It was fantastic to see the first Western Canada Regional.
So many things had to come together very quickly for it to happen, but I’m so happy to say that it was a huge success. I want to thank everyone who made it possible.
I was there when me and my dad first talked about having a regional in Calgary. It seemed like quite the long shot, but I was on board. From there on, there has been a string of successful attempts at sponsorship, venues and coordination. It’s been an amazing 9 months, and I’m glad to have been a part of something so cool. There’s so much to say about how amazingly grateful the FIRST community is to my dad for all the work he’s done. And not to leave out everyone that’s helped along the way! A lot of key positions in the regional have been filled by some of the most qualified and passionate people I know. The Western Canadian regional is thankful especially to people like Mark Breadner, who got us started from the ground up, helping however they can. Seriously, there is no way this whole thing could have happened without all of them.
We’re also thankful for all the sponsorship from the amazing companies who have helped out. U of C has been a fantastic main sponsor. APEGA, ISA, TD, CBE, SAIT, CSSD, the Government of Alberta, Husky and the City of Calgary have all given students access to a program that inspires them. Thank you, all of you.
A few things I want to express
I am continuously impressed by all of the rookie teams in Calgary. It’s a very different feeling to go to a regional and know a lot of the kids there. Our team is proud to have a community built in Calgary. I am impressed by 4606 and 4604, two awesome community teams that were started by some very minimal advertising. The students there impress me with their pure dedication, no matter how hard the competition might seem. Team 4733’s performance as a first year team was inspiring, and their design was very creative. I remember speaking at one of Team 4627’s first meetings as a team, and seeing how motivated they were to be competitive. I’m glad to have seen them flourish in Calgary.
The volunteers, judges, refs, ftas and everyone else that was part of the event were phenomenal. I liked seeing more than 10 people I know from our team helping out where they could, and seeing 3 of my family members taking roles as volunteers and pit admins. I can’t express my thanks enough.
The international teams (Brazil, Mexico, US, Ontario) were awesome to see. It gave the regional a touch of everything, without it being too out of touch with local culture (a white hat ceremony in opening ceremonies!). We’re happy that 216, 244, 288, 771, 1305, 1334, 1691, 3278, 3354, 3527 and 4205 were all able to make it out to Calgary.
We were glad to see Calgary stacking up to be a much more competitive regional than the “Rookie Regional” it was predicted to be. Scores were very close, if not higher than an average regional, and we saw a lot of good matches. No excitement was lost.
I really don’t have much to say other than “I was inspired by this” -
Awards
Congratulations go to 4001 for the Creativity Award, 771 for the Entrepreneurship Award 1334 for the Excellence in Engineering Award, 4497 for the Industrial Design Award, 1772 for the Quality Award, 216 for the Gracious Professionalism Award, 1305 for the Industrial Safety Award, 4771 for the Rookie Inspiration Award and 3278 for the Imagery Award. You all deserve them.
Engineering Inspiration Award - 288
You guys deserved this. The robodawgs are a fantastically organized team, and inspire everyone to be better.
Regional Chairman’s Award - 3354
I really didn’t know about this team until this week. I am now thoroughly proud to say they are part of the FIRST community. They do a great job in spreading everything about FIRST and more.
Highest Rookie Seed - 4733
Rookie teams always have a hard time at their first event. It’s fantastic to see them do well, and this team did exactly that.
Rookie All Star Award - 4627
Once again, these guys were set to do well since the start. I really hope they can do well in St. Louis. We’ve made some good friends on the team.
Team Spirit Award - 3354
All I can really say is that these guys are loud, and proud. It was great to have their energy at the regional.
Team 4334
I’m proud to congratulate our team members and mentors for our awards:
Innovation in Control Award - for our control system, programming and subsystems. The judges were impressed by how well we were able to accomplish our goals using software and hardware in tandem.
Woodie Flowers Finalist Award - Craig Maynard - There are so many things I could say about Craig, but honestly it is summed up by this award. He has been a huge part in our success.
FIRST Dean’s List Finalist - Alex Rodrigues - Our team captain and my friend. He exemplifies how engineering can be a challenge worthy of passion and time.
Regional winners
Teams 1334, 4334, 4633 and 4591 won the Western Canadian Regional without any losses in eliminations. It was tough for our 3rd team (had to replace 4633 with 4591 because of robot troubles), but we followed through. It wasn’t easy, but the alliance did the work to win in the first ever regional in Calgary. Special congratulations go to 4001, 216 and 1691. You put up a good challenge with some of the more solid cycle shooters I’ve seen. Defense almost costed us the second match, and it was awesome to have such high competition.
Thank you team 1334 for such an awesome competitive robot. Simbotics and OP continue to push Ontario teams, and you guys are the perfect example.
There’s so much more to say, but I think I’ll keep my personal thanks to the people who deserve to be thanked. There are just too many to count. I’m so happy there is a regional in Western Canada, and FIRST Canada’s sponsorship will do nothing but good in Calgary and beyond.
Thank you EVERYONE, from me and Team 4334!
