2014 midwest regional

[Arpan]

I haven't seen a thread for it yet so I thought I'd start one.

I'm personally super excited for Midwest this year! Looks like we've got a fantastic lineup of teams - Congrats to 1732 for winning Wisconsin and 1625 for ranking 3rd. 71 and 2451 both performed spectacularly at crossroads and central IL - I can't wait to see what improvements they've made to their machines since then.

Can't wait until Thursday rolls around!

Arpan, team 3061

[BigJ]

Reports show that 1625, 2338, and 2451 were practicing at the bot shop in Winnebago, while 1675, 1732, and 2062 were up in Oshkosh getting some practice in as well (thanks Wave!).

Should shape up to be a pretty competitive regional (both in robot and non-robot aspects)!

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by BigJ

1675, 1732, and 2062 were up in Oshkosh getting some practice in as well (thanks Wave!).

HUGE thanks again to 2826 Wave Robotics!

After a two year absence, 1732 is excited be back at Midwest. While it may not have the depth that Wisconsin had, I think it will be competitive at the top with five teams battling to be the best robot at the event. Should be exciting.

[Jibri Wright]

I guarantee 1781 is coming back with a vengeance
Quite a few modifications were made with both our Crossbow shooter and our intake. We'll be a force to reckon with.

[Arpan]

Five teams?
I count at least 8 who I'd consider top tier just based on excellent performance at previous regionals, with 111 as a wild card (I'm sure I'm missing great robots here too).

71 -Fantastic shooting on the run, double sided collection.
1625 -Incredibly long distance shooting. Can inbound from offensive human player and shoot without moving.
1675 - Nice short shots, effective drivetrain
1732 - Mecanum collector, 2 ball autonomous, HAS THE THUNDER BELLOWS
2338 - Fast and pushy with an accurate shot
2451 -Reminds me of 2056's killer robot, but on a swerve drive.
3061 - Fast and pushy, accurate shot

[avanboekel]

Originally Posted by Arpan

Five teams?
I count at least 8 who I'd consider top tier just based on excellent performance at previous regionals, with 111 as a wild card (I'm sure I'm missing great robots here too).

71 -Fantastic shooting on the run, double sided collection.
1625 -Incredibly long distance shooting. Can inbound from offensive human player and shoot without moving.
1675 - Nice short shots, effective drivetrain
1732 - Mecanum collector, 2 ball autonomous, HAS THE THUNDER BELLOWS
2338 - Fast and pushy with an accurate shot
2451 -Reminds me of 2056's killer robot, but on a swerve drive.
3061 - Fast and pushy, accurate shot

If you don't agree with him, then prove him wrong. I for one am kinda curious of what 5 teams he's referring to though...

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by avanboekel

I for one am kinda curious of what 5 teams he's referring to though...

Midwest will be tough enough without giving 49 teams additional motivation

My main point is that although Midwest is a week 6 event, there isn't much clarity (especially at the top). While I feel there are five teams who will be in the coversation for sure, there is a handful of other teams looking to take the next step and join that group and over 50% of the teams haven't even played yet. Should make for an exciting and unpredictable event.

[Arpan]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

Midwest will be tough enough without giving 49 teams additional motivation

My main point is that although Midwest is a week 6 event, there isn't much clarity (especially at the top). While I feel there are five teams who will be in the coversation for sure, there is a handful of other teams looking to take the next step and join that group and over 50% of the teams haven't even played yet. Should make for an exciting and unpredictable event.

Darn, now I'm curious too!

Totally agreed on the unpredictable part. Very flat at the top - should make for some exciting eliminations matches. If 111 is still experiencing problems, it'll be interesting to see who rises up to challenge the perennial 2451-1625 alliance.

[Sunshine]

I echo our thanks to WAVE for opening their facilities and giving us valuable practice time on their full field.

There will be lots of good teams ready for Midwest, should be exciting.

[BigJ]

We finished our new improvement while packing today

See everyone Thursday!

[indubitably]

Outside of seeing robots in week 0 events or through other means, there are 24 bots attending Midwest that have a regional this year for us to look to. Out of those 24 teams, 10 have made it to eliminations, and 7 of those had a winning record: 71, 1625, 1732, 2338, 2451, 2506, and 3061.

I'm looking forward to an exciting elims, hopefully the alliances balance out.

[pwnageNick]

Totally agreed on the unpredictable part. Very flat at the top - should make for some exciting eliminations matches. If 111 is still experiencing problems, it'll be interesting to see who rises up to challenge the perennial 2451-1625 alliance.

I don't quite know about perennial. Only the last two years haha. Nothing like the streak 1114 and 2056 have had in the past.

Who knows how alliance selection will shake out this year. Midwest always has something crazy happen.

-Nick

[pwnageNick]

Maybe I spoke too soon in my previous post



Good luck to all teams participating.

-Nick

[ASmith1675]

We had a lot of fun at Midwest (as we always do)

Congrats to 2451, 1625, and 5125. Your alliance was incredible to watch all elims. We thought 5125 was an absolute steal getting all the way back to you at number 1, definitely among the best defenders at the regional. We later learned that the team was basically only 4-5 members, and all of the students were 7th graders. (This is all second hand, so feel free to correct me if this is incorrect). Still very impressive performance by the rookie which was probably heavily overlooked. Also wanted to give a shout out to our pit neighbors and friends from 1625 who had hosted 5 of the top 8 teams in the regional at their shop for practice in the weeks leading up to the regional.

Also wanted to give a big Congratulations to our friends from 1732 for their Chairman's award win. We had a blast having our pit next to you all weekend, and the award is well deserved. Your incredible season is a fitting tribute to Andrew's memory.

Thanks to our partners in the Flaming Bear Squad alliance, 2358 and 3352. We had a blast playing with both of you, wouldn't have changed a thing despite the results. Hope to run in to you both again in the future.

Now I'm going to go to take about a week long nap.

[DohertyBilly]

Originally Posted by Smitty1707

We later learned that the team was basically only 4-5 members, and all of the students were 7th graders. (This is all second hand, so feel free to correct me if this is incorrect).

Yeah, that's right. They brought enough kids to fill out a drive team, and they had one mentor who had been with 4096 before. Because they needed a lot of help to get running, there were people from other teams that were helping out throughout the competition that I guess became unofficial members. Off the top of my head, there was someone from 3061, 2022, and myself, along with a volunteer who did a great job filling in the mentor role, but I'm probably missing someone (sorry!). Various teams helped out with parts and tools too. I think that this team became the posterboard example of what first is all about: helping everyone get the most out of the experience, learning as much as they can while still having fun.