It’s champs week already…
Anyone have any good wins this week?
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we had the hardest schedule on Curie (going in) and had at least one of our alliance partners die in 7 of our 10 matches
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I met an alum of a local team - he recognized me as I was volunteering at the Detroit Zoo. I mentioned his team was in Houston as we spoke. He said he knew, he wasn’t there because he’s a college student. I replied I wasn’t there because I didn’t want to spend that much money to get there.
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I put about twenty faces to names of people I had previously only known online. And had phenomenal conversations with each and every one of them.
I spent half a day going around champs with two of my best friends in the whole world.
My faith in the goodness of humanity got a phenomenal boost from spending time with this excellent group of individuals.
I ate a hot dog with shrimp on it, and it rocked my socks.
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Oh boy, our team was fortunate to make divisional playoffs for the first time since 2004 (longer than all the kids on the team have been alive).
We managed to help Citrus keep up their streak and made our first appearance on Einstein.
Overall, the Worlds experience was crazy and I think all our kids had a really memorable experience.
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I got to see a ton of friends this week, and meet a lot more awesome people at champs 
As always I’m super proud of all my teams, and it was fun to see those that could make it halfway around the world from home. I am also excited to spend a week chillin’ near the water in S. Florida now
I participated in field build and tear down at champs for the first time this year, and that was quite an experience. It is truly amazing how fast those fields come down.
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Spent time with lots of awesome people: some I’ve been talking to online for many years but never met IRL, others who were brand new to me, and of course good friends.
Saw cool robots up close and personal.
Got 114,774 steps combined Tue-Sat, with the peak day being Wednesday at 35,973 steps (or 16.51 miles).
Hung out at Einstein and got to watch the students bask in the confetti the moment scores were released.
Managed to fit a cone and all my new volunteer apparel in my rollerboard.
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I think you’re the first PDPCTRE's Power Distribution Panel I’ve seen participate in teardown at Champs in a hands on way. Not saying it hasn’t been done, but it’s certainly uncommon. Good on you - thanks for the extra hands.
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Ye
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Some good folks I was with in college walked out of GRB pretty happy, and I couldnt be happier to see them have their moment.
I have a feeling this may be related.
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This is the first year I felt comfortable going near the fields - as I’m not an FTA, and it is very intimidating being in a group of such highly skilled people who all know exactly what they’re doing while I do not have that same knowledge level, but as Hasan Hoca was an FTA this year, I felt much more comfortable jumping in because I could just have him order me around and tell me what to do / I can be his assistant, so set up and teardown was a lot less intimidating going into it knowing I have someone to be my boss who I absolutely trust.
Imposter syndrome is real. Even in the middle of helping out, I was worried I’d be more in the way than a help at times.
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As one of the very few teal polos in a crowd full of navy, I feel this. I found myself mostly peeling tape and doing heavy lifting, even though I’ve assembled and disassembled all components of this field at regionals before, just because I was around people who mostly knew so much more and were models of efficiency. The speed teardown is excellent entertainment!
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Also - I have to say - this was my first experience with a non-Andy Mark field Perimeter - and well, I like the AndyMark Field Perimeter wayyyyy better. They’re easier to pack and what not, and IMO look a little nicer/cleaner. (We have AndyMark Field Perimeters in Türkiye ) So that was another learning curve - I’ve done a lot of disassembling in Türkiye, I take out the side rails almost on my own with the AndyMark fields out there (I don’t knock them over first, I just use plexi to unseat the velcro and pull them that way), but the packing and assembly/dissasembly of the FIRST fields is significantly different and more complicated seeming. So that was a big learning curve. Also I found that deflating game pieces was a great activity when it seemed like there was no place for me I did a lot of sitting on deflating cubes
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Won Johnson division with some incredibly close matches and lost in a tied 201 point match. Awesome experience all around we will all remember.
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8576 competed in the Milstein division at FIRST Championship this past weekend. We did not get picked for playoffs but that was expected considering the current skill level. The team members were able to visit a number of the more accomplished teams such as 118, 2056, 254 and 1241 and learn from them. It was great to see our friends at Fusion Corps,6672, on the winning alliance and advance to play on Einstein. The team members were able to visit a number of the more accomplished teams such as 118, 2056, 254 and 1241 and learn from them. One of the students sent a long list of suggestions for changes to materials and techniques based on these learnings. They made friends with other teams with cube only bots and gave them stickers they made.
I was able to speak at length with several mentors with much more experience than I have about issues relating to helping my team grow.
Edited to add:
There were periods on Milstien when the loud music was not being played.
I also met “The King”
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Finally got around to accepting a job offer proper.
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads
It’s boats, okay. Battery electric watercraft.
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So you’re telling me you are getting paid to work for a real life water game? Now that’s a real job my friend 
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This was my first champs in a while. I met some extraordinary folks from places I’ve never been and had some of the most refreshing conversations about FIRST and the hopeful future of FRC. It truly reinvigorated my love for this.
The vibes were immaculate all week for us, even after a loss. Our students never stopped laughing and enjoying being around each other. At the end of the day, that’s all I could ever ask for as a mentor.
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Won Daly division. First Einstein trip since 2017. Made Einstein finals.
Three piece bump side auto worked very well most of the weekend.
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We were happy just to make worlds, but we did decently in qualifications, ranking 19th. We didn’t get picked for playoffs, but we had a great weekend I’m sure our team will remember for a long time.
One moment that sticks out for me personally was after meeting Karthik again and taking a picture with him. On Friday evening, after our field’s last replay, I saw him walking past the Johnson field and yelled out his name, holding up a heart with my hands. He held one up back and kept walking, but then stopped and turned around to come talk to me. It was a little shocking that someone I respect and look up to so much took the time to come over and talk, even if it was just for 30 seconds. A lot of moments stick out from this weekend, but that was one of my favorites.
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