Before We Begin…
If you haven’t yet read CHS Platter’s take on the surplus of G22 (and G25) fouls being handed out so far this season, you should. To it, the MARtian replies: Ditto. This past weekend saw a plethora of fouls and yellow cards being handed out within MAR. Many were for herding, including some teams, like 3314 in this match, accidentally simply bumping into the cube pyramid in autonomous and earning a foul for each and every cube that moved the slightest distance, and then a yellow card too! As the big cheese CHS Platter states, there is a clear difference between “herding” and “bulldozing”, and it is up to HQ to discuss the true intention of this rule with its head referees, and for the refs to communicate this clearly to the teams. If an event’s Qualification Matches end with a third of its teams possessing yellow cards, there is obviously something flawed, and here’s a hint: it’s not the teams themselves.
Now, with that out of the way, it’s time for…
Week 3 Recap
Bridgewater-Raritan
For the fifth year, teams returned to the Panther’s Den for the annual Bridgewater-Raritan MAR District Event. for While some teams were powering up for the second times, others were TESTing the waters for their first time.
**
Alliance Selections**
- Perennial powerhouse **2590 **
came out with a Fury in their season debut, winning all but one of their Qualification Matches. With a ranking score of 3.00, Nemesis chose the second ranked team and last year’s Bridgewater winners, 1923, with a ranking score of 2.75, to join their alliance, along with rookies 6860, the last-ranked team. Event hosts **303 **captained the #2 alliance and selected the fourth-ranked 56, switch-and-exchange specialists **747 **elected to fly high with **3314 **on the #3 alliance, and “rookies” **4652 **decided to team-up with Westtown champions 2607. On the back side of the draft, 1257, who later had to sub out for **5662 **due to a broken intake, shot for the stars with **219 **on the #5 alliance, while despite having only a 6-6 record, last year’s World Champs **1676 **declined **1257 **in order to pillage with **1989 **on alliance #6. And last but certainly not least, 4035, who had ranked 40 out of 40 at Westtown last weekend, captained the #7 alliance, and rookies **6897 **were alliance captain #8.
**
Finals**
With little surprise, the #1 and #2 alliances easily made their way through the Quarters and Semis en route to a collision course in the Finals. On the red side stood NJ’s creme-de-la-creme 2590, with a dozen wins under their belt, along with 1923, who had won both of their MAR districts last season. In blue bumpers were 303, who also walked away from both of their 2016 district events victorious, along with last week’s Mt. Olive event, and 56, winners of the 2016 Montgomery District Event and had last made it this far in Bridgewater back in 2015, when a last-second 6-stack went horribly wrong. Would NJ’s top team claim another victory, or would the hometown heroes prove their dominance amongst the best of the district?
-
Finals 1
started off with blue claiming the scale in autonomous first, with red placing their own cube less than a second later. Blue still held the scale going into teleop, and tactfully out-placed red as 2590 and 1923 attempted to battle it out with 303 and 56. With their quick speed and smart stacking, not only was blue able to hold the scale for all of teleop, but 303 was able to claim red’s scale for blue for the last second as well. With blue’s lights pulsing all around the field, not even 2590’s triple hang could pull off a win for red. -
Down 0-1, red was able to claim the scale in autonomous of Match 2
after 303 just missed their cube. This time red switched things up, and willingly gave up control of the scale to blue once teleop began. Instead, 2590 and 6860 went straight for blue’s switch, while 1923 got to work on their exchange. While 303 attempted to steal red’s switch and later rushed back to try to reclaim their own, 56 got entangled within 2590 as they fended off their switch. Although 2590 was unable to return to the red platform for their signature triple climb, red’s barrage of blue’s switch, use of power-ups, and of course, fouls strategically lead red to a win by just three points, 309-306. -
With the series tied up 1-1, the #1 and #2 alliances went into Match 3
ready for battle. This time blue beat red to the scale to claim it for their own, and red again elected to secede the scale to instead focus on owning blue’s switch. But, by the time red was able to claim blue’s switch, it was already too late. Blue’s initial switch ownership combined with their scale possession, along with a completely full vault, was able to overpower red’s impressive triple climb, and even without the extra 100 points in fouls against red, the #2 blue alliance of 303, 56, and **6945 **claimed the gold. With this win 303 has now won both of their district events in both 2017 and 2018, proving to all of MAR that they have successfully passed the test.
Awards
- In addition to their finalist medal, **1923 **
returned home with their 4th Chairman’s Award to complete their #clingbling, while **224 **was awarded Engineering Inspiration, which shockingly was just their 4th award (with the previous being two Quality Awards and a Safety Award) in their 20 year history. If only they were there to claim it! And perhaps most surprisingly, despite 5 rookie teams being in attendance there was no Rookie All-Star Award given out, but **7045 **did win Rookie Inspiration.
Springside Chestnut Hill
Meanwhile, out in the MAR-half of Pennsylvania, 30 teams ventured down to Springside Chestnut Hill to join hosts 1218 at the 7th Springside Chestnut Hill MAR District Event. Speaking of which, is it a just a coincidence that Vulcan Robotics is from Springside, or is that the joke?
**
Alliance Selections
**
- Now in their 4th year, **5407 **
ranked 1st with a ranking score of 2.66, and asked hosts **1218 **to join the wolfpack. Fresh off a Finalist finish down in DC, Pennsylvania’s perennial powerhouse **225 **invited CT-transplants **2168 **to join alliance #2, while **5404 **geared up with **4343 **for alliance #3. But, it was alliance #5 of captains 316, Hall of Famers 103, and rookies **7110 **that ended up battling it out with the #1 alliance in the Finals.
**
Finals**
With the #1 alliance upset in the Semis, it was the #5 alliance of 316, 103, and 7110 in red going up against the #2 alliance of 225, 2168, and 1168 in blue in the finals.
-
Finals 1
began with 2168 flying to midfield, but just overshot the scale as they attempted to gain an early lead. In teleop, 2168 just beats out 316 for control of the scale as 1168 finally claims the blue switch. Almost tipping over, 2168 decides to focus on the red switch as 225 keeps stacking more and more power cubes on the scale. 103 attempts to defend against 225, but the Cybersonics’ swerve drive is no match for 225’s hot driving. With blue controlling both switches and the scale and 225 hanging up in the air, the #2 alliance takes Match 1 338-152. -
The blue alliance switched up their strategy in Finals 2
to ensure a hefty lead in autonomous. 225 immediately raced to the scale to deposit their auto cube, and then picked up and placed another, and almost picked up a third! With the scale solidly under lock, 225 proceeded to attack red’s switch, while 2168 deposited cube after cuber into their own. Even with 103 and 316 double-teaming 225 this victory under their belt, there was no way of extinguishing their flame. That is, until, a high speed collision by 316 tipped 225 with 75 seconds left. Adding insult to injury, 316 began to bump 225 repeatedly in attempt to gain some Null Zone penalties, forcing 2168 to come in and push 225 out of the way. With 225 now laying on the red platform the #5 alliance was awarded two free climbs, but even exploited penalties were no match for blue’s dominant possession of the switches and scale, with the #2 alliance of 225, 2168, and 1168 coming out victorious, 431-280. Connecticut’s 2168 has now successfully captured an event win in MAR two years in a row, and 225’s blue banner collection has now reached a full dozen after a surprising drought last season.
Awards
- After a drought last season, 2015 and 2016 MAR Champs Chairman’s Award winners **433 **
finally earned their 10th Chairman’s Award, while our gracious hosts **1218 **took home their 6th Engineering Inspiration Award. But perhaps most inspiring of all, despite an unfortunate showing and being ranked 30th out of 31 teams, rookies 7024 were awarded Rookie All-Star, just further proving that when there’s a Will, there’s a way.
Finger Lakes Regional
- The sole team out of MAR last weekend, **4361 **
ranked 21 out of 50 at the Finger Lakes Regional after going 6-4 in Qualification Matches and earning a ranking score of 1.70. In the playoffs, they joined 2012 FLR winning partners 191 and 3951, and made to the semifinals before being ultimately outgunned by the eventual winners 340, 1507, and 3550. While it might not have been the performance the Roxbotics had been looking for, they’re ready to return back home to MAR and rock this weekend at Montgomery.
Week 4 Preview
Montgomery
Everyone’s favorite former off-season-turned-district event is back for its third year, and the competition is as fierce as ever! With a Hall of Fame team, 2 former World Champions, and 3 teams that have already won an event in 2018, it’s not about the power of an alliance that will determine this weekend’s champion, but instead how well teams can execute a winning strategy.
Top Teams
-
Despite their elevator taking a few tumbles at Mt. Olive in Week 1, **25 **
has proved that nothing is beyond their reach. Raider Robotix lost only a single match before going on to claim their third district win in two years. With some fine tuning, expect these two-time World Champs to be towering above the rest again on Sunday. -
Now with a history of 10 wins, **225 **
will be out and looking to add even more blue banners to their collection. They didn’t go a single match at Springside Chestnut Hill without claiming a bonus RP, and they have already won 32 matches in 2018. That’s more matches FIRST POWER UP than most teams have even played so far. Despite the recent weekly snow storms, TechFire will certainly be bringing the heat. -
Even Hall of Fame teams face struggles now and then. But **341 **
turned their troubles into inspiration. After weeks of issues, Miss Daisy’s climber finally came to fruition at Westtown, allowing them to climb to the Semis as the first pick of the #3 alliance. With even more out-of-bag time, these flowers might just be growing to new heights as they blossom at Montgomery this weekend. -
One of the few MAR teams on #TeamHandoff, 56
’s robot certainly is Xtreme, even if their name no longer is. Tough defense can’t overpower their firm grip, and with their solo climb lifting them up every match, they’ll likely have a firm grip on the rankings as well.
Up-And-Comers
- **222 **
appears to have taken a page out of 225’s book, specifically from their 2015 robot. They’re small but mighty, and can fully fill the vault by themselves in less than a minute. The Tigertrons haven’t won an event since 2013, but after captaining the #3 alliance to the Finals at Mt. Olive last weekend, expect their telescoping arm to be reaching for the stars at Monty.
Sleeper
- After years of Finalist appearances, **1403 **
finally got their first event win the last time FRC saw a stacking game. While they might have struggled at Mount Olive earlier this season, these Cougars have home field, or in this case, arcade, advantage this weekend, and they are ready to pounce.
Dark Horses
-
The Chicken or the Egg? Vanilla or Chocolate? 11 or 193? These are the age old questions that we’ve all found us asking ourselves at one point or another. MORT had a rough start this season after ranking 34th up in Montreal and going unpicked for the playoffs, but **11 **
made it into the Quarterfinals as the last pick of the #5 alliance at their home event. Meanwhile, Neutrons Omega **193 **ranked 16th at Mount Olive, but were also knocked out in the Quarters. Both teams have proved success in the past, and while their robots differ slightly they both have the same clear goal: victory. -
**1676 **
might have ramped up their game at Bridgewater-Raritan, but there’s still much room for improvement. Having successfully faced the boss multiple times in the Qualification Matches, they managed to captain the #6 alliance despite only a 6-6 record. Perhaps it was the three 6s that sealed the Pi-oneer’s fate in the Quarterfinals last weekend, but with some additional practice, Pascack and their ramps could raise the level of competition this weekend, literally.
Rookies
- The sole rookies at Monty, **6897 **
won Highest Rookie Seed after ranking 13th and captaining the #8 alliance at Bridgewater-Raritan. Maybe this weekend MAR will actually give out a Rookie All-Star award?
Chairman’s
- This weekend marks the last chance for the top NJ teams to earn a District Chairman’s Award and guarantee themselves a spot at the District Championship in two weeks. Among the favorites are 5-time Chairman’s winners and 12-time Engineering Inspiration winners 75
, hometown-heroes and 2016 Montgomery Chairman’s winners 1403, 6-time Chairman’s winners, 9-time Engineering Inspiration winners, and now 13-time Entrepreneurship winners 1676, 3-time Chairman’s winners and 2-time Engineering Inspiration winners 2016, 6-time Engineering Inspiration winners 3142, this year’s Mount Olive Engineering Inspiration winners 3637, and last year’s Montgomery Chairman’s winners 4575. But interestingly enough, of the 8 MAR teams that have won either Chairman’s or EI so far this season, only 2 of them (433 and 1218) won either award last year, meaning that the Culture Changing Awards could be anybody’s to win this weekend.
Seneca
Due to the Week 1 snow forcing MAR to reschedule Hatboro-Horsham to now conflict with the annual West Philly Easter Egg Hunt (yes, it’s a thing), there are quite a few teams who will be entering the Arcade for the first time this weekend. Meanwhile, for 316, this week will mark their third time Powering Up this year. While their 2018 experience will undoubtedly prove crucial, some teams’ fresh takes on the season might bring a new edge to the game.
Top Teams
-
MOErio has tasted the finals and wants more. Seneca is offering another shot to take a banner home for 365
. With auto code for both the switch or the scale and a tasty buddy climb, expect that bonus RP to help them jump into the top 8. -
**834 **
is very competent at all aspects of this game: lifting, stacking, and climbing. If they can find another partner to climb with, expect to see the Westtown top seeded team sparring late into the afternoon on Sunday. -
This year, autonomous is important not only to get points but to get the balance in your favor. With 1640
’s auto allowing them to keep stacking even after others have scored can really mess with other teams and keep the odds ever in the favor.
Up-And-Comers
-
**223 **
ranked low at their first event, but they really turned up the heat for Mount Olive. They ranked 5th and finished as finalists, losing their last match by only 2 points. Will their flames continue to climb or will they maintain their Week 2 performance? Either way, Xtreme Heat is well on their way to their best season yet. -
Springside Chestnut Hill finalists **316 **
are another team to look out for this weekend. With the help of their Quality Award winning robot, the LUNATECS made an appearance in the finals for the first time since their MAR Championship win in 2015. 316 is certainly on the rise and Seneca could be just the boost they need to start their next string of wins.
Sleeper
- They won Seneca in 2017, but **5895 **
had a rough showing at their first event of the season this year, ranking 20th and being knocked out in the Quarters as the first pick of alliance #4. They’ve only ranked lower once before, at last year’s MAR Champs, but don’t count on Cygnus to sing its swan song just yet.
Dark Horse
- **1089 **
may have returned home from Mount Olive empty-handed, but counting them out as contenders for the Seneca crown would be a mistake. Their versatile robot captured the 11th seed at Mount Olive, and they’re sure to be aiming even higher this weekend.
Rookies
- Three rookies will be competing at the Seneca district event this weekend for their second round of district play. **7024 **
and **6921 **both played at Westtown back in Week 2 and returned home with Rookie All Star and Rookie Inspiration (and Highest Rookie Seed!) trophies, respectively. Meanwhile, 7110 were not just Rookie Inspiration winners but also event Finalists and the Highest Rookie Seed at Springside Chestnut Hill. Best of luck to all in the competition and to 6921 and 7110 in the race for that elusive Rookie All Star award!
Chairman’s
- While Seneca teams don’t have too many Chairman’s wins in their past history, there are many that certainly have potential. Among them are last year’s Seneca CA winners 203
, this year’s Bridgewater-Raritan EI winners 224, last year’s MAR Championship CA winners 272, the 2016 Seneca CA winners 1647, this season’s Westtown EI winners 2729, and 6-time Imagery Award winners 5113, whose FTC team, 5466, won the FTC Inspire Award at the 2018 St. Louis World Championship. Who will rise to above the rest this week?
Hudson Valley Regional
- Looking to make some friends in New York, **2590 **
is competing at the event that’s just about as close you can get to being in MAR without actually being in MAR. Nemesis had a dominant showing at Bridgewater last week, seeding first with their astounding triple lift before coming up just short in the Finals. Their effective and sleek robot will bring the Fury, it just needs a potent strategy to back it up. 2590 lost in the finals at their previous two regionals, but the third time might just be the charm. Good luck in Suffern!
Greater Pittsburgh Regional
- Trying to get a taste of Western PA before Ohio claims it as their own, **303 **
is traveling out to the Greater Pittsburgh Regional this weekend. With an incredible 4 district event wins in just the past two years, they will certainly be putting the power of regional teams to the test. But, with the likes of 48, 217, 2252, and 3504, their robot Rocky will need more than just an inspirational training montage to make his way to the top come the eliminations.