2014 10,000 Lakes Regional

Competition Regional Competitions
1

Looks like we are going to have some great competition at this week’s 10,000 Lakes Regional.

Notes:
First regional ever where all of the teams are from Minnesota.

Out of all the teams attending, 2500 is the only team to have ever won Chairman’s or EI. Looks like we may have some new blood for the Chairman’s award and/or the Engineering Inspiration Award in Minnesota.

4 rookies teams are competing.

2052 - 1st pick on the winning alliance at Lake Superior
2470 - 8th seed and quarter-finalist at Wisconsin
2502 - 2nd pick on the winning alliance at Northern Lights
3313 - 1st seed and finalist alliance at Lake Superior

Team List:

2052
2181
2227
2232
2450
2470
2480
2498
2500
2501
2502
2508
2509
2511
2513
2515
2518
2529
2538
2545
2705
2823
2825
2846
2855
2861
2879
2987
3007
3038
3058
3081
3082
3100
3184
3202
3244
3276
3292
3299
3313
3407
3454
3745
3751
3765
4021
4174
4215
4229
4260
4360
4506
4536
4549
4626
4651
4664
4741
4993
5003
5019
5271

2

I was just thinking about doing a post like this Evan! Thanks for starting it!

That “all MN teams” stat is pretty crazy!

**My biggest advice? Bring spare parts. **

Other random notes:

No 525 Swartdogs is a pretty big change. They’re dominated competition at 10K for quite a few years in a row. I mean, they’ve made the finals every year the event has been around and won the Regional the past 3 years. Last year, they also won Chairman’s.

Another big absence will be 3018 Nordic Storm. They won Engineering Inspiration last year and kicked butt at Duluth already this year (we would know, haha).

It’ll be interesting to see how teams who have been to a competition already this season will adjust to the hard hitting battles (2052, 2470, 2502, 2750, 3081, 3184, 3313, any others?). We definitely learned a lot at Duluth and by watching more Regionals the past couple weeks.

My biggest concern is consistent foul calls throughout qualifying and elimination rounds. Watching Wisconsin and how the refs really focused on calling “high speed ramming” fouls only in Elims has me a little worried. But I hope with a week to let the new rule stew, the calls are made consistently. It is what it is; I just want to go into each match with a general idea of what is allowed and what is not.

But yeah! We are super excited! I’ve been to 10K for 4 years now and it’s so awesome to get to know so many of the teams throughout the years.

Cannot wait to see everyone and play Aerial Assault… I mean Aerial Assist!

Is it Thursday yet?

3

We’ll miss 10K for sure. We’re going to Queen City this week instead (10K was full.) Looking forward to meeting lots of new teams.

4

Sorry to burst your bubble, but three teams are from Wisconsin - all three are part of the 7 Rivers Robotics Coalition.

4021 - IgKnighton from Onalaska (WI) Luther HS - former Rookie All Star winner
5003 - Topperbotics from Onalaska (WI) HS
5019 - Gearbox Heroes from West Salem (WI) HS

5

I thought there were some WI teams… But I was too lazy to look it up. Haha.

Thanks Steve!

6

Team 2823 is looking forward to being there with its St. Paul Hub buddies!

7

Yep, 3018 tried to get into a Minneapolis regional, but they were completely filled up after we registered for Duluth that day. Since we wanted to give our robot a better chance at nationals (we were very fortunate to beat a great alliance headed by 3313 in Duluth), we signed up for Milwaukee once we found out we had very little chance of getting into either 10,000 Lakes or North Star. We took the last spot in Milwaukee, but only half of our team actually made it due to saving cash up for St. Louis. We ended up with a runner-up finish there, so hopefully that bodes well for us in Championships. Good luck to all the MN teams up at both Mariucci and Williams! Hope to see you in St. Louis in April and Minneapolis in May!

8

You mean 3 teams from East Minnesota, right :stuck_out_tongue:

9

4215 is excited to be back at 10k for the first time since our rookie year!

10

3081 is excited for 10K this year. We had a ball at WI (wow, I don’t even have to try to make bad puns now), and are prepared for 10,000 Lakes. Wisconsin had some tough competition, and we were happy to be in the top 10 for most of the weekend and the top half for the whole thing. Our final ranking was our best ever in a regional despite the intensity, so look out, Minneapolis. :stuck_out_tongue:

In all seriousness, I hope 10K will be free from the problems that have plagued other regionals - inconsistent reffing, auto issues (timing of hot goal and disabling), pedestal lighting, etc. It’ll be interesting to see how the regional plays out with 525 and 3018 not around. It was a pleasure to play with 3018 in Wisconsin (heck, we played with AND against them in different matches!), and I’ll miss that opportunity with 525, considering we took home a blue banner with 525 at our side in 2012 and played with them in two regionals in 2013.

With 525 and 3018 unable to attend 10K due to the event being full, it does raise the question of when MN will have five regionals. From what I understand, this is due to a lack of available volunteers. I’ll have to change that after I graduate. :wink:

I’m personally most excited to see 3313 and 2052 - teams with consistently well-designed and well-made robots I’m going to enjoy the opportunity to play with/against.

Hopefully we won’t have Thursday rule updates this week. It doesn’t give teams or referees enough time to adjust accordingly. I even think Tuesday pushes it, but that’s another rant for another day. The refereeing at Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday was like night and day - as a result, the gameplay was, too. The play always gets rougher throughout a weekend just like in sports, but it’s the referees’ job to be consistent and not let things fly once they start happening. Otherwise, we don’t know what rules will be enforced on Saturday in eliminations. Granted, the referees have far too much on their plate this year, so I’ll cut them some much-deserved slack.

Overall, I expect this to be a fun event with plenty of surprises in store. Who will win the RCA? What wildcard slots will be generated? How will teams who played in previous regionals (or who haven’t and planned for the rules released January 4) adjust to whatever changes come out on Tuesday/Thursday/some other day that could have been earlier?

11

I always look forward to returning to this event each year. Great city, great people, and great competition! See you all on Friday!

12

Looking forward to having you. You’re my mom’s (and my) favorite MC.

13

We will definitely miss seeing everyone in Williams Arena this week. We have either been there or across the street every year since the inaugural Minnesota Regional in 2008 so it will be strange to not be there this year. It’s been great to watch the teams grow from rookies in the early years to veterans now. We definitely need more regional capacity in the upper Midwest. How about having one in Iowa? Maybe that can happen in the future.
Other than the long bus ride, we are looking forward to Queen City and seeing old friends we have played with in the past in the St. Louis and Kansas City Regionals. We are also looking forward to meeting new teams and making new friends.
Good luck to all at 10,000 Lakes! I’m sure we will see some of you in St. Louis.

14

Only a couple days away and 3082 can’t wait to participate! Here is a little look into what we have.

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15

If you can walk to MN from the town, it’s hardly Wisconsin.

Looking forward to seeing everyone – look for me in the pit in the floppy orange hat, reminding you to update your software and fasten down wires.

16

I’m tempted to bet we’ll be going to Districts before we get a fifth regional, and the Districts will be in MN in 2016 or 2017 (I haven’t heard nearly enough buzz for it to happen next year).

17

Yeah, Districts in MN isn’t happening next year. 2016 or 2017 would be well within reason, but I would bet we get a fifth Minnesota regional first. We may be almost at the state’s current carrying capacity for teams, but we’re going to get a lot of additional pressure as states around us go to districts before us, both from their teams looking for out-of-state play, and from Michigan teams having fewer nearby options.

Unless we see an Iowa regional in the very near future. But I honestly don’t know how likely that is. The FRC community in the state is certainly growing close to the number of required teams.

18

Team 4536 will be ready for some exciting matches at 10K Lakes this weekend. We are hoping that our double-sided intake will be worth the effort. Since we only have 2 minor things to do on Thursday morning, our plan is to be out practicing all day Thursday.

I challenge anyone try to score more low goals than us in a 1v1 practice match. I hope 2052* comes out so that we can crush them, since our intake is at least twice as good as theirs. :stuck_out_tongue:

I am also very interested to see who will win Chairman’s and EI. Minnesota is still young, but there are many great up and coming teams that will finally be recognized through these awards.

(*my old team)

19

How about a regional right on the MN / WI border - close enough that it’s an easy trip for Iowa teams - and in an area that is both growing in FRC teams, yet ripe for explosive growth? Hmmmm. Wherever could that be.

Just a thought :slight_smile:

20

We’re in the process of making quite a few improvements so we hope to use all day Thursday to get everything up and running at full strength. I’m not positive we’ll have time but I really would love a little 1v1 exhibition match against you guys. I have heard quite a few good things about your bot :slight_smile: