March 3^rd- 7^th, Washington DC graciously hosted a FIRST Robotics Regional competition.  The game this year was called “Breakaway”, and was played similarly to soccer, except with an authentic FIRST twist.  The drivers and human players work simultaneously to score points in an effort to win the match for the alliance.  Each alliance consists of three teams working together to win the match.  The playing field resembles a soccer field.  Each alliance has two goals on their end of the playing field, one in each corner.  To make the game more interesting two bumps are placed on the field to divide the playing field into three sections.  A system of guide rails extends from the driver’s station to the center of the field on each side for returning the scored soccer balls.  As always with all FISRT games, there were rules and limitations, making designing and programming a robot difficult and interesting.  The robots were as diverse as the locations they came from.  Teams from all across the United States came to compete, coming from as far away as California, to local teams from DC.

This year we got the FIRST Website Excellence Award which comes with a shiny new badge:

Thanks to all who helped and I hope we can improve for next year!

Thanks to:

Thanks for all the members of FIRST who worked so hard to make this scrimmage a success.

Special thanks to Team 571, Team Paragon, for volunteering to clean up after the event. Their assistance after two VERY long days of preparation for the event was appreciated.

On behalf of Shelton High, thanks to those who contributed to their food drive collection. We collected many boxes of food to help restock their shelves. It was wonderful to see the FIRST community support the efforts of one of our teams.

Additional thanks to:

For the past 5+ years, Jx2 Productions, LLC ­ Entertainment & Event Services (former members of Rosie Robotics Team 839) have graciously provided music and sound for the scrimmage.  The event wouldn't be the same without them.

Thanks to Team 230 from Shelton, CT, the scrimmage was viewed around the world via the web.  Thanks to the Gaelhawks for again providing this service to the FIRST community.

Several items were left behind:

• Rust colored waffle weave long sleeved shirt (size XL)
• Black "teen" style purse with hearts on it.
• Navy blue vest (XL 18)
• Black sweatshirt (L)
• Navy jacket (M)
• Citizen make watch

Please contact Arlene Willett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 860-668-4368 to arrange for their retrieval.

Thanks to all who attended Suffield Shakedown on Saturday.  We hope you had fun and found it a good opportunity to "shakedown" your robot.  Hope to see you next year!

Suffield Shakedown 2009

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Welcome to Suffield Shakedown, Aces High's 9th annual FIRST Robotic Scrimmage at Suffield High School, Suffield, CT.  This pre-ship date scrimmage is an informal but fun event giving teams the opportunity to practice their driving skills, test their robot and observe other teams on the official FIRST playing field.  Included below are many of the details on how our scrimmage will be run.  For those of you new to the event, be assured we try to be as flexible and helpful as possible.  Remember this is designed to showcase the talents of our teams, practice and have fun!