After arriving in St. Louis, the pit crew headed straight for the dome. They were able to get everything assembled and have 6 hours this morning to work out some minor issues and get inspected.
The rest of the team checked into the hotel drove into St. Louis. Unfortunately the workshop we wanted to attend was at capacity so we ended up watching the opening ceremonies for FLL (FIRST Lego League). It's great to see the young ones being excited and having fun.
Late dinner at Steak "N Shake and lights out.
I'll try to put an update later this morning.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The Night (well the morning) Before The Championship
Up early preparing for our flight to St. Louis. We took our tools, spare parts, and improved shooter up to SPAM in Stuart yesterday. They are making the trip via charter bus and graciously offered to transport our things.
We get in St. Louis at 3:30PM. Mr. Cosme, Joel, Josh, Cory and Daniel will immediately head to the Dome and begin putting Sonny together. They'll also have Thursday morning to get it ready.
Qualifying matches start Thursday afternoon at 1PM. FIRST has released a preliminary match list which you can find here. When the page loads, search for "1251". Use the match number as a reference to determine if the field is on schedule. Remember, this is a preliminary list, it could change. I will post a follow-up to confirm this is good. If it does change, I will send the new one.
The webcast can be found here. Click on the "Newton" field icon to watch the action. The links aren't live yet and the names will appear when they do go live.
I will give a recap of the days events each evening so check back then.
Wish us luck!
We get in St. Louis at 3:30PM. Mr. Cosme, Joel, Josh, Cory and Daniel will immediately head to the Dome and begin putting Sonny together. They'll also have Thursday morning to get it ready.
Qualifying matches start Thursday afternoon at 1PM. FIRST has released a preliminary match list which you can find here. When the page loads, search for "1251". Use the match number as a reference to determine if the field is on schedule. Remember, this is a preliminary list, it could change. I will post a follow-up to confirm this is good. If it does change, I will send the new one.
The webcast can be found here. Click on the "Newton" field icon to watch the action. The links aren't live yet and the names will appear when they do go live.
I will give a recap of the days events each evening so check back then.
Wish us luck!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Back again
As you can see, my last post was during week 3 of build season i.e. Saturday, 1/26. Well, fast forward 12 weeks and here we are! It feels like I got caught in a time warp.
Much has happened - here's a recap.
We finished the robot (sort of), competed in Orlando (sort of), and came limping home. I won't dwell on our performance in Central Florida but suffice it to say we had our issues.
Not to be deterred, everyone went to work and got ready for our hometown competition the weekend of 3/29 & 3/30. With an improved machine and renewed spirit, we held our own and managed to get picked by the first seeded alliance. As a result, we are on our way to St. Louis as winners of the South Florida Regional.
Needless to say it's been a hectic 3 weeks since. The team is working long hours to make Sonny (more on that later) even better, planning for the trip is a full time job, and raising additional $$ to help offset costs is ongoing. BTW, if you would like to contribute to the cause, please contact me. No amount is too small.
As you can see above, I referred to the robot as "Sonny". It is with great sadness that I must report that Salvatore "Sonny" Fazio, founder of our sponsor Sonny's Enterprises, Inc. lost his battle with cancer on Wednesday of this past week. I can't put into words what he and the team at Sonny's has meant to us. But beyond that, he was unselfish, giving, caring and just a great guy. Please click here to read a short memorial about Mr. Fazio. In his honor, we will name the robot "Sonny".
We fly out Wednesday, 4/24 for St. Louis with 15 students and 3 chaperones. It will be a busy 4 days, but that's all that's left.
Here's a link to the Championship website. If you scroll down and click on "Watch Live" it will take you to the webcast page. You will be able to click on one of the FRC field icons when they are live. At that point the field names will change to "Newton" (our field), Curie, Archimedes, and Galileo.
That's it for now. Have to get back to planning for the trip. Will write more soon.
Enjoy the pics.
Much has happened - here's a recap.
We finished the robot (sort of), competed in Orlando (sort of), and came limping home. I won't dwell on our performance in Central Florida but suffice it to say we had our issues.
Not to be deterred, everyone went to work and got ready for our hometown competition the weekend of 3/29 & 3/30. With an improved machine and renewed spirit, we held our own and managed to get picked by the first seeded alliance. As a result, we are on our way to St. Louis as winners of the South Florida Regional.
Needless to say it's been a hectic 3 weeks since. The team is working long hours to make Sonny (more on that later) even better, planning for the trip is a full time job, and raising additional $$ to help offset costs is ongoing. BTW, if you would like to contribute to the cause, please contact me. No amount is too small.
As you can see above, I referred to the robot as "Sonny". It is with great sadness that I must report that Salvatore "Sonny" Fazio, founder of our sponsor Sonny's Enterprises, Inc. lost his battle with cancer on Wednesday of this past week. I can't put into words what he and the team at Sonny's has meant to us. But beyond that, he was unselfish, giving, caring and just a great guy. Please click here to read a short memorial about Mr. Fazio. In his honor, we will name the robot "Sonny".
We fly out Wednesday, 4/24 for St. Louis with 15 students and 3 chaperones. It will be a busy 4 days, but that's all that's left.
Here's a link to the Championship website. If you scroll down and click on "Watch Live" it will take you to the webcast page. You will be able to click on one of the FRC field icons when they are live. At that point the field names will change to "Newton" (our field), Curie, Archimedes, and Galileo.
That's it for now. Have to get back to planning for the trip. Will write more soon.
Enjoy the pics.
South Florida Regional Champions
Sonny ready for action
the Pit Crew
The Spirit is Alive!
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