a page from his book. Once again, congrats Chris.

Quoted For the Truth. Mr. Gregory is quite the awesome guy and you can see it echoed through 1089's spirit. (Not Just Team Spirit but in the way they act and compete)

Also, George Thanks for keeping things exciting the whole time. When you started talking in that random accent in the middle of one of our elimination matches I think both my Driver and I started laughing. (I'll have your shirt for Philly)

[IamMisplaced]

Hey Guys,
Just thought I'd post some links of some photos that were taken at the regional, they are on Picasa and will only be able to get it through these links:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Thanks again to everyone who competed, I had an awesome second year and I hope to see you guys again.

Thanks,

Charlie

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Our disappointment was dulled down once we saw the teams involved in eliminations and our connection to each one of them.

MORT is NJ FIRST in every way. There's hardly a team within driving distance not touched by you guys, especially in the early years when it's most needed. Words are inadequate.

Originally Posted by PayneTrain

we are excited that you will be coming to the best regional on the East Coast this year. (maybe second to New Hampshire)

I don't think it'll be second to anywhere else. We are psyched!

Originally Posted by George A.

It has to be grating to listen to me for 2 days straight

Nope, not even slightly

Originally Posted by George A.

1403: It’s about flippin time.

Quoted for truth.


Edit: Great photos Charlie. You guys are a really great team; I expect big things from GSB next year.

[Brandon_L]

Originally Posted by IamMisplaced

Hey Guys,
Just thought I'd post some links of some photos that were taken at the regional, they are on Picasa and will only be able to get it through these links:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Thanks again to everyone who competed, I had an awesome second year and I hope to see you guys again.

Thanks,

Charlie

Wow, good pics!

Imah saving this one, its a good shot of our bot with the field in the back. I have the 2495 on my back .


Scratch that, all your pics are good! WOW!

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

MORT is NJ FIRST in every way. There's hardly a team within driving distance not touched by you guys, especially in the early years when it's most needed. Words are inadequate.

Thanks Don. That is truly appreciated.

[Waynep]

The NJ Regional was a lot of fun. The seeding system and the resultant strategy was really confusing, but seeing the double digit scores in the elimination tournament is a testament to what the teams competing in Jersey can do when they band together.

Congratulations to 25, 1676, 3059. You guys were the alliance to beat. 25 had a spectacularly dominant machine and great strategy of play. 1676 you guys have been a rising star for many years, as demonstrated by the number of team members, the RCA, and now the regional Champions banner. You guys were the best draft pick of the regional and one of my favorite machines with how effectively and quietly you worked to change the game and put up major points. 3059 thank you guys for listening and going along with strategy when we played in quals and your ability to bang in balls in zone 1 was amazing. We were outplayed by a tremendous ALLIANCE effort and are humbled to have gotten to play against you.

Thank you to our alliance partners 2753 and 2180. It was amazing to look down the barrel of 3 loaded blue machines in autonomous. To see 6 balls advanced and 3-4 balls scored in auto in some of the matches was an awesome sight. 2753 thank you for your flexibility and coverage played. 2180 you guys were really fun to work with and we know had we had better ball flow feeding you guys things may have worked out better, but we knew that you were aces at your game. I still standby the fact that both of you gave us the best opportunity to go toe to toe with the juggernaut #1 alliance. We were honored to have you as part of our alliance and hope we will get to play with you again in the future.

To my students on 1923 and our new mentors: I am incredibly proud of you for all the effort you put in and the strides that you have made attempting to compete in many more areas than we have ever before. We've gone through a lot of growing pains this year, but you guys are redefining the team and I'm confident that you guys will be a sustainable, competitive team for years to come. Now get back to work and onto Boston!

1403 as many others have stated, the RCA has spent a long time coming. But each year, you soldier on broadening your impact within your school, community, and all the teams you encounter. You are a terrific representative of what a well rounded team who gets the bigger picture should be. Congratulations and go get them at the Championship!

Chris Gregory, brother you've been the guiding light for many teams in their darkest times. You show us what it means to always hold your head high and do the right things no matter how large of a challenge is in front of you. 1089s meteoric rise and accomplishments over the past couple of years is a product of your leadership. Even though you may not think you deserve it, all of the Mercury students, the WFFAs that congratulated you, and those in NJ that know you firmly believe you are. You are one of FIRST's greatest Champions and Heroes to many of us. Keep up the good work! In the meantime I'll keep looking forward to working with you as an announcing pair and keep making sure I ask myself what would Chris Gregory do in this situation as I look at things. You rock Mr. WFFA!!!!

-wayne

[IamMisplaced]

Also, I've got some videos from days one and two taken from the robot's point of view:

Day 2

Day 1

Enjoy!

Charlie

[coldfusion1279]

I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Gregory in the quarterfinals on our alliance strategy. It was a delight, as was working with team 223.

Thanks to 223 and 1089 for trying their hardest. We were very close to moving on to the semi's. If it weren't for some bad luck, we would have been a tough team to beat.

Congratulations to all the teams the competed in the regional: winners or otherwise.

[Phalanx]

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

Team 1089, you guys are a class act, and Michael Reffler is the best - his help with our USB issues (which made us go dead twice (!) today) fixed us up good and really helped us go all the way.
Chris Gregory: we spoke, but congratulations yet again on the WFA. Wow. (another reason 1089 rocks).

Don,

Thank you very much. Myself and Team 1089 are honored, flattered, and truly humbled by the compliments.

I'm just happy I was able help you guys succeed!! Which is what is it all about!!

Go get'em in Atlanta and every where else you are competing this season!

[gimpnub]

Originally Posted by coldfusion1279

I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Gregory in the quarterfinals on our alliance strategy. It was a delight, as was working with team 223.

Thanks to 223 and 1089 for trying their hardest. We were very close to moving on to the semi's. If it weren't for some bad luck, we would have been a tough team to beat.

Congratulations to all the teams the competed in the regional: winners or otherwise.

It was great working with you guys, thanks for picking us despite all of our problems with chains coming off. As usual, Mercury and Coldfusion produced amazing robots. The capabilities of all three robots in our alliance worked xtremely well together. I feel that our alliance (Team Thermometer) could have given Team 25's alliance a serious challenge if we were able to advance that far. It's a shame that we were knocked out in the quarter finals due to some bad luck.

Mr. Gregory's enthusiasm when planning out our matches (we were luckily paired with 1089 in qualification AND elimination) was inspiring and contagious. Congrats to him on winning the WFA!

Congrats to 25, 1676, and 3059 on winning in the end. And thanks to all the teams that participated for making this regional an incredibly fun and exciting one!

[galewind]

First and foremost, I'd love to say thank you all for your kind words regarding the WFFA that I received this weekend. My students did a tremendous job of writing an outstanding essay for me, and I really appreciate their efforts. I blubber like a baby at these things (it's one of the things I took from Wayne Cokeley), and the warm thanks that I received on and off the field has made me feel so tremendously loved that if I had the foresight I would have bought stock in Kleenex.

For us the competition side of the NJ regional was sweet with a tinge of bitterness. It was great for us to have a fairly competitive machine this year, and I was proud of how well we did in the qualifying matches. Our alliance partners for eliminations, 1279 and 223, were absolutely wonderful to work with, and I feel terrible that we were unable to get working for the third round. Our machines complemented each other well, and I really feel we could have gone farther as an alliance. I would trade almost anything to be able to be able to go back and at least get them to call for a surrogate bot. I would love to be able to run with these teams again -- Monty anyone?

There were a few things I was a bit disappointed with about the NJ regional this year, though... some things that really hurt the experience for at least one team, and others that I feel they could have improved upon.

First, I was shocked to hear that there were students from other FIRST teams insulting teams from other states/countries in or near their pits. The fact that this even occurs really damages the image of New Jersey (beyond what it is now) and has the potential to lessen the impact of our programs. We really should try to monitor ourselves to make sure that guests feel welcome at our regional, and to make sure that behavior like that exhibited by a few students doesn't reflect on our regional.

Second, during the Sunday awards ceremony, there were two things that I feel could have been handled better: Dean's List and Chairman's Award. I really believe that Dean's List should be handled at the same level, if not higher than, the WFFA award, because it truly demonstrates exemplary students on teams. Many teams wrote fantastic essays for their students, and none of this information was shared at our Dean's List award presentation. As mentors and students, we often look to find inspiration in the impact of our program, and celebrating outstanding student achievement is a hallmark of FIRST. For me, simply speaking about the award and presenting the names and teams of the students really diminishes the purpose of the award. I want to be more inspired by their accomplishments, to know what exactly makes them so outstanding. I'd also love to see FIRST have a repository of the essays as a testimony of the program!

For the Chairman's Award, I feel that interjecting the video as they did somewhat diminished the celebration of the award. Having spoken to (and in some cases worked with) 1403 mentors and students on a number of occasions, I know quite a bit about what they do inside and outside of their school. As they were receiving their reward, the stadium was effectively in silence watching their fantastic video. In my eyes, somewhat subdued the celebration of award. Nonetheless, It was a wonderful thought to show the video, though, because it's clear that they worked hard on it (as they do in all things!). Cougar Robotics is an outstanding and deserving team, and we at 1089 are very happy for them to receive the award. Kudos to 1403!

Congratulations to 25, 1676, and 3059 for winning this great event, and congrats to all teams for a job well done! Thanks to the volunteers and judges who made the event what it was!

See you in the off-season!

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by galewind

There were a few things I was a bit disappointed with about the NJ regional this year, though... some things that really hurt the experience for at least one team, and others that I feel they could have improved upon.

First, I was shocked to hear that there were students from other FIRST teams insulting teams from other states/countries in or near their pits. The fact that this even occurs really damages the image of New Jersey (beyond what it is now) and has the potential to lessen the impact of our programs. We really should try to monitor ourselves to make sure that guests feel welcome at our regional, and to make sure that behavior like that exhibited by a few students doesn't reflect on our regional.

I know some folks who were really looking forward to the New Jersey regional and meeting all the teams that were participating. I had traveled to New Jersey a while back to attend Brunswick Eruption and was excited for them to have this opportunity. There were a couple of reasons that I wanted to travel to BE7: I wanted to see if the rude reputation of New Jersey was true (for myself), and I wanted to create an opportunity to come away from the event and be able to talk about the wonderful teams and people who made me feel very welcome in New Jersey. It saddens me to hear this news. A few people can reflect on an event - what Chris says is very true. At BE, I also wanted to have some time to pick the brains of some of the wise and wonderful mentors from the region, and to have the opportunity to meet some of the students on the teams. By doing so, it strengthened my skills as an FRC mentor and helped me to see the bigger picture. I will always value my time spent at Brunswick Eruption and I appreciate the generosity of the people who opened their treasure trove of experience, humor, and know-how to share with someone from Texas. It was a chance of a lifetime.

Congratulations, Chris. Thank you for everything you do.

Jane

[Barngirl425]

hello my name is Amanda Cullen and I am the student leader of team 2458, Team Chaos. What I am sure a lot of you dont realize is that our team has had a rocky past. No one thought we would be able to make it from last year to this year but we proved them wrong.

This year was not only a good build season but our headmaster came down to see the competition. My headmaster was so impressed by not just the robots but the atmosphere of the competition and the friendliness and willingness to help. Because of his amazing experience there he is now on our side, he is looking into some outside sponsors (it will be the first time that our school ever allows this) and potentially even putting in a machine shop at Gill.

Now that everything has settled down again I wanted to thank everyone who was at the competition for making this dream a reality and helping me get one step closer to my goal which is to have a stable team before I graduate (I have one more year ) So thank you everyone

Especially:

Mr. Rotolo - I cant thank you enough for everything you have done to help us make this program possible. Your letter and wonderful advice made everything possible from getting support with the headmaster to getting new faculty advisors. Thank you

Akash Rastogi - I remember messaging you on the first day asking for wood to build a new crate. From last year's horror to this summer's rush to find a new faculty advisor to this years build season you are always there chearing us on. Without your help this team would not still be here today.

Team 102 - Although we have grown up together I did not expect the help we have gotten from you guys over the past few years. You have always helped us in any way we needed plus more and your advice and kindness will always be remembered. I look forward to working with you guys some more over this year and next year.

Our own mentor did not think we would make the transition from last year to this year and we proved him wrong. Now its time to step it up a notch and all of this would not be possible without all of your help.

Thank you and see you at the off season,

Amanda Cullen

[jee7s]

Speaking on behalf of FRC 2789, I want to say our trip was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed the competition, and we really feel we have shaken down the robot for Lone Star.

Regarding Chris's concern here:

Originally Posted by galewind

First, I was shocked to hear that there were students from other FIRST teams insulting teams from other states/countries in or near their pits. The fact that this even occurs really damages the image of New Jersey (beyond what it is now) and has the potential to lessen the impact of our programs. We really should try to monitor ourselves to make sure that guests feel welcome at our regional, and to make sure that behavior like that exhibited by a few students doesn't reflect on our regional.

I want to make it very clear that these rude individuals were very much in the minority. As someone who has been to the NJ regional several/many times before, I was quite confident that we would be welcomed with open arms as we were. The other mentors who are less experienced did approach the trip with some trepidation. However, the consensus among the students and the mentors was that NJ was a great place to be, had stiff competition, and will be on our list for regional events in the future (if y'all don't go to district event model).

We made a lot of friends that we plan to keep in touch with going forward, and we might attempt some inter-regional collaboration in the future. We also got plenty of help. In particular, we'd like to put a spotlight on:

Team 41 - for the occasional nut or bolt, and Garrett Dicken in particular for his controls help
Team 25 - in particular Shaun McNaulty (sp?) for his motivation to our team
Team 2753 - for being excellent neighbors in the pit, and James Wittel for his assistance in scouting and marketing
Team 56 - for the all-too-important drywall screws we needed to get the crate packed up and shipped to Houston
Team 223 - Mark, Randy, and the rest who so graciously loaned us victors
The staff - particularly Don Bowers, Harvey Morgenstin, Jim Hobin, Monique DiTuri, Nathan Knauss, the queuers, inspectors, referees, and countless others who welcomed us, supported us, and made for such a great competition

I'm sure I'm forgetting somebody in there...so if I did, please know we did appreciate you.

We've pre-scouted Houston, and we'll be one of only 14 teams going into the event with another regional already under our belt. Given the competition we went up against, the team is more confident than ever going into Houston.

Thanks, New Jersey, for all the help!

[ZeroGAdam]

First off, thank you to everyone who participated and made this regional so competitive. It was entertaining and I hope it will be this great next year.

Congrats to teams 25, 1676, and 3059 on your tremendous victory. Your alliance was just too strong for everyone else to conquer. Playing against you guys made our matches very fun and exciting and I hope to have the opportunity to play against, or with, you guys in the off-season!

1403, You guys really deserved the Chairman's award. For all of the eight years that I have been involved with, I have always admired your team's ecstatic spirit, outgoing kindness, and your thrive to withhold the core values of co-opertition and gracious professionalism. I'm glad to witness you guys win the most prestigious award in the sport of FIRST. See you guys at the Madness!

To our alliance partners:
1923: Thank you guys so much for selecting us to be in the finals! We were honored to play with you. Thanks for working out the strategy for our alliance. It must have taken some time to come up with such a great strategic game. We put up a valiant effort, but in the end it wasn't enough. I still am in amazement that we were all able to score 3-4 points in auto. That alone made being partners worth it. Thank you again for everything!

2753: You guys were awesome! Your great defense really was a huge asset to our team when we were scoring. I am so sorry that our we couldn't get past the semis, but it was a great time while it lasted. Thanks a million.


This has been one of the best regionals I have seen in years. The excitement, spirit, and competitiveness of the teams made it that much better. I hope to see all of you guys again next year.
---Adam Cyran, Team 2180 Zero Gravity

P.S. Sorry for the tardiness of this message