STL Off-Season Event: Gateway Robotics Challenge

FIRST General Forum
#34

We will be sending a team information packet to all of the registered teams tomorrow. It will include the official schedule, rule changes, venue layout information & more. This will also be posted here.

Rules changes will be very similar to Chezy Champs - no zone requirements for assists, less penalties on minor rule infractions. The biggest departure that the GRC is enforcing for our first year is that the top 8 alliances must draft below the top 8 seeds (no inter-drafting). We feel with the mix of teams attending the event, this will serve to create a strong overall elimination tournament while creating a great opportunity for inexperienced teams to team up with experienced veteran teams. The draft will also still be serpentine.

We are also asking for all teams to bring their game balls with them to help the event save on cost this year. Thank you!

Less than 2 weeks, prepare your robots and get ready to compete!

#35

Unfortunately AR FRC Team 3937 had to back out. FRC 16 is working late for several nights to come to be able to compete with a “2015” robot. Hope it works!

#36

Contacts for the registered teams should have the team information packet in their inboxes. It is also attached to this post.

Here are the rule changes for the Gateway Robotics Challenge (thanks Chezy Champs!) -

• No inspection - honor system on legality. +5 pounds allowed. Gross / obvious violations of robot rules will be identified by referees and event staff and must be corrected before the robot continues. All other FIRST robot rules apply.
• There is no zone requirement for possession / assists.
• A trussed ball which is untouched by another robot and enters the low goal will be considered scored.
• G21 [Robots may not extend outside the field.] No penalty for violations. Continuous / repeated violations will still be a technical foul. Contact outside the safety zone will still be enforced.
• G14 [Strategies aimed solely at forcing the opposing alliance to violate a rule are not in the spirit of FRC and are not allowed.] Violation: Technical Foul or “No Call” at discretion of the head referee
• G12 [An alliance may not possess their opponent’s balls.] An immediately rectified possession of the opposing alliance ball (from a truss shot, human play or field crew action) will not be penalized.
• Referees will not attempt to judge team intent - the benefit of the doubt with regards to penalties will go to the teams.
• Teams in the top 8 ranks may only draft teams below the top 8 seed. Serpentine draft will still be in effect.

We also need teams to bring their 2014 game balls with them so the event can use them. We are doing this to save on cost, please remember to write your team’s number on your ball so we can get it back to you after the event.

We will also have a more detailed facility layout here in the next few days. Keep working on your robots and get ready to compete on September 13th!

2014 Gateway Robotics Challenge Team Information Packet.docx (998 KB)


2014 Gateway Robotics Challenge Team Information Packet.docx (998 KB)

#37

Just a note to all attending teams - you must fill out the attached waiver form and bring it with you. Please distribute it to your teams and have them ready to turn in during load-in. The waiver form is attached to this post and has been e-mailed to the team contacts that were used for registration.

We are currently at 25 teams with 4 being pre-rookies -

16
6001 (Pre-Rookie)
931
1094
1208
1288
1329
1658
1706
1985
1986
2408
2481
2978
3284
328 (Pre-Rookie)
3397
3507
3885
4143
413 (Pre-Rookie)
4256
426 (Pre-Rookie)
4329
4931

Contact me with any questions and we’ll see everyone next weekend!

GRC Waiver.docx (12.4 KB)


GRC Waiver.docx (12.4 KB)

#38

Good morning everyone!

Just a reminder - please have your team members bring a sign copied of the waiver form with you for the event.

We’ll be attempting to setup a webcast, if successful the broadcast will be found here: http://www.twitch.tv/rdognaux

Don’t forget your 2014 game balls!

Team 931 will be running a scavenger hunt of sorts for team members. The goal of this is for students to get a crash course in FRC with some prize incentives. See the attached document for more information.

Thanks and we’ll see you all today or tomorrow for load-in!

GRC Training Camp.docx (34.4 KB)


GRC Training Camp.docx (34.4 KB)

#39

We are all set up and ready to go!

Thanks to Two Pencil Designs for some awesome trophies! We’ll crown the champions of the first Gateway Robotics Challenge tomorrow!

#40

Stream should be live now! Let us know if it works.

#41

I’m not getting it to work on mobile.

#42

Thanks! I was very happy on how the trophies came out. I’m a big fan of the red name plates!

#43

Did anyone, by chance, get any match video, eliminations in particular?

#44

We had a great time at the GRC, and wanted to thank everyone who hosted the event and volunteered. With KC and St. Louis regionals being on the same weekend the last couple of years, it was a nice chance to catch up with our friends on the opposite side of the state.

Also wanted to thank the Bomb Squad for giving us a tour of the 2015 control system. I’m looking forward to making the change this year.

Alliance Selection (No Picking Within the top 8)

  1. 16, *6001, 2978
  2. 2481, 1985, 3397
  3. 1329, 3284, 2408
  4. 1986, 4256, *328
  5. 1658, 4931, 3885
  6. 1706, 931, 1208
  7. 4143, 1094, 3507
  8. 1288, 4329, *4255

*6001 was a pre-rookie from Arkansas.
*4255 was a pre-rookie using a twin of 4256
*328 was a pre-rookie using a non-shooting twin of 3284.

Quarters
1 over 8
4 over 5
2 over 7
3 over 6 (in 3)

Semis
4 over 1
2 over 3

Finals
2 over 4 (in 3)

Congrats to 2481, 1985, and 3397 on the victory. Absolutely well deserved.

Thank you to 4256 (a great all around robot who excelled in the inbound/truss role) and Pre-rookie 328 (who had a great inbound to go along with some solid defense). We were thrilled with both of our picks and enjoyed working with you on and off the field. The finalist trophies are gorgeous, and reflected a total alliance effort.

We’ve got one more event before we start the new season. Looking forward to seeing many of these same teams at the Cow Town Throwdown October 31st.

#45

Ryan and all the GRC planning committe, congratulations on your first St. Louis area off-season event. It was worth the wait!

If anyone is unaware, Nighthawk was running the 2015 control system and had no major issues throughout the event. It connected to the field reliably with no lags or delays. Props to the Beta test team. Real success this weekend.

And special recognition for the Arkansas pre-rookie team from Booneville, Rocky BalboaBots. They will have competed 3 times before they have a season! Finalists at Ozark Mtn Brawl and semi-finalists at GRC and signed up for CowTown.

Also, congratulations to the winners and finalists. Great matches on a tight schedule.

I was super impressed that our kids were able to change out a broken beater bar in one match cycle. I know to trust them when they say we don’t need to use the time out card.

What they don’t know is that it was my fault. I refused to tell Danny Blau how reliable the beater bar design is for fear of jinxing it…and then we broke two in a row. :eek:

#46

Team 2481 thoroughly enjoyed the inaugural Gateway Robotics Challenge. We had great fun playing with new friends from Missouri as well as old friends.

Awesome time working with our alliance partners 1985 and 3397. Together we were able to execute our strategy flawlessly throughout elim matches.

A sincere thanks to the finalist alliance of 1986, 4256, and 328. Playing against your alliance was a challenging and fun experience for us.

I also must give a shout out to the GRC planning committee and the event volunteers. I would not have been able to tell this was a first year event and I hope we can attend again next year.

We should have 2481’s matches recorded, I’m not sure about matches that we did not play in. I’ll check with our video team and post here with a link when they are eventually posted.

#47

Alright, I suppose it is my turn for a final “thank you” and such, because my team has a lot of thanks to give.

First off, thanks to 2481 for seeing past the terrible job us at 3397 did in qualifications, and picking us not just as the best of the bottom 3 robots, but as an integral part of the strategy. We were very honored to be playing with you, and were very happy that our strategy worked out so well.

Next, 1985, our only regional we have ever won was with you guys. You helped start us up a few years ago, loaned us parts this past season, and were on this winning alliance with us. We are glad that we have a good relationship with you all, and are glad that we could win this event with you. Also, thanks for hosting at your school!

Thirdly, 1986, 328 and 4256, you guys were great, and it was an honor to play against such great teams in the finals. The matches were close, and you guys made them very fun. I predict 328 will be a rookie to look out for in 2015 s/o to 4256 for having a dance-off with me before the finals. That was fun.

To the planning committee and all the volunteers, this event was really well run and really fun. I think that as the years go on, it will grow and get even better.

Luckily, the videos I would be looking for would be elims, so we should be in all of those. Thank you very much

#48

We may have some of the matches recorded from our web stream. The quality may not be great though, we were having to broadcast over WiFi since the hardline connection wasn’t working in the gym. I’ll see if I can get them up this week.

A huge thank you to all the teams who came from near and far to make our first event a very exciting one. Some of the elimination matches were some of the best I’ve seen all year!

I want to thank team 1985 for hosting and for all of the work that the Hazelwood School District put into helping make this event happen. We couldn’t have done it without you.

And of course another thanks to all of the volunteers. I felt like the event ran extremely smoothly and having such great volunteers was a big part of that.

We want to grow this event and make it happen annually. We also want to make it even better, so please let us know how we can improve!

#49

WOW! Now I wish even more that I could have attended Saturday with my pre-rookie team, Y Bridge 4H Robotics!:yikes:

Thank you to everyone–mentors, team members, volunteers, parents-- involved for welcoming Cole and Kirk to the FIRST community. I can’t wait till our debriefing meeting this week to see their faces and hear what they say about the experience.

And special thanks to Mitch & Sherry for the photos. We desperately needed good pics like these to get the message out to the community.

Sincerely,
Peggy Painter
Head Coach/founder Y Bridge 4H Robotics
former leader of Bit by Bit 4H/Team 3784

#50

Obviously, echoing Fred’s comments above for 2481, the GRC was a great offseason event and you really couldn’t tell it was a first year attempt. Everything was kept on schedule and moved very fluidly and in impressive fashion. Great job to everyone involved from the planning team, the officials, and all of the amazing volunteers that made the event possible. Amazing job by everyone.

1985 and 3397 were great alliance partners that worked incredibly well with us in executing the gameplan. We look forward to any events we get to share the field with you again in the future. Good luck in 2015 and hopefully we’ll see you on the field.

1986, 4256, and 328 were a great alliance that was an honor to compete with in the finals. It’s always an honor to share the field with 1986 and we hope we get many opportunities to continue to do that in the future. Similarly, it’s also always a ton of fun to compete with our friends from 4256 and we were excited to get to do so again in the finals at GRC. Hope to see you guys again in 2015. Also, as some have already mentioned, 328 definitely looks like a rookie on the right track to impressive things in 2015. If any advice or assistance is needed moving forward in the upcoming year, add 2481 to the list of teams eager to help in any way we can to make your rookie campaign a great one.

Great job by all the teams that competed and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2015. Good luck and thanks to all!

#51

If anyone has photos or videos and gets them uploaded online, please feel free to post the links here. We’d love to have some reference materials for next year’s event to help promote it.

We had a few people taking photos so I’ll make sure to do the same and share them here.

#52

Our photos from the event have been uploaded to our team Facebook: www.facebook.com/team2481. Feel free to use them for any FRC promotional needs

#53

I’ll be starting a new thread soon for the 2015 event, but I wanted to let everyone know that the website has been updated with the 2015 dates and costs:

  • Date: October 17th, 2015
  • Cost: $250 per team, 1/2 price entry for bringing a pre-rookie team. Pre-rookie teams compete for free.
  • Location: Hazelwood Central High School, 15875 New Halls Ferry Rd. Florissant, MO 63034

There will also be handouts this weekend at the Arkansas regional and any interested teams can sign up to compete or to help volunteer.

Registration is also open on the website for any teams already wanting to sign up. Thanks!