Waterloo Wrap-up, World Records and Seattle Success
Waterloo Champions: Teams 2056, 1114 and 1680A plethora of Canadian teams were in action at the first Canadian regional FRC competition of the season. The University of Waterloo played host to the 2008 FRC Waterloo Regional, and the level of competition was far more potent than predicted. The abundance of offense led to an FRC world scoring record during the qualification rounds. Teams 1114, 2200 and 1006 teamed up in match 53 to score 168, smashing the previous world record of 146. Not surprisingly, the offensive power at Waterloo was spearheaded by team 1114, however the small regional flourished from impressive offensive output from several teams including 2056, 68, 1565, 2200, 188, 1310, 1241, and 772. Hurdles were abundant, as the match scores can attest, and even with a shallow field of teams, Waterloo has proven year after year that this is an event where our elite come out to play, resulting in some of the best gameplay in all of FIRST.
The Waterloo competition's most prestigious award, the Chairman's Award, was also awarded to team 1114, General Motors - St. Catharines Powertrain & Governor Simcoe Secondary School. The award is presented for overall team excellence in promoting science and technology in the community. Team 1114 completed the "Triple Crown" by capturing third most prestigious award at the competition. The Woodie Flowers finalist award, presented for excellence in communication and mentorship, was awarded to team 1114 mentor Ian Mackenzie. A full awards listing and match score archive can be found here.
Three Award Haul: Team 1346 wins Website, Industrial Design, and Woodie FlowersNot to be outdone, our west coast Canadian contingent was in action at the 2008 FRC Seattle Regional. At the event, team 1346, General Motors Canada & David Thompson Secondary School, would make its mark on the competition by taking home three awards. Team 1346 was awarded the website award for http://www.trobotics.ca, as well as the GM Industrial Design award. Jason Brett, the lead mentor for 1346 was also awarded the Woodie Flowers finalist award, making this the first time that two Canadian mentors have won this award in the same weekend.
Stay tuned next week for FIRST Robotics Canada's marquee event, the 2008 FRC Greater Toronto Regional. Come and join us in person at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, or watch us online via the Discovery Channel.
