2006 Florida Regional

[Stephen Kowski]

Congrats to everyone at the Florida Regional, I think we all had a great time!

Congratulations to the winning alliance 180 has always been so helpful, 79 what a effective machine and great team, 1649 great working with you in 2005.

I think Dan ran down the list of great machines so I am not gonna repeat it, but awesome stuff as usual at the FL Regional (btw congrats to 233 on chairmans).

Hopefully see you all at the Championship!!

[Gary Dillard]

One small item I always check at the regional that makes me feel good - every team who participated won at least one match. We've had years on top but many more on the bottom and I'm glad every team had the opportunity for a victory.

I couldn't be more proud of our team - top to bottom everyone contributed. The numbing task of detailed scouting by the majority of the team members, the pit crew who changed our ball feeder from pneumatics to motor-driven conveyor in 10 hours on Thursday, including all part fabrication (and we even made it to 2 practice matches), the animation team - our first win there, everyone who helped other teams which resulted in winning the sportsmanship award. What a weekend.

And Roccobots, we are rooting for you to win national chairmans award so we don't have to compete against you for the regional award any more. You have definitely set the bar at another level in all aspects. What a pleasure to be in competition with you, on and off the field.

[Tim Arnold]

Let me start out by stating that I am trying very hard to not upset or insult anyone here. The following are my personal observations and opinions and do not represent my team's thoughts or ideas.

For those wondering what happened to 1902 in the final matches, their IFI wheels cracked. Not to say anything about either alliance in those final matches, or trying to blame 1902 in any way, I think our alliance (357, 1523, 1902) would of had a excellent chance at securing the gold if the wheels held. 1902 had a full hopper in the first finals match, was ready to dump when the accident occurred. Also, in the second finals match they would of been able to help hold the other teams off by playing defense and perhaps we would not of flipped. That said, I am glad we did not achieve the #1 place. Another thread that has surfaced recently involved a rookie team that was not appreciative of simply being at FIRST and experiencing the excitement because they had won their rookie year. In my opinion, one must feel downfalls to fully appreciate the fruits of success. I am proud of our alliance partners and think everyoine did a great job. We made an exelent team, and hopefully the chance to work together will arise soon again. Thanks for choosing us 357!

The goal of FIRST is to overcome extraordinary problems and deal with conditions less than optimal. Too little time, money and team members are all parts of the competition as well as real life and we are being prepared for the rest of our lives, without even knowing it, every time we hit one of these speed bumps.

Originally Posted by Winged Wonder

We're not bummed out about that... although there seemed to be a slight discreptancy in the scoring during Autonomous of that match and we brought it to the Head Ref's attention...

Now again, trying not to offend anyone, I think the sportsmanship after the loss of Semi Finals match 1-3 was low. While I am glad that 233 was not too upset about the outcome of that match, the entire competition was held up for some time afterwards while argument proceeded with the judges. While I was not down there and don't know what they were discussing specifically, I do know that the actions taken after the game were looked down upon as sore loosing by the stands I was near. While I will not comment on my feelings on the issue, the rulebook does state that the judges decisions are final and video reviews are not accepted (although our team was asked for video of the match - to try and show that we [supposedly] lost!).

This is just my $0.02, please your own opinions. If you were not at UCF, or if you just want to review, SOAP 108 was AWESOME in getting all of the match videos up the night after! Unfortionately, Semi Final match 1-3 is not in their archive (I think it is the match in question about autonomous). I will dig around with video my team took and see if I can locate it.

SF 1-1: http://soap.circuitrunners.com/2006/...a/fl_sf1m1.wmv

SF 1-2: http://soap.circuitrunners.com/2006/...a/fl_sf1m2.wmv

There is no doubt that these matches were very close and had some great robots competition. From not expecting to even get picked for an alliance (as we had some problems in earlier matches - dropped from 4th seed to about 25th in just a few matches), we were ecstatic to make it even this far.

Again, this is the spirit of FIRST. Although some rules may not of been enforced thoroughly and calls may of been missed, we must remember the reason why we are all there.

FIRST has worked it's magic on our team and I hope it has to all of you. Thanks to everyone who came to the regional!

[abeD]

I've been coming to the florida regional since 2001 and this one has definately been the most exciting for me even if I was in a different role as a mentor. Congrats to all the teams that won awards/regional.

As to the erros in scoring and penalties and such, I beleive that in elimation rounds every alliance should have a challenge flag (like football) where the error in question can be reviewed. Basically same rules apply you make the wrong call you lose your timeout or if you were right you can keep it. Alot of teams were heartbroken over ambiguous and possible incorrect calls that could have affected the matches.

[nehalita]

Originally Posted by micro3000x

119 to 19? just seconds ago! Thats Crazy!

yes, that was pretty intense. i think it was the highest score in Florida. I'm not sure what the highest score overall was.

[Kit Gerhart]

Originally Posted by robosapien

Let me start out by stating that I am trying very hard to not upset or insult anyone here. The following are my personal observations and opinions and do not represent my team's thoughts or ideas.

Now again, trying not to offend anyone, I think the sportsmanship after the loss of Semi Finals match 1-3 was low. While I am glad that 233 was not too upset about the outcome of that match, the entire competition was held up for some time afterwards while argument proceeded with the judges. While I was not down there and don't know what they were discussing specifically, I do know that the actions taken after the game were looked down upon as sore loosing by the stands I was near. While I will not comment on my feelings on the issue, the rulebook does state that the judges decisions are final and video reviews are not accepted (although our team was asked for video of the match - to try and show that we [supposedly] lost!).

This is just my $0.02, please your own opinions. If you were not at UCF, or if you just want to review, SOAP 108 was AWESOME in getting all of the match videos up the night after! Unfortionately, Semi Final match 1-3 is not in their archive (I think it is the match in question about autonomous). I will dig around with video my team took and see if I can locate it.

SF 1-1: http://soap.circuitrunners.com/2006/...a/fl_sf1m1.wmv

SF 1-2: http://soap.circuitrunners.com/2006/...a/fl_sf1m2.wmv

There is no doubt that these matches were very close and had some great robots competition. From not expecting to even get picked for an alliance (as we had some problems in earlier matches - dropped from 4th seed to about 25th in just a few matches), we were ecstatic to make it even this far.

There was no semifinal 1-3. The match where the 233/190/244 was scored three balls in the center goal when, depending on who you asked, the alliance actually scored from five to seven balls was semifinal 1-2. I don't really think we were "sore losers," but I do think higher priority should be given to correct scoring. The balls scored in the center goal go into a trash can. It would seem quite reasonable that these balls be counted to determine if the automatic scoring is correct. That was not done for the match in question.

[Adam Richards]

Originally Posted by Kit Gerhart

There was no semifinal 1-3. The match where the 233/190/244 was scored three balls in the center goal when, depending on who you asked, the alliance actually scored from five to seven balls was semifinal 1-2. I don't really think we were "sore losers," but I do think higher priority should be given to correct scoring. The balls scored in the center goal go into a trash can. It would seem quite reasonable that these balls be counted to determine if the automatic scoring is correct. That was not done for the match in question.

Aye, I did notice in SF2-3 that 2 points magically disappeared from the Red Alliance's score, and, while it didn't change the outcome, this change wasn't even noted. The change could've just been made to simply make it more obvious of the 180/79/1649 alliance winning, but at least a mention by the MC that some score correction was done could've been helpful.

[abeD]

In SF 2-3 The score was 37-37...a tie. They submitted the score but then later retracted three points from the red alliance score becuase they said 86 ohm shot a ball after time expired...I'm pretty sure you can't shoot after time expires and after looking at some video I don't think they did. Either way we had a 5 point penalty that match that swung it.

[Gary Dillard]

Originally Posted by robosapien

I think our alliance (357, 1523, 1902) would of had a excellent chance at securing the gold if the wheels held.

No doubt; you had an excellent chance to win it anyway. With a former SPAM mentor on MARS (Mr. Zach) and former SPAM students (George, G-man) mentoring exploding bacon we were thrilled to be competing for the championship with you. But we would have done our best to keep the result the same

While I am glad that 233 was not too upset about the outcome of that match..... I do know that the actions taken after the game were looked down upon as sore loosing by the stands I was near.

I'm sorry you got that impression; we were seated directly behind 233 in the stands and while disappointed they were very gracious for the remainder of the competition as always. I don't have any problem with a team arguing its case for a ruling; however, when it goes on for too long it is up to the referees to stop it.

Unfortionately, Semi Final match 1-3 is not in their archive

There was no match SF1-3; according to FIRST website match results blue won 1-1 72-44 and 1-2 74-72

[TomBurr]

Originally Posted by abeD

In SF 2-3 The score was 37-37...a tie. They submitted the score but then later retracted three points from the red alliance score becuase they said 86 ohm shot a ball after time expired...I'm pretty sure you can't shoot after time expires and after looking at some video I don't think they did. Either way we had a 5 point penalty that match that swung it.

I'm trying to watch this match to see the shot in question, but I can't see ohmer taking a shot near the end, or at the end of their offensive period.

Either way they were very close matches (except possibly the second) and a showcase of 6 great robots.

[nehalita]

I'd like to congratulate several teams here.

Congrats to 180-79-1649 for the winning alliance. You definitely put on a great show and it was nice to watch what I could.

Congrats to 86 for their creativity award. That was one of the most impressive robots out there. I loved how you guys changed your autonomous code several times. You definitely got us in QF2-3 (we knew it was going to happen but knew there was no way to prevent it. ingenious!).

108 for their award -- SOAP has been SO helpful!

180 again for their animation and sportsmanship award. The animation was great (loved watching it up on the big screen) and their team was very gracious!

710 for their quality award. Interesting robot and definitely original and consistent. Well-deserved.

1902 for their award. I was DEFINITELY impressed by 1902 and was rooting for them when the rookie awards were being announced. They've come a long way and I know their students are inspired. So glad to see you got the recognition you deserve and look forward to hearing your team's glories sometime soon =).

233 for their chairman's award. They deserved it!!! Good luck in the national pool of chairman award recipients. we're rooting for you.

[Arefin Bari]

First of I would like to thank the two alliance members who helped team 1345 get where we were at the regional... Team 21 COMBAT and team 1029 WOLVCATS. You guys were amazing.

Thanks to my old team 108 for letting me help them with whatever I could help them with.

Thanks to Jack from team 180 who didn't let me down when I needed help.

Congrats to team 233 for the chairmans and to the winning alliance. You guys did an amazing job this past weekend.

Finally, I want to say Congrats to team 1902 ... Exploding Bacon. The award was deserving and you guys proved it with your performance at the regional. I knew most of you personally. It was amazing to see this team come together as a succesful one.

... OINK OINK BOOM

[techtiger1]

Great to see everyone and all the robots. 1251 had a great time. Special and extended thanks goes out to teams 86 and 710 for being amazing alliance partners, you guys are awesome. Congratulations to the winners and Pink for finally snagging the chairmans. Excellent regional thanks to all the volunteers and staff that put it together. My last Florida regional as a student, I must say I will miss it.

Good luck for the rest of the season,
-Drew

[Tim Arnold]

Originally Posted by Kit Gerhart

There was no semifinal 1-3. The match where the 233/190/244 was scored three balls in the center goal when, depending on who you asked, the alliance actually scored from five to seven balls was semifinal 1-2. I don't really think we were "sore losers," but I do think higher priority should be given to correct scoring. The balls scored in the center goal go into a trash can. It would seem quite reasonable that these balls be counted to determine if the automatic scoring is correct. That was not done for the match in question.

Valid point. If the balls could be sorted properly between autonomous and the driver time this would be a great idea. No one should be cheated out of a match from incorrect scoring; if it happened to us we would be equally disappointed.

As for SF 1-3, I was confused by the FIRST regional page where it lists a 1-3 without scoring.

I'll be completely honest here: I just re-played SF 1-2 about ten times in slow motion (Ctrl+Shift+S in Windows Media). From what I see, five balls were scored by "The Pink Team" (Why did you guys change that - I loved "Think Pink"!). With the final score being 72 (red) vs 74 (blue), that would increase the score by three points (15 of my count vs 13 of theirs in autonomous), you guys would of won the match 75 vs 74. That would lead to another match (SF 1-3... heh) where the outcome can never be predicted. I now understand why you guys were upset, nice eyes to catch that.

Originally Posted by Gary Dillard

No doubt; you had an excellent chance to win it anyway. With a former SPAM mentor on MARS (Mr. Zach) and former SPAM students (George, G-man) mentoring exploding bacon we were thrilled to be competing for the championship with you. But we would have done our best to keep the result the same

You make it sound like we couldn't of done it without you! From what I remember 179 (your sister team anyway) was our mentor rookie year... Speaking of which, we are sharing a bus with them to go to champs... see you guys there! I'll make sure I bring my can-'o-spam again (good luck charm I guess, it gets rather beat up in my suitcase - I thought you guys would be at our hotel [the Radisson]). Not to get off topic, but I think you guys definitely deserve(d) the website award. You have done a tremendous work of custom coding and I love it. Roboshark's site (winners of the website award) has been down since I got home, but I pulled it up on my PDA during the ceremony and (no offense to them) it didn't work/look that great on it.

I'm sorry you got that impression; we were seated directly behind 233 in the stands and while disappointed they were very gracious for the remainder of the competition as always. I don't have any problem with a team arguing its case for a ruling; however, when it goes on for too long it is up to the referees to stop it.

Agreed... I actually couldn't see them from all the way in the back (bah.. we need to get there earlier).

BTW, very nice pictures of Billfred... hah!

Now for some personal favs:
86 - My fav. robot (besides our own of coarse ) Only problem: Top heavy
108 - Gotta love SOAP
179 - I wish you guys got further... the brake is genius!
180 - Nice autonomous in the finals
233 - Autonomous of the year
357 - Awesome alliance partner - sick wheels!
710 - You guys are insane, and I respect that. I miss the keyboard.
1345 - Too bad you guys got tipped so much... great bot; the graphics & cart were icing on the cake
1902 - Another amazing alliance partner - most effective branding (No one will ever forget "Oink.. Oink.. BOOM!")

Soo... who else is already looking forward to Mayhem at the Museum?!

[FDA1029]

Originally Posted by nehalita

yes, that was pretty intense. i think it was the highest score in Florida. I'm not sure what the highest score overall was.

yep that was us, team 1029,1345,and 21 with the highest score in the Florida regional. Even though they gave us 30 points towards the end, I guess the sensors were on our side that time.