West Michigan Thanks

Competition Thanks and/or Congrats
1

I’d like to preface this by saying that in my 5 years in FIRST, I have never had such an amazing time as I did this past weekend. While there were a bunch of teams who made it amazing, I would like to recognize a few in particular:

111- When you were still available for us (the #6 seed), I knew that it had to be fate. You guys were absolutely incredible out there and pulled off a few moves that I didn’t know robots could do! I am so glad to finally have been able to be allied with you guys, it’s an experience that I will not soon forget! Thank you for a great tournament!

302- I’ll be honest, when we called you, I had no idea what you did (6 exams in 1 week definately kill the ability to get to the regionals on time). You guys were fantastic. Everything we asked of you, you guys got out there and did and did them well. I can’t even believe what a great contribution you guys made to our alliance. Thank you so much for going with us!

469, 494 and 703- Dang did you guys give us an exciting finals match set! 1 for you, 1 for us and the last match with everyone on the edge of their seats. That’s what I like to see. You guys gave us a competition and I hope that you found us worthy opponents. Can’t wait to see all of you in Atlanta.

1256- Ok, this is more of a congratulations than a thanks but I am so proud of you guys! Talk about the rags to riches story! With such limited finances and resources, you guys dominated. I am so glad that we’ve been able to be friends this year!

To my team- I am so proud of you guys this weekend! I’ll send out a team email later, but if anyone is reading this, the #6 seed at this competition and the regional finalists are really something that you all should be proud of.

To everyone else, thank you for making this weekend amazing! This is one I’ll never forget!

2

Thanks to teams 1504, and 111 we brought home the silver. Awsome job guys.

Also thanks to 288, you guys helped out so much with our cheering in the stands. Without you guys we would have been a pretty silent team:yikes:

Congrats on your regional win teams 703, 469, and 494 it was sad to have to play against you guys (469) since we played so well in Detroit together.

3

Man this was a great regional.

703-You were the team we didn’t want to face in any match, so having you guys in our alliance was a load off our shoulders. When you got up 469 partially deployed ramp in the finals, I knew we were in good shape.

469-Man, you were our number one team coming into the competition, and getting a chance to play with you is a dream come true. Your ramps were the reason we won the regional.

1504, 111, 302-We thought that you guys were some of the best hangers here, and 1504 was the second best defensive robot behind 703. FAcing you guys was truly a scary match.

Congrats to RUSH and BOB for Chairmans and EI

Thanks to everyone who voted for us for the animation award, our animation team was going crazy.

4

That was pretty incredible, sitting right there on that corner I couldn’t believe they decided to go ahead and try and climb it (I don’t know if people in the stand could see, but the flap that didn’t deploy, did partually lift) despite the fact it could cause some major damage, but there was no damage and some major extra points that came out of that one…

5

1447 and 515 - Thanks for being part of the experience with us!

And thanks to Jason Joye, for always being there for the team and for the students.

6

There were so many wonderful teams, but I would like to thank 494 and 703 for the amazing alliance and 111, 302 and 1504 for THE most thrilling and scary final round.

Those final 30 seconds, waiting for the official score, almost killed me. The two alliances were perfectly matched, we were just incredibly lucky.

Congrats again to everyone at the regional, this certainly was the most exciting regional that we went to.

7

Beth hit it on the nose in her preface- this past weekend was the most amazing regional experience ever! The quality of the event, the kindness and enthusiasm of the volunteers and judges, and the fact that every single alliance had the capacity to win the event are unprecedented. Having said that, I do ask that you forgive me for the length of my thank you; an unbelievable number of teams and people truly made my weekend.

Phoenix & Martians (703 & 494) - It was an honor and a pleasure to play in an alliance with you two! Never had I expected to find myself in this dream team alliance battling it out through the finals matches. It was a tough journey, yet your talent and spirit helped see us though.

Lake Orion (302) - One of the best robots I have ever encountered! Even though we could not reform our Detroit alliance, luck and skill brought us back in the finals, and what an event that was.

Penguins & Wildstang (1504 & 111) - For pushing us past our usual limits and challenging us to play a fun game, you made the finals matches excellent!

Hopkins Vikings (2054) - When I walked into your pit on Thursday, I honestly could not have said what made me have the hunch that you would be the winners of the Rookie All-Star award. In retrospect, it was your enthusiasm for FIRST and constant optimism about the competition that made your team unique. Congratulations on winning the All-Star award; you truly have proved yourselves a remarkable group! I hope to see you in Atlanta!

Team RUSH (27) - Your robot never ceases to amaze me, (nor does the coincidental twin-like similarity between us) and it is always great to compete with you on the field. However, your team has gone above the just the field competition with your second regional Chairman’s Award win. Congrats on this achievement!

Foley Freeze (910) - For a robot that astounded me in its fluidity and capability, and for giving us an award that merits the “Coolest Award” Award, thank you for all the skill and spirit you brought to West Michigan.

NEW Apple Corp (93) - A Reliable Robot. A phenomenal pit. Your team not only built some of the coolest devices I have ever seen, but was always willing to share your knowledge and show us the wizardry of your gadgets.

Killer Bees (33) - Your team never ceases to improve, and your performance at West Michigan was outstanding. Also, seeing you help 2188 all day Thursday and Friday was truly inspirational.

Thunderchickens (217) - Although you did not compete here, seeing you today cheering with us made me smile throughout the competition! Thank you for coming out to Grand Valley State!

Larry Lowell - Hearing the story of your dedication to this event was amazing. Thank you for the work you have put into making this event a success!

Susan Lawrence - As the regional director for West Michigan and elsewhere in the Midwest, she has always maintained a high standard for the events. Her diligence and hard work definitely made the West Michigan Regional not only possible, but also an unbelievable model of robotics competition excellence. Thank you for the countless hours you have invested in FIRST!

The volunteers - West Michigan boasts one of the finest field crews I have ever seen. They are without a doubt remarkably efficient at keeping the field running smoothly, yet always smile, cheer, and congratulate every team that passes though their realm. This event would not have been possible without you!

Everyone I met at the competition: It was a blast! Thank you for the energy and spirit that made the event live!

_Alex

8

AS Alex stated above thatnks to everyone that made this regional as great as it was. I wish i could have made it but due to moving into the dorms and a wedding, I was not able to. The one thing is that i enjoyed and I hope people will gain from first is that, when you come back to Kettering dorms at 1am on saturday, and you have 4-5 teams represented in your unit and you talk about it that late at night, thats what the spirit of FIRST can achieve. When you can have one unit with a member from 27, two members from 33, one from 469, and one from 1504, that is truly amazing and i can be happy to say that I am happy of what I ahve gained from FIRST. I like to think of Kettering University as being FIRST U, we have many other peoople from different teams, 503, and a few more that have not been listed taht have slipt my mind. As I lok back at the regionals I have attended this year, I see that although you compete against many teams, you may be closer to them then you actually think. The people that I have been apart of and payed against this year and the last 4 years, I have realized that no matter what you do , FIRST is with you fo life, and that FIRST in itself is a family that will almost always be there in your life. Thanks for all the positive feedback that I have seen, and a special thanks to all that we have competed against, and competed with.

I hope that nonw of this was confusing, and people understand what point I’m trying to bring across.:slight_smile:

9

Add 85 to that list. We’re sending another student to Kettering next year also. It was neat to see several of our alumni and their friends come and watch us this weekend.

Thanks to everyone who made this event so great and congratulations to all of the winners. I would like to shorten my list considerably by say “ditto” to everything written so far.

To our alliance partners 33 and 904: Thanks for working so hard with us. You are great on and off the field.

I really appreciate and admire those who volunteered to help rather than be with their teams.

Thanks to all the visitors, including Andy Baker and family, the Thunder Chickens, and the many far flung BOB supporters.

Thanks most of all to my team for putting up with me and making this so fun!

10

I also forgot there is a me who was on 314 thru high school but i mentor 469 now, and 2 sophmores more that was on 314 and there is a upcoming freshman next year, who is coming from 85

11

I’d really like to thank team 85 for picking us; you have a great robot and a strong team, not to mention some really nice ramps : ) And to team 904: you guys were a great partner and I am glad to have had the opportunity to play with you. I hope to repeat the experience in the future!
And of course, congratulations to our great friends at 469, 703, and 494. You made an amazing alliance and proved yourselves as some incredible powerhouses!

12

For us this was an amazing regional. It was our first time coming to this event since being on the team.
First off I would like to thank 469 and 494. You 2 were an amazing alliance and I can’t wait to see you guys in Atlanta. Thank you so much. This was our 1st regional win ever, and it wouldn’t have happened without you guys. Thank you so much, we will never forget you.
I would also like to thank 111, 302 and 1504 for making one the most exciting finals match I have ever seen. I am sure everybody was on the edge of their seats.
Another thank you goes to all the teams that were at the event. It was great seeing all of you and competing with you. Best wishes in your future events.
Last but not least I need to thank all the Volunteers that made this WMR amazing!! You guys did a great job managing the event and keeping this running smooth.

13

There is no word strong enough to depict how impressed I am by the quality of the teams competing at West Michigan.

For this, I just want to thank every single team competing there. It was amazing. Once alliance picking was over, I knew it would be a good one, and that whoever would win would need luck on its side, because all of us had the skills needed to succeed.

Thanks to 703 for carrying an alliance which apparently had luck on its side yesterday. Thanks to 494 for proving to be a great scorer on which anybody could have relied to fill their side of the rack with ringers.

302, 1504 and 111. Two teams to which we are quite close allied to the great Wildstang. What an alliance! Playing against you guys was a game where strategy was extremely important. We knew it would be a hard one to pull off, and the final final match was clearly the most intense match I have ever seen in my years in FIRST.

Congratulations to all of you guys. Dr. Joe called for a crazy regional, he was quite right!

14

I want to see video, of the matches, do you know who has the video or anylink to the archived matches yet.

15

I must say that was one of the best regionals ever.

There was alot of great robots there as well.

1504 and 111 - We did amazing, and now we all have silver metals!

and great job to 469, 494, and 703 you guys did GREAT!!! :smiley:

288 Thanks for cheering with us. we couldnt have gotten so loud without you all.

Hope to see you guys in GA!

16

Thanks to team 469 for putting up with me in your stands area for a good half of the regional. You people are great.

Thanks to 201 for giving great matches and giving us a great match of Ultimate Frisbee.

Thank you 33 for showing us a great arm.

This is another congrats: To 703 I would like to say DANG. You guys were probably the ONLY robot who could have gotten up of team 469’s half deployed ramp, Which by the way I would like to add was the one of the easiest ramps to drive up. When I saw you guys driving up that ramp I thought oh my god we’re having 14 wheels next year. Congrats you guys.

17

14 wheel are pretty cool if there is a major pushing match going on, and i have seen this robot push robots around at Detroit and WMR, i cant remember if they were at GLR,i am just wondering how heavy each axle assembly was?

18

Wow, what an awesome regional. I am still trying to get my voice back. Not only was the competition on the field awesome the people and the atmosphere was amazing.

After this weekend I have never been more proud of the team that I have had the privilige to be a part of. I want to say a special thanks to the chairmans team you guys did an awesome job.

Special thanks to:

33- It was a privlige to play with such a high quality team, you guys were awesome.

904- You guys were awesome. We played with you guys all weekend and we had a lot of fun. It was cool to play with another area team.

Congratulations to:

111, 302, and 1504 we had a great time playing all of you and congratulations on the runner-up.

2015- For winning the judges award and for constantly improving your robot over the season. It was awesome to see you put that keeper on in your match with us. All of your hard work payed off and you should be proud.

2054- congratulations on winning the Rookie All-star award. It was hard to tell that you were a rookie, your play on the field was strong and being across from you in the pits it is clear you will be a force in the future.

Thank you to everyone who made this regional awesome.

Andrew Quick
Team 85
GO BOB!!

19

A few of us visited GLR but we did not compete.

I couldn’t tell you how much the wheels weigh but I’m definitely going to find out seeing how often it’s getting asked. I do know we took some measures to reduce the weight as much as possible (aluminum shafts on the wheels as opposed to our usual steel ones, milling holes in the idler gears, and so on), I’ll get back with you on the exact numbers.

I’d just like to say thank you again to teams 469 and 494! See you in Atlanta! :smiley:

20

I remember hearing a storya botu how u guys were using spur gear on each axle and you guys decided to put a wheel at every gear, when i heard that i was amazed, caseu most wheel assemblies arent the lightest of things, so good job on the 14 wheel assemblies