New York State of Mind - Season Predictions

FIRST General Forum
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Welcome to the New York State of Mind, where we try to shine a light on another area that desperately needs to switch over to districts.

New York has historically had two distinct and separate blocks of teams, upstate and downstate, that have competed mostly separately. With the advent of the MAR, New England, Ontario and Virginia districts, as well as scheduling conflicts, and the downsizing of the New York City regional, 2017 will be a year where New York comes together.

Last year was a watershed year for New York teams, with 16 NY teams selected for championship eliminations, and 4 of those teams making it to Einstein.

To de-clutter CD, predictions for each week will be added to the bottom of this thread.

Already in the first two weeks of competition, some New York teams have headed out to compete out of state.

Weeks 1 and 2

Week 1 saw 263 and Einstein Alliance Captain 694 head down to South Florida, where eliminations had them face off in quarterfinals. Both were first round selections in the draft, and are expected to improve before their next events.

Also in week 1, the consistent eliminations threat 329 headed down to Palmetto with their mecanum machine. They were selected for the first seeded alliance as the last selection of the draft, and ended up losing to an alliance that scored 4 rotors, putting up the high score of the regional.

Week 2 saw just one NY team compete: Devil Tech from Victor, NY. 1559 did exceptionally well, coming in at the fourth seed and second overall draft selection, only losing to the eventual regional champions in three hard-fought semifinal matches. In addition, 1559 has a propensity to improve drastically throughout the season, so expect them to show up as the most ready team at the Finger Lakes Regional.

The Finger Lakes Regional

Speaking of Finger Lakes, a conflict of dates for college spring breaks has separated the usual competitors at Finger Lakes and the Tech Valley Regional from one another this year. Despite this, both are shaping up to be extremely competitive events.

The Finger Lakes Regional this year is host to three teams that made it to the last real Einstein in 2016: 3015, 1405, and 1511. The three teams have taken quite different approaches to STEAMWorks from one another. 1511’s triple wide key shooter contrasts greatly with 1405’s single shooter, gear floor pickup, and aggressively geared drivetrain. 3015’s drivetrain is purpose built for a high scoring fuel autonomous, so expect them to be on one of the top few alliances at the event, assuming they get everything working.

Another team trying for that high scoring autonomous is 5254, who revealed a robot made seemingly entirely out of perforated lexan and wood. However, with a number of key students graduating, it remains to be seen if 5254 can live up to the HYPE they generated their last two seasons and earn their first banner.

Other fuel scoring machines at FLR with tuned shots are 1126 and 639, but without the autonomous upside of 3015 or 5254 they might have difficulty claiming that role on a high seeded alliance.

The last critical fuel scorer at FLR is likely 1507, with only space for 10 balls on their robot. 1507’s plan to hit a 10 ball, 1 gear autonomous might make them a great partner for one of the other autonomous fuel scorers, but whether their gear floor pickup has a high enough potential is another question entirely.

1507 isn’t the only gear floor pickup in the mix, with 3003 buying into a gears-only strategy as well, and an octocanum drivetrain to boot. 271’s nice looking machine also boasts an integrated gear floor pickup and well-engineered shooting setup.

340 wowed Chief Delphi with their reveal of a finely tuned gear scoring masterpiece. With high expectations of their gear scoring, 340 seems to be the most likely team to be on the #1 alliance, and a likely first seed if one of the aforementioned fuel scorers doesn’t figure out how to secure that extra kpa ranking point.

The one thing that’s certain about Finger Lakes every year is that nothing is certain. In 2015 and 2016, the #1 seed fell to the #7 and #5 seeds respectively. Strong mid seeds regularly find the right mix of robots to dethrone the favorites. It all depends on who does their scouting, and who can peak at the right time.

The New York Tech Valley Regional

The New York Tech Valley Regional plays host to a number of incredible out-of-state teams each year. Last year, teams 359 and 4481 flew in from afar to play Stronghold in New York’s Capital Region. This year, one team from India, another from Turkey, as well as five teams from the Great White North are joining in. Among these, 195 and 3990 are returning, both with banners from their previous times attending the Tech Valley event, and both boasting turreted shooters.

195’s rapidfire fuel scoring machine impressed at Waterbury during week 1, but couldn’t take home a banner due to their alliance’s inconsistent climbing. But 195 has a habit of starting slow, only to come back strong. With a new gear mechanism and the potential for consistently clenching the kPa bonus, they’re likely to bring a banner out of state this weekend.

3990 has yet to compete this season, but has been a nearly unstoppable force at regional events. If their shooting rate can increase, and if they can pull a powerful autonomous mode out, 3990 could land another blue banner for their collection.

Of the hometown favorites, 2791 has a twin-barreled beautiful machine this year called “Stoker”. If Shaker Robotics can get their high scoring autonomous mode running and get their drivers some much-needed practice, they stand a good chance of winning their third consecutive event with 195, and their first ever win in the regular season.

3044 and 20 round out the hometown favorites, with 3044 making eliminations at the championship for the first time for them last season, these two have as good a shot as any to pair with or take down 195. 3044’s mecanum drive and low goal shooting make them seem like less of a top threat compared to 20’s wide key shooter and potential autonomous shooting, but don’t be fooled, the 0x’s have a tendency to make their way into the finals even in their worst years.

The Rocketeers have a longer list of successes than 3044, however, including 2 Regional Championships with 195 and banners from events in every year since 2012. 20 will find a way to put something competitive together from any seed, even if they don’t pair up with the Cyberknights to do it.

From downstate is 333, who has a good looking, well practiced gear machine this year. They have yet to show off what they can do with the fuel they collect, but regardless, their otherwise simple design should earn them a spot in eliminations.

229 and 5236 are two teams that find success at TVR most years, and both have focused solely on scoring gears this season, with minimalist machines. 229, however, does have some ball scoring up their sleeve, if they could get it working during these last few weeks. 5236 is hoping their consistent practice and floor gear intake will earn them a high seed once again, after their breakout success last year as a highly seeded captain. Teams won’t make the mistake of rejecting 5236 this time around.

Last, but certainly not least, are a few hometown teams that vary in quality from year to year, and a rookie team with high expectations. 250 and 1493 have been producing machines of varied ability in the last few seasons. 250, like 3044, is playing the gears and low goal game with a mecanum drive, a surprise from a team that has played more of a defensive role in past years. 1493’s gear floor pickup and tall low goaler is reminiscent of the WCP MCC this year, and their strategy is likely to earn them a spot on a solid alliance once again, if not as a captain themselves.
6300 is a team that brought not one, but two robots to an off-season event as a pre-rookie. Their laser focus on scoring gears efficiently and quickly should earn them a spot in the eliminations rounds as well.

TVR should largely come down to who seeds first. If one of the favorites seeds first, expect a regional largely determined by who can put together a high risk strategy to defeat them. If a lesser known team seeds first, alliances will be made and broken by the backside of the draft.

Elsewhere

Last this week is one New York team attending The Pittsburgh Regional. 2053 has a slick machine with nice machining and a helical Hopper for fuel. Their scoring from the key in autonomous should prove valuable in the elimination rounds, especially as they face off with expected favorites like 359 and 217.

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Note: 229 does not have any ball scoring up our sleeves.

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Welcome to the club, neighbor!

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Who leaked our auto modes? Hehe :wink:

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Woohoo NY! Can’t wait to see what is said about NYC :smiley:

Holding back the urge to rant about Districts so hard

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Forgot about Maryland/DC being with Virginia… No more DC regional or Chesapeake Regional.

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I’m just sad many of the teams listed above don’t get to compete together this year. Instead we have to travel further away to compete with more people we don’t know.

Anyway thanks for taking up the predictions mantle, it’s always cool to see your team mentioned.

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Week 3 saw some exciting play at the two New York events, despite it being most team’s first outings. 3015 and 195 showed off impressive autonomous modes, and a number of scrappy lower seeds at Tech Valley achieved the 4 rotors bonus in eliminations. 340’s FLR finals foibles continued and 2791’s blue banner blues were bashed. For the first time, the Rocketeers missed TVR finals, and 195 didn’t win their second event for the first time in years. But enough about Week 3, let’s move onto the only NY Week 4 Regional:

The Inaugural Hudson Valley Regional

HVR contains a mix of teams that don’t regularly compete together, including teams from NYC, Long Island, the Capital Region, MAR, and a surprising number of international teams.

The clear favorite at the event is Team 20, whose remarkable consistency and practice in driving and climbing earned them the #1 overall selection at the Tech Valley Regional, until a perfect storm of robot failures and excellent play by the “Shaky” #4 seed took them out early. The question here will be whether they need to form an alliance that can break the magic number 305. If so, look for 20 to either find a partner to help them out, or to improve their fuel shooting significantly.

Other teams that have already taken the field in Steamworks include 6300, the quick mecanum TVR Rookie Inspiration award winners, 250, also toting a mecanum drive, was selected in the second round at TVR, and 639, who missed eliminations at FLR, despite solid play in the qualification rounds. Expect all three of these teams to be shooting for a higher seed this time around so they can better control their own destinies.

From MAR come three teams with play under their belts, two of them in the winners circle as well. 303 and 1923 have both earned banners this season already, once together, at Mt. Olive, and 303 won one this past weekend at Bridgewater. 1923’s success came as the third robot on the alliance, however, so expect them to be looking to
make some major improvements for their next district event here. 303’s eliminations alliances have thus far won largely due to 303’s impressive 10 ball, 1 gear autonomous mode, allowing them to eclipse the magic number 305 consistently. Expect 303 to TEST their luck with improvements this weekend in preparation for the MAR Championship.

Last from MAR is 3314. The Mechanical Mustangs are attending a sizable number of events, allowing them to improve greatly over the course of the season. They went unselected in Blacksburg, but were selected in the first round at Mt. Olive a week later. If they continue to improve, 3314 could be a major force in HVR eliminations.

Three teams who experienced success in 2016 who have yet to play this year are 1796, 3419, and 1156. 3419 impressed last year with their swerve drive, making the finals at NYC, and losing to the eventual world champion alliance in the Carver division. 3419 has high hopes for this season, with another edition of their awesome swerve drive and an interesting gear floor pickup design. 1796’s 2016 machine failed to earn a banner, despite being the first overall selection at both their events, and getting selected in the Hopper division.

1156 put out a video of an awesome turreted scoring machine with a 10 ball, 1 gear autonomous mode. If 1156 can get that routine working consistently, expect them to be one of the first selections off the board Saturday.

Nobody at HVR has shown off anything approaching one of the huge-scoring 40 kPa autonomous routines yet, but there are a few teams who have shown the ability to eclipse 305. Additionally, with HVR having 16 teams with numbers over 5000, it’s easy to imagine a scenario where the #1 seed doesn’t get a third partner that can climb or score gears efficiently. Could a scrappy lower seed put together a 4 rotor alliance to upset the fuel scoring upsides brought to the table by 20,303, and 1156? Only time will tell.

Elsewhere

Also playing this week is 229, heading to the Festival de Robotique in Montreal, Canada. 229 captained the #5 seeded alliance this past weekend at TVR, with their remarkable consistency in scoring gears and climbing. They passed over the opportunity to pick the usual Montreal powerhouse, 3990, but they might not be able to do that in a field of teams competing mostly for the first time. Other teams competing at Montreal include 3360, 3996, and 2590, the only team coming in with a banner already under their belt. 229’s experience playing Steamworks should come in quite handy, assuming they can overcome some language barriers to put together a strong alliance for the playoffs.

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Thanks for the info. As an out of state visitor to HVR I look forward to seeing all the great NY and international teams this weekend. Now I know what teams to look out for.

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As a participant of both Tech Valley and MAR, I love the coverage. However, one minor correction:

This is not true because 2590 has yet to take home a banner this season. However, we won Tech Valley with 5952, who will be at their hometown event in Montreal. Look out for them; they can do 3-4 gears a match and were eager to do well.

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Thanks for the shoutout at Montreal! We’re hoping we can bring a banner back to NY!

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Thanks for the mention! Our team is very excited to compete in the inaugural HVR! Good luck teams!

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@kevinleonard you forgot to switch accounts back before you promoted hype again, just thought you should know dont know how else to tell you because i dont know if i should send a PM to you or NYStateofMind sorry

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We all knew it was him anyway right?? :wink:

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The Hudson Valley Regional ended quite unexpectedly, with the 8 seed taking down the 1, 4, and 2 seeds to take the Inaugural Hudson Valley Regional Championship! Team 2601 strategically declined in order to form their own alliance- the most consistent alliance at the event- with 369 and 639. While they didn’t win by having overwhelming fuel scoring or by consistently hitting 4 rotors, they did have the most robust alliance in playoffs. The finalist 2 seeded alliance had a backup robot in since the quarters, and the seemingly stacked 3 seed alliance had a drivetrain failure in semis.
The number 1 seed has yet to win any of the three New York regionals to have been played thus far, although the Finger Lakes Champions could hardly be described as the underdogs at the event. Even at Montreal this past weekend, 229 seeded first and made a run to finals, where they were stopped by the 3 seed alliance.
With just two more New York events to go, can the favorites prevail?

SBPLI Long Island Regional

This week is the SBPLI Long Island Regional, with 50 teams showing up to Hofstra, mostly from across the Island and NYC. As far as an event that the #1 seed can win, Long Island historically isn’t it. The #1 seed hasn’t won Long Island since 2012. Despite this seeming like an event the favorites lose, a couple teams usually compose most of the teams in the finals anyway.

Last year’s returning champions include 287, who went unpicked at FLR, 263, who was a first round selection in Florida, and 1156, who competed at Hudson Valley last weekend, and was selected in the second round. All three teams will try to improve on their last appearances. 1156’s awesome turreted robot impresses consistently in the autonomous period- scoring a gear on the side peg and between 0 and 10 fuel, but their teleoperated scoring needs improvement if they’re going to compete on a winning alliance this weekend.

Other notable competitors that debuted at HVR last weekend include 527, 353,** 2869**, and the #1 overall selection,** 1796**. 1796 has been the first overall selection at the last three regional events they’ve attended now, and they’ve run into bad luck at all three. Their consistent floor pickup and fuel shooting in autonomous should give them an edge over their competitors, but if their curse continues, they might find difficulty plowing through eliminations. Lastly from HVR is the alliance captain on the winning alliance, 2601. 2601’s simple and but effective machine will see them in eliminations once again, but in a deeper field than last weekend, it might be hard for them to get an edge over their competitors with the serpentine draft like they did at HVR.

2601 isn’t the only team coming in with a champs slot locked up- 271 earned a Wildcard at FLR two weekends ago, but as the third robot on their alliance. This time around, their robot should make it on the field for all of its qualification matches, and that could make all the difference. 4122 also locked up a championship spot last weekend, but not for their finalist berth as the backup robot, but instead for their Engineering Inspiration award.

Finger Lakes also hosted 533, 2638, 3171, 5254, and 870. The last team in that list, RICE, particularly impressed- their robot isn’t very flashy, but it consistently places a gear in autonomous and a few in teleoperated. The other four teams are looking to improve on their results, with 533 and 2638 going unpicked, while 3171 and 5254 had climbing issues that kept them from being higher selections.

329 attended the Palmetto Regional during Week 1, being the last overall selection in the draft and losing out in semifinals. 329 is a perennial contender here, and their mecanum gear-scoring machine will almost certainly be a higher pick this time around.

There are two more groups of teams attending Long Island. One group is the group that has yet to compete. Of them, 5736 is notable for being last year’s #1 seed, and **28 **is the event’s winner from 2014.

Last are the teams that attended TVR as their first event. The finalists 3624 and 4458 are coming with their quick gear cycling to try to put together 4 rotors once again. 3624, in particular, has probably their best machine they’ve built, with a tiny footprint and consistent gear scoring that lets them evade defenders trying to limit their alliance to less than 12 gears scored. 3624 should be one of the top few selections or captains this year, as long as they keep up their production from TVR.

Long Island has a deep field of potential contenders, and a history of upsets. And while the event lacks any big names or huge autonomous modes, some teams here have built machines perfectly built for the challenge of Steamworks. The event should be decided by two things- who built the most robust robots, and who gets the best third robot.

Elsewhere

The Buckeye Regional is hosting a number of Western New York teams this year, including the biggest names on the team list. 340 and 3015 are playing, and this time they hope to play together in the finals, instead of on opposite sides of the glass.
340’s alliance captain from FLR, 1507, is attending as well, hoping to show off the consistency that earned the the #1 seed at FLR. Other FLR notables include 3003, 4930, 174, 578, 2228, 1551, 2399, and** 1126**. 1126’s gear scoring got them into the playoffs as an alliance captain at FLR, but their turreted ball scoring is what would set them apart this weekend. 3003, 578, and 174 were all solid gear scorers two weekends ago with consistent climbs. 2228 and 1551 missed eliminations for a variety of reasons, with 2228’s gear throughput being inconsistent, and 1551’s climb being non-existent. If 1551’s swervy machine can start climbing consistently, their eliminations chances go through the roof, even if they end up using their swerve for a less offensive role in playoffs.
Competing with these Rochester teams are your returning World Champions - 120, the Palmetto Chairman’s award winners - 2614, and a few of Ohio’s best- including 5413 and 4028.
340 and 3015 should be the favorites here, but nobody can be counted out. Teams here are savvy and ready to put together alliances that can outscore or shut down the best.

At Midwest this week are **1405 **and 1511, looking to improve on their Finger Lakes results. For 1405 this is their last chance to punch a ticket to the Championship and return to Einstein finals. 1405’s gear scoring and climbing were impressive at FLR, but if they want to standout in a deep field at Midwest, they’re going to need to be playing at their best. 16, 111, 1592, 1625, 1736, 1756, 1986, 2338, 2451, 3620, and 5811are among the deep and difficult field standing in their way. 1511 already has a ticket to the championship through their Chairman’s Award win at Finger Lakes. Their gear cycling was solid by the end of FLR, but if they can get some kind of fuel game going, it might benefit them at the championship event.

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I’m hoping that 1507 and 340 can do this weekend what we did back in 2012.

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The number one seed finally took the crown at both the Buckeye and the SBPLI Long Island Regional.

Buckeye Recap

Buckeye went as expected, with 3015 taking the top seed with their impressive pressure building autonomous mode- earning 40 kPa 4 times in qualifications and selecting one the best gear scorers in the world, 340 (who hit 4 rotors in four different qualification matches), and rounding out their alliance with 156. They faced off in the finals with 2399’s hard defense in the finals (as well as 4028 and 379, who bore the brunt of the offense), earning the Fighting Unicorns a wildcard to champs as well.
No match at Buckeye reached the pressure threshold without having 3015 on the field, and 4 of the 5 qualifications matches that had 4 rotors spinning featured 340. It’s hard to overstate how heavily these two teams dominated the Buckeye event, despite the nature of Steamworks as a game filled with upsets. 3015 even took home the Chairman’s Award here, after winning the Engineering Inspiration award in Rochester just a few weeks ago.

Long Island Recap

The Long Island top seeded alliance of 263, 1156, and 329, on the other hand, didn’t have such a clear cut path to victory. On the same side of the bracket as them was the 1796 and 5254 4th seeded alliance. Only five alliances in the qualifications hit 4 rotors at SBPLI, just like at Buckeye, with 1796 having three of those matches and 5254 having two. However, before the 1 seed had to figure out how to stop the Robotigers, the 5 seed pulled off the upset first. In the second two quarterfinal matches, both alliances pulled off 4 rotors, with 4567, 5016, and 514 narrowly coming out on top.

In semifinals, the one seed advanced to the finals after three hard-fought semifinal matches - the third of which ended in a controversial red card that changed the outcome of the match. The red card was the result of two stacked yellow cards for pilots incurring outside the airship, and it ended 4567 and 514’s chances at making it to the Championship. 5016 luckily also won the Engineering Inspiration award, so they still found a way to qualify.

In finals, the 7th seeded alliance of 5736, 3624, and 527 took it to three by hitting 4 rotors in Finals-2, but 527 being forced into committing tech fouls in the loading station dashed those hopes in Finals-3. The number one seed may have won, but they were far from the favorite throughout- never hitting four rotors or 40 kPa, nor even consistently hitting 305. The hard fought victory of 263, 1156, and 329 is just another example of how punishing FIRST Steamworks is of little mistakes, and how it rewards consistency in climbing more than any other factors.

Midwest Recap

Midwest was an exciting time for the two NY teams who attended, as 1511 and 1405 led the second and third alliances respectively. 1511’s kPa and defense focused alliance faced off with 1405’s 4 rotors alliance in the semifinals, and 1511 prevailed- unfortunately ending the season for last year’s Einstein finalists. 1511’s alliance then squeaked out a win over 1986’s impressive fuel-focused defensive team to take their first Regional Championship since 2013. Midwest was a fascinating mixture of different strategies and ways to play Steamworks, and this time- fuel came out on top.

It’s about this time of year New York starts to feel the downsides of the regional system. Teams like 1405, 1796, 3171, 3624, and 5254 are missing the championship because they got knocked out early, despite having incredibly effective robots. In a district system, these teams would likely qualify for the district championship based on these results, and they would have more matches at each of their events to determine their seeding and their results. Each of those teams listed has scored 6 or more gears repeatedly and the fact that teams of their caliber aren’t able to continue competing this season is a travesty.

However, there are still some excellent teams to play in New York fighting for their chance to head to St. Louis this week, and we’re going to spend the rest of this post discussing them instead.

The New York City Regional

New York City is in a new venue this year with fewer teams than normal, but will still host a wide variety of different teams. International teams and upstate teams come in to mix with the crowd of downstate teams at what is usually an interesting event.

This year, the favorite is overwhelmingly 4613, with three Regional Winner banners under their belt already. 4613’s ability to consistently get 40 kPa will likely seed them first, as it has twice already. The question is whether NYC’s slightly deeper field of contenders could cause a 4 rotors alliance on a lower seed to upset them. I wouldn’t count on it, but with Steamworks it’s very difficult to call the regional even after the alliances are formed.

A number of other teams are coming into the event with banners and championship slots locked up. 333 and 2791 won the New York Tech Valley Regional together with the ability to hit 4 rotors and some not-so-shaky luck. 2791 has been improving since then, revamping their fuel feeding system and installing a new floor collector to gear up for their first Championship appearance since their rookie season. Not only has 2791 won their first banner this season, they’re likely to win their second.

694, one of the returning champions, has a Chairman’s Award banner from South Florida, and are looking to improve on their second overall selection in Florida during Week 1. Also selected in the first round at South Florida were 1251 and 2383****. The Ninjineers were selected in the first round a week later and made it to the finals, but could not secure a Wildcard to the championship. Their gear scoring and fuel scoring combo could make them a tempting pick for Barker, or a daunting opponent in the finals, especially if they’re allowed to pair up with their Finger Lakes alliance partners from last year.

694 won last year with 5030, the Second Mouse, whose decent gear scoring and autonomous ball scoring got them to the semifinals in Rochester. They plan to up their fuel scoring game for NYC, but 2791 and 2383 have a big leg up on them when it comes to reaching the level 4613 has been at for weeks.

Another previous champion attending is 334, who has yet to debut this season. 334 has yet to live up to their 2014 successes, but they’ve built a solid machine this season that should see the elimination rounds.

369 is the last team coming in with a Regional Winner’s banner, with their eighth seed win at the Hudson valley Regional. Their consistent gear scoring and climbing took them to finals where they defeated the second seeded 1155’s alliance.

1155 is another team with a championship spot secured with their finalist berth at the Hudson Valley Regional. The Sciborgs were a consistent couple gears a match and a climb, but they might find it harder to shine with all the out-of-area fuel superstars hitting the field. But the best alliance at shooting fuel did not win at TVR, HVR, or SBPLI, so it’s hard to say where 1155 or 369 will end up on Saturday.

Another captain at HVR did not secure a championship spot, despite forming the alliance with the biggest potential upside at the regional. 3419 lost in the semifinals largely because their impressive two speed swerve drive they’re known for broke at an inopportune time. That should be fixed for this weekend, and their focused gear scoring abilities and driving skill should put them on a top alliance once again.

The New York City Regional isn’t known as a particularly strong event year-on-year, but the teams are tenacious and top seeds often fall to a lower alliance that scouts well and knows their strengths. 4613’s main problem might not be that the teams are all strong, but that a bunch of the strong teams could end up together. Three decent gear scoring machines could put a dent in 4613’s fuel scoring plans if they can hit 4 rotors consistently.

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thanks hommie

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Thanks for the great write up of the SBPLI event!!
We (5736) felt so confident going into the finals, but you never know how it’s actually going to turn out! One of our alliance partners had unforeseen electrical issues in two of our 3 finals matches.
Although losing is rough we were really happy to see 263 come out on top after being declined 2x in alliance selections.

We too were blown away by the fact that 1796 and 5254 were not in the finals. We were nervous when we saw that alliance taking shape during selections. Both 1796 and 5254 were in the top 3 on our scouting list. 1796’s floor pickup and gear handling was world class. That machine deserves to be at nationals.
We have been a 1 event team for the last 2 yrs, but are trying to change that moving forward. The wild card to nationals this year is a step in the right direction.
Thank you for recognizing us in your pre-event write up as well(last years #1 seed). It can be hard for a high number, one event team to stand out…

I’m impressed with your knowledge and detail when it comes to NY teams and events. How do you keep in the loop?