Dalton Review
Dalton was all that was expected and more. In typical first-competition fashion, most teams were still getting their footing through the first few matches. 1771 and 8736 however, hit the ground running, both going undefeated in their qualification matches. The last time we had a team go undefeated in quals was 1414 at Columbus in 2019. 1771’s ingenious 6-ball auton put every opponent in a big hole before the drivers could even take control. They earned the cargo bonus RP in every match but one, and took part in all 4 of the unicorn matches that took place at the Dalton event. 8736 was a shooting powerhouse just as dominant as 1771 in tele-op, and the two would ultimately join forces in alliance selections.
Climbers also did well at Dalton with 6705 climbing their way to 4 Hangar RP’s and ending up ranked #3. 6340 had a rough draw, facing 8736 in their first two matches. A solid climb had them at the near the top of the ranking by the end of the qualification rounds, ranking 4th.
Alliance selection paired up the top two shooters and the top two climbers, with 1771 picking 8736 followed by 6705 selecting 6340. It looked as if nobody would be able to stop the powerhouse alliance of 1771 and 8736. The #4 alliance gave them a bit of trouble in their first semifinal match and handed both 1771 and 8736 their first loss of 2022. 1771 had to recover from a rough fall off of the mid bar but a bold move to swap 8736 to defense was just enough to push a comeback effort to take the series. The #1 alliance looked much more like themselves in finals against the #2 alliance as they were able to outshoot all of the climb points put up by 6705, 6340, and 8866 to claim the event title. This marks 1771’s 4th Dalton championship, and puts rookie 8736 at an impressive 100% event win rate at official competitions!
2974 played their part in eliminating 7451 from playoffs, but it wasn’t long before 7451 got their revenge, taking home the Dalton District Chairman’s Award - an impressive accomplishment given that 2974 was also in the running.
Columbus
With Dalton in the books, we look south to Columbus for Week 3. Of the 29 teams registered for Columbus, 28 of them will be competing for the first time this weekend, 4112 being the only Rapid React veteran in attendance. The majority of the teams will likely be working throughout day 1 to tune their robots and figure out any issues they may not have seen coming. It will be important for teams to get their robots inspected as quickly as possible so that they don’t end up missing any matches. After all, the best way to test what works and what doesn’t is to get out onto the field and compete.
Driver experience may be down for most teams compared to usual years, so any teams who got practice at home will pull ahead early on in qualifications. However, to find success, the keys, like nearly all FRC games, will be autonomous and endgame.
Top Guns
4188 started off 2020 with a #2 seed at Gainesville, joining the top ranked team to take home another blue banner. GRITS showed they took advantage of the 2021 virtual season to up their game even more. Looking back at the past couple of robots you can see all the components that this game needs - turreted shooters, swerve, climbing, and the ace in the hole….a field to practice on every night at the Columbus DE site. Expect Columbus Space Program to have a solid multi-ball autonomous, the firepower in Tele-op, and a climb to lock up the match.
6919 hit the ground running in 2019 and 2020, ranking #1 overall at their first event both seasons by prioritizing endgame ranking points. RP is the name of the game in Rapid React, so chances are, we will see The Commodores field a robust robot that can score plenty of cargo, and climb consistently to maximize those RP bonuses. Like 4188, 6919 was fortunate enough to be able to build a new robot for the 2021 season, and brought 2 robots to July Heat - both of which performed at a high level.
1414 ranked #1 overall and ultimately won the last Columbus qualifier (2019), and is back to defend their title this week. In 2020 however, they had a bit of a rough start at Gainesville, decapitating their shooter in the trench. Barring another catastrophic match like that though, IHOT should be one of the top overall performers at Columbus. With another beautifully machined robot boasting a swerve drivetrain, an adjustable hooded, turreted shooter, and a traversal climber, 1414 has a shot at repeating their Columbus title.
Out to Prove Something
2415 was one of the many unlucky teams that had their 2020 season ended before it even started. Coming off of a wild season in 2019 where they managed to join the winning alliance in the 2nd round of selections at both Forsyth and DCMP, it looked like 2415 was ready to take the PCH District by storm with their custom swerve in 2020. At GRITS in 2021, the WiredCats made their first in-person appearance since 2019, but they weren’t quite able to get everything clicking, and missed out on playoffs. We’ll see if 2415 can make a resurgence this season with a strong showing at Columbus.
1261 and 1648 sit together as teams that have had dominant seasons in their past, but have struggled to keep at that level over the past few years. Robo Lions appeared to be getting things back on track with their Everybot-style low goal machine in Infinite Recharge, and this year they’re taking another step up with their hooded high goal shooter. Midtown Robotics (formerly known as G3 Robotics -1648), on the other hand, has reportedly had some trouble with sustainability and team development due to difficult pandemic-related policies. They will be fielding a simple, modest robot, but don’t count them out yet - simple designs can find success early on in the season.
Chairman’s Contenders: 1648, 4188, 6919