We are returning back to Denver from the Utah regional and are digesting the events of the past several days. I thought I would start a new thread to get constructive feedback on the event and the current state of the game from those who were there. What did you think? Where is the game headed?
From what I saw watching a live stream of the event for two days there seems to be more aggressive defense than assertive defense. I didn’t see much gracious professionalism on the field either. With no safe zones on the field this year there’s no where to escape an aggressive defender.
I am from team 3669 the Roboknights. My team started my freshman year, and since then we have competed a total of now 5 events. I am unsure if it was the regional or the game, but I feel that the refs had a very hard time keeping track of everything on the field. I am very unsatisfied with the way things went at this regional, and feel that the elimination rounds we competed in were poorly judged and run. I am well aware that I do not understand the dynamics that go into making such huge choices, but my team does not feel that the correct choices were made. It was very frustrating for our team, especially our seniors, to have what we felt was a legitimate win be taken away from us and watch as the other robots on our team were damaged beyond working condition. As a fourth year senior, the way that the regional was run and ruled was beyond frustrating. I have never been more unhappy about the result of a regional, and feel that many matches were improperly reffed and run.
All that being said, I love FIRST and everything it stand for. It has been one of the most beneficial experiences in my life. My personal growth, along with everyone on the team and our program because of FIRST is amazing. This makes the turmoil that occurred even more frustrating as it reflects poorly on everyone involved. My personal thought is that the game is very difficult to ref and it easy to make bad choices, whether this was made worse by people running the event or simply the nature of the game I am unsure. This game is also very easy to turn into a boring and eventful shoving match, including large amounts of damage to the robots. I appreciate all the work of the refs, judges, and volunteers at the event, but this was by far the worst experience I have ever had at a FIRST event.
Between the open field, the single game piece, the overloaded refs, and the imbalance between scoring and penalties, this year’s game seems to have the ability to produce more unhappiness than many of our previous games.
Team Tators was very fortunate at the Utah regional this year.
- Our bot escaped serious damage after massive hits from good friends who were simply playing the game as best they could in hopes of winning.
2.We renewed friendships with a host of teams who came to play, lifted the level of competition, and as a result pushed us to improve.
3.We were inspired by the partnership between Benjamin of 3191 and Devon of ATA which enabled 3191 to compete - even as the 3191 faced ATA in the quarter finals
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We gained new respect for the field personnel and referees as we watched them demonstrate admirable grace under the pressure of the game
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We had a phenomenal partnership with 2996 and 3191 that enabled all three of us to go further than any of us expected at the beginning of Saturday, and gave me a new appreciation for the assist portion of Aerial Assist.
For those of you who contributed to the Utah regional this year -Thank you!
On behalf of team 1566 we would like to say that we were discontent with the outcome of the matches, however we would like to recognize a couple of teams:
•teams 3669 and 1569 for creating one of the games best alliances, and for arguing the refs calls with us:rolleyes:
we truly believe we could’ve gone to nationals with you guys
•cougars gone wired, you guys were an amazing team and it was an honor to be up against you guys, we wish we could’ve finished a solid round against you guys
•the refs, even though we disagree, we appreciate your time
• finally, 1339 angelrobotics for helping us with scouting and our apologies for your robot
Well, you weren’t responsible for the damage, but thank you nonetheless! it was a pleasure to share scouting resources with you and other teams, particularly 2996.
We will rebuild and be ready for Colorado.
My thoughts were expressed in the 2014 Utah Regional thread.
Yes, thank you. It was a very intense match, and it was hard to let the opportunity to play go, but it was the right call. Our students are all incredibly proud of what they accomplished, and at peace with the outcome. The damage was, in my opinion, a combination of the open floor and Aggro defense that the game calls for, a weak spot in our design (which otherwise held up well), and the Catch 22 the refs are in this year. We know you guys are tough competititors, but as I’ve said before I look up to your organization and your amazing machines as a high bar to aim for. We will come back ready to play in Denver.
Like others, I was amazed at the sheer work the referees had to do, and the results of that large load. Yea, there might not have been as much GP as we would want, but with mistakes being made by refs, alliance members, and my own team (our bumpers fell off how many times, and I didn’t think to secure them better?), it was pretty frustrating. It was interesting to see the level of defense played, in that it was fierce, fast, and incredibly dangerous to all robots involved. I just want to say, that even though it wasn’t the best regional, I enjoyed seeing old teams, and meeting new teams. Thanks for the fun regional!