GDC and FIRST.......

[Tom Line]

All to often we get stuck focussing on the negatives, rather than the positives of exactly what happens each year in FIRST. In the process, the GDC and FIRST takes a bashing every year during build season.

Building on Greg's 'year of acknowledgement', I'd like to acknowledge the GDC and FIRST for a couple things.

1. Thanks for making a really neat game where we have to build TWO robots, instead of one.
2. Thanks for allowing us to use the new compressor. It makes pneumatics decisions so much easier: lighter weight, less current, and a lighter-weight storage tube!
3. Thanks for jumping on Can Bus so fast to make sure everyone knows we can use it.
4. Thanks for giving us a ready-made robot in the kit. This year we had one up and driving inside a week.
5. Thanks for giving us THREE professional development environments to use, instead of the one we were using just a couple years ago.
6. Thanks for giving us a webcam and system capable of actual vision.
7. Thanks to all the people like Joe from NI, and EricVanWyk for designing these components and helping us, even in your free time!

[BJC]

Thank you for your continued effort despite constant criticism, without it FIRST would undoubtedly not be nearly as great as it is.

[FRC4ME]

Thank you for responding to dozens of FAQ posts and releasing 15 team updates every season to make sure we all understand the rules as well as possible.

[alectronic]

Thanks for all of the personal time that you put in!

[dag0620]

Thanks to everyone at FIRST for all the time they do put in.

Big thanks to the GDC for full CAN this year, and for the KOP staff for getting us Black Jaguars in the KOP!

[pandamonium]

I personally would like to thank the GDC for doing 2 things really well.

1. A throw back game to my favorite year 2007!

2. Using some elements from 07 and yet make a unique game that has a very interesting strategy. I am itching to see how matches will play out!!

[FRC4ME]

I also wanted to say thanks for a nearly perfect autonomous mode this year. It's worth just enough to make teams want to go for it, and the multiple methods teams have of achieving it (camera, line tracking, or just dead reckoning) are surely keeping FRC programmers busy this season.