What an amazing event! The double triple balance in the finals is probably my best FRC memory of the year. This is the second weekend in a row that our team has come from the bottom of the rankings after prelims (35th today) to finish in the runner up alliance. This is why the serpentine draft system is so great. At the end of prelims we were 35th despite having the highest BP points of any team at the event. We were worried that nobody had noticed our bridge manipulation/balancing skills–thank you teams 3098 and 573 for having faith in our abilities. Congrats to 2851,67 and 469 you were a great alliance. Milford’s team 67 bot has to be one of the best bots in the country.
Now we will hold our breath and see if we will get a slot at the state championship-- we are hoping to get another chance to team up with our former alliance partners from both the Kettering and Waterford events. Our team is from a high school (Webberville HS) with 187 student. For a school this small to get a chance to compete at this level is very exciting.
I watched Waterford yesterday on the Webcast, and I would like to thank the team for putting on a great performance. I especially liked the semi’s with their close competition. The finals were really impressive with the double triple balance. Way to go.
Congrats on the performance. I’m happy to see someone had the guts to try a basket/feeder style robot and have success with it. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to see you guys at the MSC, if we can get a good showing at Northville.
Waterford was another awesome Michigan District event. Thank you to the great volunteer staff. It’s always good to see everyone, after a long build season.
Thank you to 469 for being great partners. You guys worked all weekend to get your robot in working order. We knew it would be ready to go by Saturday afternoon. We have had some epic battles at the highest levels, but haven’t played with each other in way too long.
On a side note: Its amazing how quickly students and mentors from different teams can instantly become friends by just competing together with each other. Winning just takes that another level higher. 469 and 2851 have been added to the list of HOT friends.
To 2851, I’m not sure how you were available to us with the 24th pick. I figured we had forgotten to cross you off the list…but you were actually there. Total steal of the draft. You guys did everything we asked of you and were the perfect partners for the strategy we were trying to execute.
To 3098, 573, and 3601 you were great competitors. The double balance was amazing. It’s awesome when both alliances are cheering and smiling together at the end of a Finals match.
Finally, I’d like to thank all of the alliances that decided to get on the Coopertition bridge with us. We entered Waterford with a goal to maximize our coopertition points, regardless of winning matches (although we wanted to do both). We sometimes dedicated 60sec of match time to properly balance the bridge. I think we were 11 for 12 on the bridge. With the one miss having our agreed upon team die on the field and us communicating to another team through the glass to get on the bridge. Unfortunately, they had not gotten the directions on how to balance with us. This just shows how incredible the FiM community is!
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve heard some horror stories from outside regionals about the “politics” of Coopertition bridge balancing, and after refereeing two Michigan districts I have yet to see anything like this. It makes me extremely proud to be from Michigan and compete here.
And a huge congratulations to 67, 469, and 2851. That alliance was ridiculous. So much fun to watch.
Thank you Adam. Speaking on behalf of Crevolution, it was an honor and a privilege to compete by both yours and the Las Guerillas sides. We will see both of you at Troy…along with some other small name teams :P.
Again, thank you so much to Teams 67 and 469 for making us a part of your alliance. It was amazing working with your drive teams, we couldn’t have asked for better robots or people to compete and win with. Good luck to both of you in your upcoming competitions, and we’ll see you guys at Troy!
As lead mentor and drive coach for 3098, I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of this tournament. I knew it was going to be a tough getting to the finals, and once we got there, it was going to be REALLY hard to win the it. Once we officially got into the finals, I talked to my drive team and told them to play hard, have fun, and do something that hasn’t been done before, aka the double triple balance.
Two matches later, I can easily say that was the best way to lose in the finals. I know that my team (and probably the rest of our alliance) still had smiles from ear to ear from the double triple.
Thanks again to everyone who participated at Waterford. It looks like all the planning and prep paid off and we hope to host it again next year with 2612! Congrats to 67, 469, 2851 on the win and our alliance of 573 and 3601 for making it to the finals and providing some great entertainment, I’d also like to thank all the volunteers, judges, and all the teams that packed the stands. It was a GREAT event!
-Steve
PS: Whoever gave us the Loch Ness monster sticker, that bad boy is on our bot now!
This was indeed a great district. Between the teams and volunteers it lived up to my expectations of being a great event to attend, yet alone host. A big congrats to 67, 469, and 2851 on the tournament win. I have no idea how 2851 was not picked the first time through the draft. Also a big thanks to 573 for picking us, it was great to team up with you guys again, glad to make it further than last year. Also 3601, you are a great group of people, you guys earned your way every bit. Feeding us balls and then balancing half your robot on the edge of the bridge for the triple balance was just awesome. The double triple balance in finals match 1 was just amazing, we are very glad to take part of that, however was a little bum we couldn’t do that twice in a row. Great job everyone. We can’t wait for Northville
I was lucky enough to ref the competition and it was well worth it. First of all, the Waterford crew is absolutely awesome! Everybody is friendly, into it, and on their A game. The competition was so well run that even with a few field delays on Friday, we finished early both days. I’m definitely volunteering again next year.
I had a front row seat to some of the most exciting matches so far this year. The winning alliance was absolutely on fire (sorry for the bad pun) and a blast to watch them Kobe ball after ball after ball. They made balancing look effortless. Congrats 67, 469, and 2851 - it was a well deserved win.
The finalist alliance made the show that much better though. 573, 3098, and 3601 played some great matches and kept the suspense high. Their first triple balance was crazy and their clutch double balance in semifinal match 3 was absolutely wild. The double triple is easily one of my favorite FIRST experiences. Lastly, I was so glad to see 573 in the finals again. During all my years on the team (and even in OCCRA) it has seemed like 573 was always on the wrong side of the bracket. They finally got a well deserved silver, and with the alliance they were up against, getting to the finals was just as good as winning in my opinion.
