FMAR District Championship Recap
The top 60 teams in FMAR came to fight at the 2017 FMAR District Championship at Lehigh University, all vying for a shot at advancing to St. Louis one last time. With an average qualification match score of 299.48 and the fourth rotor being activated in 42.5% of the time, winning a blue banner would be anything but easy. While the pressure was on, gear clearly outranked fuel, with the 40 kPa threshold only being reached 9 times in qualification matches and not once in the playoffs. A last minute decline by 1811 gave a fresh invite to **5404 **on Thursday morning, who quickly geared up for the challenge. When Alliance Selections came around, the teams with the best qualification records didn’t up ranking the highest, no alliance captain picked another team seeded within the top 8, and some swift gear cyclers such as 3974, 1257, and 1391 were sent packing after not making the cut.
Quarterfinals
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The second overall pick at Mount Olive, the first overall pick at Bridgewater-Raritan, the second overall pick at the Hudson Valley Regional, and the #1 captain at Montgomery, **303 **
again clinched the #1 position at FMAR Champs. Just as they had done at Montgomery the week prior, the TEST Team again selected **225 **as their first pick. With their eyes set on the finals after missing out for the first time in 2017 at Monty, they managed to steal Montgomery finalists **222 **and their new ground gear pick-up as the last pick of the tournament. On the other side of the bracket was the #8 captain of 1923, who also took a page out of the Monty-playbook and recreated an alliance with 25 and 75, who together had upset 303 and 225 in the quarterfinals of Montgomery and went on to win the Week 6 District Event. This time around, QF1-1 started off with #1 activating their first rotor with 225 scoring 16 kPa in auto, but all three of #8’s robots delivered their gears to get two auto rotors spinning. With blue having the lead in teleop, red fought back, activating their third rotor with a minute and a half left. 25 ended up getting a gear stuck in their hopper, but just as they were able to shake it free, a hit into 222 causes 1923 to lose comm with 45 seconds left. As the ropes dropped #8 was down 173-175, with both alliances shy of spinning their fourth rotor. 1923 came back to life with 15 seconds to go, but with 75 unable to get all the way up their rope and 1923 just inches away from activating their touchpad, 2 climbs and some ending fuel shots by 225 gave #1 the win 277-225. After 25 was unable to deliver their autonomous gear to get a second rotor started in QF1-2, both alliances started teleop off with one rotor going, but #1 pulled ahead with 20 kPa scored by 225. In teleop, an unsecured gear in 1923 ended up getting rolled almost across the entire neutral zone before being tossed back by 303. As the 30-second mark sounded #1 spun up their fourth rotor, and just 10 seconds later #8 did the same. All six robots were successfully ready for flight as the match concluded, but with their 28 kPa in pressure and an extra auto mobility score, #1 won the series and moved on to the semifinals after setting the event high score at the time of 468, marking the first time in 2017 that 225 had made it out of the quarterfinals. -
After ranking 21st at Hatboro-Horsham and 10th at Bridgewater-Raritan, **1807 **
captained the #2 alliance at their first-ever appearance at FMAR Champs with the event’s highest qualification record of 11-1. To join their alliance they selected Hatboro-Horsham and Montreal Regional finalists 2590. They rounded off their alliance with their Hatboro-Horsham alliance partners and Westtown winners 3929. Playing them in QF3-1 was the #7 alliance of Seneca Chairman’s winners 203, Bridgewater-Raritan and Seneca finalists 219, and Seneca EI winners 1640. Their first quarterfinal matchup saw both sides spinning their first rotor in autonomous, but 1640 and 219’s combined fuel shooting on blue was only good enough for a single kPa while 2590 was able to score 10 kPa for red, which increased to 15 once teleop begun. Gear cycles were being ran by both alliances, and although 2590 dropped a gear twice at the airship after defense by blue, their swift floor pickup allowed them to quickly right their mistake. 1640 tried to shoot some more fuel into the high efficiency boiler to match red’s fuel score, and 219 came crashing into 2590 as they attempted to release another hopper onto the field. With 25 seconds to go #2 spun up their fourth rotor, followed by #7 just 5 seconds later. The blue human players attempted to litter the field with excess fuel and gears to slow down red’s climbs, but with all six touchpads lit at the end of the match #1 squeezed out the win by just 8 points, 460 and 452. QF3-2 saw a much closer autonomous mode, with 2590 again scoring 15 kPa for red while 219 and 1640 managed 11 kPa for blue. 203 attempted to defend against 2590’s gear cycles once teleop commenced, but their slow drivetrain gave them a TUFF time. Shots by 1640 put blue up in fuel 16-15 as the ropes were dropped but with only 10 seconds on the clock red activated their fourth rotor, and with 3 climbs to 2, the #2 alliance won the series. -
With the second-highest total qualification match points at the event, Seneca finalists **5401 **
ranked #3 at FMAR Champs. They decided to swim with **193 **as the first pick of their alliance, and rounded it out with older brothers and Montgomery finalists 11, the second ever double-MORT alliance in official play. Meanwhile, Westtown winners 834 captained the #6 alliance and chose to play with both of Pennsylvania’s Hall of Fame teams: 103, who had won both Hatboro-Horsham and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, and Hatboro-Horsham’s #2 seed 341. Each side started their first rotor in autonomous of QF4-1, but with 341 slightly misaligned, red took the lead after 5401 scored 6 kPa in auto. Both alliances focused solely on gear cycles in teleop, with little to no defense being played. In fact, there seemed to be more mid-field contact between robots on the same alliance than those on opposing sides. Drive train issues appeared to have plagued 11 for most of the match; they started off driving sluggish after autonomous and seemed to lose one side completely with a minute and a half left in the match, effectively trapping them near their own retrieval zone. #6 spun up their fourth rotor with 15 seconds to go, while #3 was left just one gear short. With #6 able to get two robots up with all three of #3’s unable to get off the ground, #6 easily took the win. Unable to fix their drivetrain, the #3 alliance called in a backup robot to replace 11, bringing in Hatboro-Horsham winners 2607. QF3-2 started off mimicking the first, with both alliances starting their first rotor and 5401 scoring 6 kPa in auto. 193 immediately reeled in 103’s autonomous gear that they had shook loose from their robot as again both sides got right to cycling gears. With a minute to go all three red robots were clustered around their retrieval zone, eager to be loaded with the final two gears needed for their fourth rotor. As all three red robots reached the top of their ropes with 10 seconds to go, 103 delivered the last gear blue needed for their fourth rotor, but even with a last second third climb by 103, #6 was still lost by just nine points, 456-447, giving #3 the win and forcing a rubber match. 341 finally hit their mark for fuel in autonomous in QF3-3, leaving blue up 79-75 after autonomous with an extra auto mobility bonus. On red, 193’s gear got stuck on the barb of the spring, but the 193 pilot was soon able to recover it. With 80 seconds left a high-speed ram by 834 into the guardrail sent their gear flying out of their robot, and seconds later 193 sent a gear rolling across the field as well. This was due to a fuel ball being stuck in MORT Beta’s gear pickup device, which was soon expelled by the simple and effective “spin quickly in circles until it gets unjammed” technique. With over 30 seconds to go red got their fourth rotor turning, and with blue one gear short as all six robots reached the tops of their ropes, #3 walked away victorious and into the semifinals. -
**4750 **
finally cracked the top 8 at FMAR Champs after ranking 12th at Westtown and 21st at Seneca. This time they captained the #4 alliance, and partnered with Westtown finalists and Seneca winners **365 **and Westtown Chairman’s Award winners 272. The #5 captain, 1676, had also finally made it into the top 8 for their first time of 2017, after ranking 32nd at Southwest Virginia, 15th at Bridgewater-Raritan, and 16th at Montgomery, and were joined by Seneca winners 5895 as well as 3314, who had followed them down to the Old Dominion state back in Week 1. In QF2-1, #5 took a 9-point lead into teleop after 3314 and 5895’s 12 kPa in autonomous trumped 365’s 3 kPa. In teleop, a lack of a ground gear pick-up on the blue alliance meant a trip back to the retrieval zone was needed if a gear didn’t make it onto a peg, while 272 on red gave gears a second chance with their floor mechanism, including those laying around the blue airship. With all six robots at their touchpads and both sides unable to activate their fourth rotor, extra 9 kPa scored by #5 in autonomous ended up making the difference and giving blue the win, 317-308. Blue took an even bigger lead going into teleop of QF2-2, scoring 19 kPa compared to red’s 5 kPa. With 70 seconds to go, 5895 discovered that their gear was jammed in their robot, forcing them to instead play defense. Despite their efforts, #4 was able to get their fourth rotor turning, while the lack of a third gear cycler leaves #5 unable to start theirs up. With 3 climbs to 2, blue tied up the series and pushed it to a third match. Blue again outscores red in fuel in autonomous of QF2-3, but this time blue was unable to activate their first rotor in auto. In the first 10 seconds of teleop, the red robots empty all of the hoppers, spilling 500 balls onto the field. 1676 attempts to sweep the fuel out of the blue retrieval zone, but the balls stuck in the corners of the field makes them waste 55 seconds before finally securing a gear. With 15 seconds left #4 spun their fourth rotor, and with driving issues preventing 1676 from reaching their rope in time even a sweet yo-yoing maneuver by 5895 was no match for blue’s 3 successful climbs, advancing the #4 alliance to the semis.
Semifinals
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The first semifinal series saw the matchup of the #1 TEST-Tech-Tiger Team alliance of 303, 225, and 222 in red against the #4 Cyber BERT Workerz alliance of 4750, 365, and 272 in blue. Red took a commanding lead in SF1-1, with 225 scoring 25 kPa as both sides spun their first rotor in autonomous. An early G13 tech foul against 272 pushed red even further into the lead, but it was later balanced out by a G13 against 222. With over 30 seconds to go blue activated their fourth rotor, with 4750 and 365 attempting to match red’s fuel score while 225 shoots even more in their boiler as well. Every robot makes it up their rope by the buzzer, but with red being two gears short of their fourth rotor, #4 took the lead in the series with the event high score of 476 points. The red alliance again had the lead with fuel after autonomous in SF1-2, but this time only by 12 points as 365 was able to score 5 kPa in their own boiler after delivering their auto gear. With 105 seconds left, 303 seemed to have gotten disoriented, hitting into the back of their own airship and staying there for 10 seconds. Red got their fourth rotor turning with 45 seconds left, and at the 30-second whistle blue needed just one more gear. But, with only 20 seconds to go, 272 pushed 4750 out from their rope, picked up a gear off the floor, and managed to place it on a peg to get their fourth rotor going in the final 10 seconds. With blue having all three robots aboard their airship while 222 was left hanging just inches short on red, the #4 alliance of 4750
, 365, and **272 **claimed the upset and a spot in the finals. -
In the second semifinal series, the #2 Atomic Redbird Nemesis alliance of 1807, 2590, and 3929 were in red bumpers against the #3 Fighting MORT Squared alliance of 5401, 193, (11,) and 2607. Red was up by 10 points after autonomous mode of SF2-1, with 5401 and 2590 scoring 8 and 18 kPa, respectively. After a hard hit by 3929 just 5 seconds into teleop, 2607 was left lifeless at the side of the field, where they stayed for the rest of the match. Even with being down a robot, 5401 and 193 were able to match the gear cycling of the red alliance, starting up their fourth rotor with 20 seconds left on the clock. But, with 2607 still dead in the water and 193 unable to reel in their rope, red’s 3 climbs sealed the deal and gave the #2 alliance the win. Just as previously, SF2-2 began with red taking a lead of 19 to 8 kPa in autonomous mode. All six robots immediately rushed to their respective retrieval zones to deliver gears as soon as possible. 3929 soon turned to defend against the blue alliance, successfully slowing down 2607 for 25 seconds in front of the red airship as they attempted to obtain another gear. #2 powered up their fourth rotor with 35 seconds to go, with blue needing just one more gear. 2607 had blue’s last gear loaded in their robot, but after being again halted by 3929 and then dropping the gear as they rushed to get it on the spring, the #2 alliance of 1807
, 2590, and **3929 **took the win 3 climbs to 2 and headed to the finals.
Finals
Of the six teams in the finals of the 2017 FMAR District Championship, only 4 teams (272, 365, 2590, 4750) had qualified for the DCMP last season. And, of those 4, only 365 and 2590 made it into the playoffs, in fact on the same alliance after the #8 captain selected 365 as their first choice. This time around, the #4 alliance of 4750, 365, and 272 were in red, with the #2 alliance of 1807, 2590, and 3929 in blue. The red alliance had held 15 total winner blue banners: 11 by 365, 4 by 272, and none by captain 4750, who had never before tasted the finals at an official event. Meanwhile, the blue alliance one-uped them with 16 winner blue banners. 2590 has claimed 12 in their history, while 3929 and 1807 had won every official competition finals that they had made it to previously. 3929, the 2012 World Championship Rookie Inspiration Winners, had earned three wins previously, while captains 1807, who were competing at the FMAR District Championship for the first time in their history, had only made it to the finals for a victory once before, back at the 2009 New York City Regional. Which of these evenly-matched alliances would increase their win count this time?
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Blue took a mighty lead in autonomous mode of Finals Match 1, with both alliances turning their first rotor and 2590 shooting 21 kPa for blue versus only 2 kPa by 365 on red. In teleop, 272 got to work picking up the auto gear that they dropped on the ground while all three blue robots raced over to their retrieval zone, with 2590 having to wait patiently by the side as their partners 1807 and 3929 acquired their gears. Meanwhile on red, after some misalignment by 4750 they finally acquired a gear of their own, but it was knocked out after a hit by 3929 as they made their way back to their airship. 272 had attempted to get in the way of 2590, but their omnidirectional drive was easily pushed around by Nemesis’s strong drivetrain. With a minute and a half left, #2 spun up their third rotor, with #4 following right behind them. 3929 began playing defense for the red alliance, slowing down blue as red activated their fourth rotor with 25 seconds to go. Blue needed just one more gear to turn their fourth rotor, but after 272 hit into 3929 at the blue airship in the last 30 seconds the #2 alliance was awarded a third climb even though 1807 was stuck grounded, and with only 2 climbs for red, the #2 alliance took the win by over 200 points, 466-257.
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Finals Match 2 saw the blue alliance again with the lead out of autonomous, with 2590 out fueling 365 14 kPa to 5. But, red missed out on 5 points in autonomous by a failed auto mobility bonus by 272 as they staffed along the baseline but didn’t cross it. With #2 up by 14 points, all six robots rushed to their retrieval zones. With a lot of bumping and bruising in the neutral zone as the robots zipped across the field, blue activated their third rotor with a minute and a half left, with red doing the same mere seconds later. As both 2590 and 272 met in midfield attempting to pick up the same gear, Nemesis just barely beat out the Cyber-Crusaders to acquire the gear for themselves. 3929 was again put on defense for blue, but with 45 seconds to go, both sides needed just one more gear to complete their fourth rotor. Just before the 30-second whistle #2 go theirs going, with the pilots of the #4 alliance waiting to turn their fourth rotor until after they dropped their ropes. Both 365 and 2590 unsuccessfully tried to pressurize their respective boilers further as the clock ticked down, but with all six robots ready for flight, the difference in score came down to the 14 extra points scored by blue in autonomous, giving the win to the #2 alliance of 1807
, 2590, and 3929, 460-446. This win finished off 2590’s baker’s dozen, and kept alive 1807’s and 3929’s streak of winning every finals series they’ve been in. As the first ever appearance at the FMAR District Championship for alliance captains 1807 it was certainly one for the history books, as well as for 2590, who claimed their third FMAR DCMP victory.
Awards Ceremony
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In the Awards Ceremony, 75
, who had missed out on EI last season after winning it at FMAR Champs in 2015, earned their 12th Engineering Inspiration Award, and 3142, who won EI at the inaugural FMAR DCMP in 2012 but before this year had last won it last back in 2014, claimed their 6th Engineering Inspiration Award. Meanwhile, **708 **took home their 5th Chairman’s Award, previously winning it at the 2015 FMAR DCMP, and 272, who had won Chairman’s in FMAR for the first time this season, were awarded their third Chairman’s award in their history and first at the regional/DCMP level since 2004. 708 and 272, both Pennsylvanian teams, had demoed their robots together at FMAR exhibitions at the Pennsylvania Convention Center for the Cable-Tec Expo and at the King of Prussia Mall last season. -
Special shout-outs to the weekend’s Woodie Flowers Finalist Thomas Galie
from 2607, Volunteer of the Year Tim Leicht from 1403, and Dean’s List Finalists Megana Chigurupati, Liam Anthony, Diana Voronin, and Emma Woehr, from 1640, 2729, 75, and 103, respectively. -
FMAR decided to not hand out a DCMP Rookie All-Star Award, which only 6327 was eligible for, and instead the slot became an additional World Championship point slot. It is also worth noting that of the 10 other teams eligible for Engineering Inspiration or Chairman’s, only **1640 **
and **5401 **brought home any awards. Even 1676, the only team qualifying for both EI and Chairman’s at FMAR Champs, walked away from the weekend with nothing to show for it. Are FMAR’s attempts to “spread the wealth” becoming too much?
Advancing to #2Champs
As shown in Table 10-11 of the 2017 FRC Game and Season Manual, FMAR had 22 slots to give out to the 2017 World Championships: 2 Chairman’s Awards, 2 Engineering Inspiration Awards, 1 Rookie All-Star Award, 3 Event Winners, and the next highest 14 ranked teams based on District Points. Not counted in these 22 slots MAR’s 3 Hall of Fame Teams 103, 341, and 365, as well as the 2016 Newton-Hopper Division Engineering Inspiration Award winners 1676. 2590’s wildcard slot that they earned earlier this season at the Montreal Regional did count against one of FMAR’s 14 point slots, but since Nemesis went on to win FMAR Champs, that winner slot instead revived the point slot that they had eliminated previously. Furthermore, since FMAR decided not to hand out Rookie All-Star at the DCMP, that World Championship slot was instead transferred to become a 15th point slot. Lastly, it appears that 219, who had earned one of the 15 point slots, has seemingly declined their invitation to St. Louis, passing their point slot onto the next highest ranked team (which of course, is still not updated on the official FMAR Ranking site), and since **222 **and **2607 **had both made it off of the St. Louis waitlist prior to FMAR Champs, the point slots that would have been awarded to them were passed along as well. After all was said and done, the following FMAR teams advanced to the 2017 FRC World Championship:
**Team # (Final District Ranking) - Qualification Method**
**2590 **(1) - Montreal Regional Wildcard
**365 **(2) - Hall of Fame
**303 **(3) - Point Slot #1
**5401 **(4) - Point Slot #2
**1807 **(5) - FMAR DCMP Winner
**272 **(6) - FMAR DCMP Chairman’s Award
**3929** (7) - FMAR DCMP Winner
**4750 **(8) - Point Slot #3
**225 **(9) - Point Slot #4
**103 **(10) - Hall of Fame
**75 **(11) - FMAR DCMP Engineering Inspiration Award
**5895 **(12) - Point Slot #5
**834 **(13) - Point Slot #6
**222 **(14) - St. Louis Waitlist
**2607 **(15) - St. Louis Waitlist
**1923 **(16) - Point Slot #7
**1676 **(17) - 2016 Newton-Hopper Division Engineering Inspiration Award
**25 **(18) - Point Slot #8
**193 **(19) - Point Slot #9
**708 **(20) - FMAR DCMP Chairman’s Award
**11 **(21) - Point Slot #10
***219 **(22) - Point Slot #11 (Declined)*
**1640 **(23) - Point Slot #11
**203 **(24) - Point Slot #12
**4342 **(25) - Point Slot #13
**747 **(26) - Point Slot #14
**3974 **(27) - Point Slot #15
**341 **(28) - Hall of Fame
**3142 **(29) - FMAR DCMP Engineering Inspiration Award
And last but certainly not least, 1391, the 41st ranked team, and 714, the 99th ranked team, have both made it off the waitlist to join the fun in St. Louis next week, and 3314, the 37th ranked team, is now registered to join MOE at the first-ever Houston Half World Championships later this week via the waitlist as well. Congratulations to these 32 teams, and best of luck as you represent FMAR among the top teams in FRC.
Super Regional South Preview
- Mo’ Championships, Mo’ Teams, Mo’…MOE! With an official record of 42-15, two finalist medals, and one event win, 2017 has shaped up to be one of 365
’s best seasons in terms of robot performance. But as their LocoMOEtive rolls into Houston, let’s not forget the impressive track record they hold at World Champs as well, including one World Championship win and 8 World Championship awards. In just their second year, MOE won the 2001 Newton Division and World Championship of Diabolical Dynamics. Then, in 2002, 365 won the World Championship Team Spirit Award, followed by the World Championship Imagery Award in 2004. In 2005, MOE won the World Championship Entrepreneurship Award and a Chairman’s Award Honorable Mention, and after claiming the World Championship Engineering Inspiration Award and another Chairman’s Award Honorable Mention in 2006, 365 finally clinched the grand daddy of them all - the World Championship Chairman’s Award - in 2007, entering the FRC Hall of Fame. But, they didn’t stop there. In 2008 MOE earned the World Championship Imagery Award, and in 2009 the World Championship Innovation in Control Award. Most recently, in 2011, their head mentor John Larock received the World Championship Woodie Flowers Award. 365 captained the #3 alliance on last year’s Galileo Subdivision, but haven’t made it to the Division Finals since 2008. Deciding to skip out on St. Louis’s farewell song and instead attend the inaugural #2Champs down in Texas, will this team from the FIRST State be able to turn the George R. Brown Convention Center green? One thing’s for certain, later this week all of FMAR will be cheering “Oooo-oooooh! Clap clap, clap clap clap, clap clap clap clap:”
https://media.giphy.com/media/Y9C447KoGSOSQ/giphy.gif
Let’s see if 365 can turn the first-ever Roebling Subdivision into the “MOE-Bling” Subdivision come Saturday (Admit it, you laughed at that).
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But wait, there’s more! **3314 **
was a late addition to first Super Regional South, literally - receiving their waitlist invite to Houston at 2:30 pm last Thursday. They’ve already competed at 5 events so far in 2017, playing 69 matches. But, they’ve only won 30 of them. After ranking 34th and going unpicked at the Southwest Virginia Chesapeake District Event back in Week 1, they ranked 20th at Mount Olive and finally made it to the quarterfinals as the first pick of the #5 alliance. The Mechanical Mustangs finally tasted the semifinals at the Hudson Valley Regional where they ranked 24th and were the last pick of the #3 alliance, but haven’t made it out of the quarterfinals again since then, captaining the #4 alliance at Montgomery and then ranking 44th and being the third robot of the #5 alliance. While their robot is named Vice it doesn’t have many of its own, being capable at both decent gear cycling and fuel shooting. While they might not have the playoff finishes to show for it, don’t count this horse out of the race just yet. A good ole’ Texas rodeo might be just what this team needs to break their maiden in 2017 as they jump over hurdles in the Hopper Subdivision.
Just One More Thing…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsuBtEnTA30&t=3)
Before awarding the 2017 FMAR District Championship Woodie Flowers Finalist Award at Lehigh, the aforementioned 2011 World Championship Woodie Flowers Award Winner John Larock had a short but very important message for the audience.** “I just want to recognize an organization that cropped up over the past year or so. It’s the LGBTQ+ of [i]FIRST** organization. I want to thank them for helping us spread inclusion in MAR and in FIRST.", stated Mr. Larock. He went on to say “If any student or adult in MAR is having challenges in this area, come and talk to me. I’m going to support you. And I’m sure all the mentors here will support you also." Thank you, Mr. Larock, for spreading awareness of this great group and their mission, and thank you to both Sean from 5113 and Josh from 2729 for your commitment to your goal. The MARtian stands with Mr. Larock in support for all those who might be facing challenges, and we hope that the rest of FMAR and *FIRST *join in with solidarity as well.