The final event of 1114's season was again the Indiana Robotics Invitational. The 2011 field was tough, including two 2011 World Champions and nine Divisional Champions. With some rule changes and a very strong group of competitors, matches were all very high scoring and had tight margins of victory. Friday's tough qualifying matches left only two undefeated teams, 1114 (7-0-0) and 1126 (6-0-0).

After winning the first qualifying match, Team 1114 needed one more victory to ensure first seed. Unfortunately a missed autonomous mode led to a tough loss in our final match of the day. At the end of the qualifying matches, no undefeated teams remained and our RPs left us in first place. With so many amazing teams to choose from the first pick was a difficult decision. In the end we chose Team 987, The High Rollers with our first selection. With so many great teams available, we were able to select 2011 Michigan State Champion Team 67, The HOT Team, in the second round. With the final pick in the alliance selection, we selected Team 1732, The Hilltoppers.

After 32 of the 66 teams attending were selected, there were still many great teams that missed eliminations. Among them were three 2011 Division Champions: 25, 51 and 781. Also of note, the 24th pick of alliance selection was the #1 Alliance Captain of the World Finalists. It was a great experience to be at an event with so many fantastic teams.

We were able to win our Quarterfinals over the #8 seed including 1126, 233 and 2016 advancing to the Semifinals to face, among others, our friends from Ontario, Team 2056. The first match started with a hard collision between ourselves and 2056 leaving us unable to move for 40 seconds. After some great scoring by 987 and 67 and trying to fight back we still ended up losing a tight match. The second match saw us miss our first ubertube for the only match at IRI, which unfortunately lost us the second match. After two strong matches in the Finals, the #4 alliance were IRI Champions.

Congratulations to our friends 33 (The Killer Bees), 2056 (OP Robotics), 217 (Thunderchickens) and 359 (Hawaiian Kids) on their Championship. Congratulations also goes out to two graduating Simbots, Matthew Coffey and Stacey Willick, on their well-deserved IRI Scholarships. A huge thanks goes to all who bid on Simbot Steve's elevator which ended up going for $450, helping support the IRI Charities.

Divisions for FRC World Championships in St. Louis have been announced. Team 1114 finds themselves in Galileo. Galileo had the highest average OPR (23.9), the highest max OPR (73.9 by 111, Wildstang) and the highest percentage of eliminations made (87%). We're excited to be in a division featuring such great competitors.

Included in our division are:

• Two 2-time World Champions (111 and 294)
• Four 1-time World Champions (48, 173, 469, 1114)
• Six teams with 2 regional wins this year (111, 195, 254, 359, 2137, 2337)
• Twenty-two additional regional wins
• Seven unbeaten teams in qualifying at a regional (111, 254 twice, 359, 395, 967, 1114 twice, 1425)
• Teams representing Australia (1), Canada (6), Mexico (2) and USA (79).

More detailed information can be found in our annual scouting database.

Good luck at Championships, see you in St. Louis!

Download: 2011 Championship Scouting Database

Team 1114 entered their final regional of the 2011 season after their success at the Pittsburgh and Waterloo Regionals. The Greater Toronto Regional had a different feel after being split into two fields and two separate regionals for the first time. After Friday's qualifying matches, Simbotics were seeded first with a record of 8-0 and also winners the regional Website Award. Our own Greg Phillips also won the Volunteer of the Year Award for his dedication to the program ever since 1114's inception in the fall of 2002. Mentors Stephanie Thompson from 1503 and Stan Hunter from 2056 were honoured with Woodie Flowers Finalist Awards in the East and West Regionals respectively. Congratulations to you both, we are glad to see your years of hard work recognized.

Saturday's Qualifying matches clinched 1114 the first seed with a record of 10-0 and we were able to select team 1503, Spartonics and team 1482, the Ghosts from Calgary, AB. Despite tough opposition throughout elimination matches, we were able to win the GTR East without a loss. Thanks to 1503, for their speed and consistency throughout the eliminations as well as 1482's great defense, helping to keep the path clear for scoring. Team 1114 was also honoured in being awarded the Regional Chairman's Award and the Motorola Quality Award. Thanks goes to all parents and family members who took the trip to The Hershey Center to cheer us on!

Congratulations goes to our own Mike and Stacey, who were awarded the FIRST Dean's List Finalist awards. As well to our rookie team 3527, Tec Balam Esmeralda from Atizapan, Mexico for winning the Rookie All-Star Award. Your energy was infectious and could be felt throughout the entire arena, thanks for making the trip! Finally, a very special thank you to all the teams and individuals at GTR who helped honour our team founder, Steve Rourke, by wearing a memorial patch or sticker. The outpouring of support was moving. It was well appreciated by our entire team and Steve's family.

Team 1114's 2011 competition season began with the debut of Simbot Steve at the Pittsburgh Regional. This past year, Simbotics' founding mentor Stephen Rourke tragically passed away. The 2011 season has been dedicated to his memory which included the naming of the robot in his honour: Simbot Steve. Simbot Steve and Simbot VEX Mukmuk overcame some technical difficulties to end the first day in first place with a single loss. We were also honoured with the Engineering Excellence Award. After completing the qualification rounds with two consecutive wins, we finished the event as the number one seed. We were able to select teams 1503, Spartonics from Niagara Falls, Ontario and 3492, ROBOGENS from Winfield, WV. Despite challenges from opposing alliances throughout the elimination matches, we were able to leave as Regional Winners with an undefeated path through the elimination rounds. Thank you to Team 3492 for their strong defensive abilities and energy throughout the elimination rounds and to all volunteers and judges for their support throughout the weekend. A special thanks goes to Team 1503. We were so happy to have the opportunity to share this victory with another NiagaraFIRST team founded by Stephen Rourke. What a perfect memorial.