Highlights from the 2015 Virginia Regional for team 2363 Triple Helix.
Our regional was an extreme roller coaster ride. When we settled on our game strategy, we said that if all our mechanisms worked right, we'd do great, but if anything broke, it would be a total disaster. We gambled on the high risk, high reward strategy, and for most of the qualification matches it looked like we had lost the gamble. A mistake in an early match left our "Doc Ock arm" somewhat crippled. After swapping in a spare arm and chasing feedback sensor problems all day, we ended Friday with a drive team unified by adversity, and a pit crew exhausted from rebuilding the competition arm while simultaneously keeping the robot running. The morning was better, and we finally restored the arm to full functionality right after the last qualification match. We were pretty dejected going into alliance selections. We were hoping we would be a second pick, but figured that was a stretch because we had not proven ourselves on the field, and were ranked 32nd. After the #1 seed picked the #2 seed, we were absolutely amazed when 384, the new captain of the #2 alliance, chose us for their first pick. That was a huge gamble on their part, and we are immensely grateful we were able to fit into their strategy and come through for them. After it was all over, we were still reeling, not quite able to believe what had just happened. Friday was one of those days when nothing seems to go right, and Saturday swung completely the other way. So, thanks to our alliance partners 384 and 1610 for one wild ride. What an amazing end to the last (maybe) Virginia Regional.
Alliance photo credit: Kyle Johnson.