clarifications on this year's nationals

[Brian Beatty]

1) The now famous SPAM match, we were not totally broke. Our wheel had some damage, and the gearbox making noise, but we probably could have run(we will not know for sure until the bot gets back). Jason( the teenager-no adult mentor on the field for 173), made a great decision to run 66 instead of us. Meanwhile, I want to say 180 caused the most damage we have ever sustained in 7 years of competing. What an unbelievable shot, great strategy, great machine-in my top 3 matches, even though we lost.

2) The 2nd Kingman match. A wire had come lose from the match before and we didn't notice it. When we fell over, the drive wheels were dead. All we could do is shuffle. Once the ball got between the goal and us, we were no match for Kingman. Actually, Kingman's one arm broke during the match before, which limited their pushing power. With us and 66 pushing for all we could, we just were able to overcome them. For me, the jury is still out if we could overcome a healthy Kingman.

3) For Kyle Hill, you mentioned that a ball thrown at 71 was high and hit one of our drivers in the chest. Wrong on both counts. It hit me and it was not in the chest. Let's just say that this 6'-6", 230lb guy had his breath taken away and almost went to his knees. You fill in the rest.

In conclusion, this year's competition was the roughest one yet. FIRST says they don't want Battlebots, but I'm not sure what you would call this year's finals. While I can't stand Battlebots( have watched more than 10 minutes), the crowd was definitely into this one and so was I. What do we do for next year?

Sincerely,

Brian Beatty