We’re ready to launch FUN RECF! We will be out at several signature events for the Over Under season to feature teams!
FUN will be making 3 content types at events:
Pits & Parts: This is our Behind the Bumpers/Bots equivalent
Points & Plates: This is our Behind the Glass (mic’d matches) equivalent
Event Highlights: We’ll be creating an event highlight/recap of all signature events we are attending.
We had a naming content where we took name suggestions. After taking these suggestions we did further brainstorming with the RECF to come up with these names that had their unique acronym but still had alliteration. We had some winners from the VRC Discord and also @lettucejr from here!. Please send an email to admin at firstupdatesnow dot com with your name, shipping info and shirt size and I will send you our a free FUN T-shirt!
We do need your help in who we should be keeping an eye out for to interview at events. Post below to suggest teams and anything in particular of why you think they would stand out in a video. I know that many will want to nominate their own team and that’s fine but let me know about other teams too.
Here’s all the events we are currently scheduled to attend. If you are at one of these please come say hi! I stand out pretty well as a big tall dude with a spiny hat and a FUN logo:
You’re going to want to keep an eye on teams 229V and 9364C in particular at Haunted. If I were betting on it, my money is on them winning it all together. They will also both be hotly contesting Excellence and Robot Skills (current #1 and #2 in global skills). I’d also watch out for 323V and 334B!
Interesting. My money is on 323V. Their robot is elite. I watched the “battle at the bolt” and you can tell that their driver is elite. They absolutely destroyed the competition. But I agree that 229V has a good shot. It will be a fascinating tournament to watch. I can’t wait!!!
I appreciate the help, but please leave the forum moderation to the admins & moderators
What you are asking Tyler to do is not a forum rule, and Tyler is A-OK with his post here.
Back on topic…
Looking forward to seeing FUN RECF Content!!! Having been a longtime FRC Participant, I have watched quite a bit of FUN Content & I am excited to see how Tyler and his team assimilate to VEX/RECF competitions. I’m sure the content he will be providing the community will be top-notch and welcomed.
Appreciate the teams to look out for and we’ll definately try to look at as many teams as possible. Typically at an event we will have the capacity to do about 4-6 content pieces a day plus filming for event highlights etc…
Something that would be a big help is letting us know what stands out about a team and their robot? Is there a specific mechanism that they do exceptionally well or certain auto modes you think deserve recognition? We will do as much research as we can but I’ve always felt it has been important to both be part of and engage directly with the community to get their feedback.
Shameless plug…I run a website that analyzes match data coming from RobotEvents…not nearly as rich as some of the analysis sites for FRC, but it makes do…
It does a decent job of sorting out “top-tier” teams, though does better as more events are held and teams play more matches. There is also a “Video Search” feature that allows users to find individual matches from teams that may be of interest.
@Sam_9364E 's highlight of 229V and 9364C is spot on. 229V seems to have set the “meta” with their robot design from Mall of America. The 9364 organization is probably one of the most competitive in all of VRC, and the 9364C team seems often to be their top team.
Generally speaking, I would say teams from California, Indiana, and Ohio are very competitive. The 2011 organization from Ohio typically fields very competitive teams. I believe the 315 organization in California is similar, but there are a lot of highly competitive teams there. Obviously, there are a number of strong organizations and teams I’m leaving out, just for the sake of brevity.
Given your focus on Signature Events, you’ll likely find a self-selection process of highly competitive teams. Many of the most competitive VRC teams will attend multiple Signature Events, both to attempt to directly qualify for Worlds, as well as testing themselves against likely competition at Worlds. Each of the Signature Events on your list have sterling reputation, and Kalahari is probably the top-tier Signature Event currently.
Really love the content you produce for FIRST, and really looking forward to the content, excitement and passion you bring coming to VRC. Really appreciate your time and effort on this!
Starting interviews already! If you are at Haunted come say hi and we’re looking for a few more teams that you think really stand out at the event! Filming all day today and tomorrow
229V: Made up of members from last season’s 2733J and 229V (plus a new member for this season); is pretty much the dominant team across both FL regions. Not only are they currently the highest ranked team in the VRC Robot Skills Challenge (worldwide), but they also have one of the most copied robot designs this season (basically they inspired the early season meta in the US, like what IFT has done in China with their summer bot). Also did I mention that they won the Excellence Award at the Mall of America Signature Event? And their programmer made a AI-infused scouting app. Truly an all around awesome team on and off the field.
9564C: Currently has the record for the highest match score and is 2nd place in the Robot Skills Challenge worldwide. They allianced with 229V at the Mall of America (MOA) Signature Event but unfortunately lost in quarters due to a missed ref call. Their new robot has a very innovative lift that allows them to shoot over blockers, and allows for an elevation as well. They probably have one of the best robots outside of China this season, like 229V.
323V: They have a top tier notebook and robot design, and recently “triple crowned” (got Tournament Champions, Robot Skills Champions, and the Excellence Award) at their most recent event. They are consistently high performing throughout the seasons despite it being their 7th year of competing.
338A: Like gears, they also have a very innovative notebook. They’ve gone through several robot iterations already, so it would be interesting to hear more about that and their notebooking/design process.
334B: As world finalists 2 seasons ago, Calamity is another top tier team. Coming fresh off a win at their first regional qualifier, their big blocker and fast match loading capabilities makes them a formidable opponent on the field.
19589A: Their early season robot proved the GDC wrong. Insane notebook (I heard they brought a 700+ page notebook to MOA) and good design. Has a shot at getting a high judged award like Design or Innovate.
8962W: Insanely talented notebooker and one of the best teams to come out of South Carolina. I will honestly be surprised if they do not win a judged award at this tournament.
(There’s probably more top teams at Haunted; these are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head)
No chance to come to Hawaii for a MS only tournament huh? Haha. Jk, we’re planning to hit up NorCal Signature event, since its a little closer for us to travel.
Day 2 of Haunted is underway! Up to 7 teams interviewed and a few more to go videos will be posted here and at YouTube.com/firstupdatesnow when edited.
We have a total of 10 Pits & Parts robot interviews, 2 Points & Plates mic’d up matches plus an event highlight video coming out starting on Tuesday. Make sure you are subscribed to https://YouTube.com/firstupdatesnow to catch these awesome teams when the videos drop.
Back home from Haunted and what an awesome event! I filmed a bonus piece after the finals of the event winners and their reactions to the win and qualifying for worlds. Other content will start to come out tomorrow! Watch: https://youtu.be/SV-nlfVabgI
https://youtu.be/q95a-o5AVBo#1 seed at Haunted and an impressive 3 events now 9364C Speed of Light is not just a host team but a complete package. 9364C showcases their multi functional lift, standoffs for centering on C Tier hang and some awesome match strategy on this inaugural episode of Pits & Parts
https://youtu.be/MiZcQVErxpQ Get an inside listen to an Over Under match including pre and post-match conversations as we mic up 323V Gears in Q-123 at the Haunted Signature event. Communication and teamwork with your alliance partners goes a long way in this Red Alliance victory!
