In 2002, from a competitive standpoint, Team 48 Delphi E.L.I.T.E. experienced a refreshing comeback from the disappointment of 2001. The most exciting part of this season was getting a chance to participate in the Elimination Rounds in every event we attended - something we never got to do in 2001. After yet another busy six weeks of designing and building, we took Xtremachen5 to the first ever Buckeye Regional up in Cleveland, which has become our new home regional. It was nice competing so close to home, as it gave many of our family and friends the opportunity to see just what this FIRST robotics stuff is all about. After Cleveland, we were warmly received by everyone at the inaugural Canadian Regional. We ended up earning the #2 seed there, and we took home the Leadership in Control Award for our robot drive system. Down in Florida, we made it all the way to the divisional semifinals before losing out to the #1 seed - an eventual National Semifinalist. All in all, 2002 was an exciting season, and the returning members of Delphi E.L.I.T.E. are all looking forward to the new fun challenges of 2003. TEAM 48 DELPHI E.L.I.T.E. PLACES 25th OUT OF 57 TEAMS AT BUCKEYE REGIONAL; CHOSEN FOR ELIMINATION ROUNDS The Buckeye Regional in Cleveland sported one of the largest and most talented fields of teams of any of this year's FIRST regional events. The CSU Convocation Center is a very large facility and could easily hold many more teams next year. Look for it to become the largest regional in the country real soon. Delphi E.L.I.T.E. certainly had it's hands full at this competition. After many hard-fought qualifying matches, we found ourselves ranked 25th out of 57 teams.� The top eight seeded teams get to pick alliance partners for the elimination matches, or playoffs. Team 48 was selected by the #8 seed Team 234 Cyber Blue as its second alliance partner. They had chosen Team 892 as their first alliance partner. Our alliance went up against the #1 seeded alliance in the quarterfinal matches. Although we failed to advance to the semifinals, the Buckeye Regional was an overall good experience. We learned a great deal about Xtremachen5's strengths and weaknesses, and this knowledge better prepared us for the challenge of the Canadian Regional in Toronto. Also, we used to consider the Great Lakes regional in Ypsilanti, MI. as the one regional we would always attend every year. Now we have our own "home" regional here in Ohio. We all hope to see you in Cleveland supporting the team next year.- TEAM 48 DELPHI E.L.I.T.E. 2ND SEED AT CANADIAN REGIONAL MAKES IT TO SEMIFINALS OF ELIMINATION ROUNDS, WINS LEADERSHIP IN CONTROL AWARD FOR DRIVE SYSTEM Building upon what we had learned at the Buckeye Regional in Cleveland, Team 48 headed to the Canadian Regional with a sense of purpose. We felt that if we worked hard enough, we had a real shot at performing well at this event. Everyone was up to the task, as we suffered no real mechanical or electrical difficulties, and our student drivers guided Xtremachen5 to 4th place in the rankings at the end�of the first day of competition on Friday. The judges were very impressed with the robot's drive system, which incorporates one drive motor and one steering motor for each of the XM5's four wheels. Paul and Ben, the student drivers, deftly demonstrated the maneuverability and handling this drive system provided, and for that, Team 48 won the Leadership in Control Award on Friday. We also scored 141 points in one qualifying match that day, which, at the time, was the highest qualifying match score for the entire season. While that score was surpassed by a 156 the next day, we duplicated the 141 again on Saturday. There are very few teams who scored as many as 141 points twice in their regional, and we as a team are very proud of that accomplishment. On Saturday, after qualifying match scores of 90 and 141, respectively, Delphi E.L.I.T.E. moved up to 2nd place out of 44 teams at the regional. This gave us the opportunity to pick second during alliance partner selections for the elimination matches. We ended up partnering with Team 188 - Woburn Robotics, one of the original Canadian FIRST teams who won the Regional Chairman's Award for their efforts to bring a FIRST regional to Canada, and also Team 229, Division by Zero. We felt we had a very strong alliance, and we won the best 2 out of 3 quarterfinal competition 2 matches to none, advancing to the semifinals. The semis were very competitive with a lot of contact, and all three of our teams ended up suffering some damage to our robots, yet we almost managed to pull out a victory, losing a close one in the third and deciding match. We're very happy with our performance in Canada. We're going to build upon all the great accomplishments at the Canadian Regional and do it even better down in Florida. It was fun being partnered with a team from another country. Team 188 gave us pins with the U.S. and Canadian flags waving together. The greatest experience of the event came on Saturday when a young female Canadian singer from Team 188 couldn't remember the words to the American National Anthem. Instead of quitting, she tried again, and everyone on Team 48 began singing with her. Soon, everyone in the Hershey Center was singing as one. It was quite a moment, one which we'll remember for quite some time. But now, it's on to the Championship Event in Florida, where we will all do our best to make Warren proud.- TEAM 48 DELPHI E.L.I.T.E. MAKES IT TO SEMIFINALS IN CURIE DIVISION AT FLORIDA CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT, FINISHES AMONG TOP 16 ALLIANCES. The 2002 Championship Event in Orlando, Florida proved to be a very successful competition for Team 48. After a tough 2001 Championship, where we failed to reach the Elimination Rounds despite a late charge up the rankings board on the final day, Delphi E.L.I.T.E. was looking to get back in the swing of things in 2002. Early on, some bad luck sprinkled with a couple tactical mistakes led to some less than stellar qualification match scores. In fact, the alliances we were in during the qualifying phase only managed to win 2 out of the 7 matches. As a result, at the end of qualifying, we ended up seeding 46th out of 71 teams in the Curie Division. Fortunately, most of the top-seeded teams challenged with picking alliance partners make their selections based upon the individual merit of each robot and not the final standings, which can be influenced by many factors out of a team's control. Back in our pit after our last match, we were encouraged by the number of top-seeded teams that visited us and inquired further about our robot's capabilities. Unlike last year, where we seeded 11th in our division and failed to be selected for the elimination rounds, we were selected for the playoffs. Team 63, the fifth seed, picked us and Team 157 to go up against the fourth seeded alliance of 942, 357, and 519 in the divisional quarterfinals. Needless to say, everyone on Team 48 was excited at this opportunity. Our alliance turned out to be quite strong, as we handily eliminated the fourth seed in two matches, winning 32-17 and 47-20. Team 48 contributed heavily to the first victory, and we were all feeling good about our chances in the semis. The semifinal matches pitted us against the #1 seeded alliance - Teams 60, 64, and 144. One alliance fought valiantly. We seemed to have the upper hand at the start of the semifinal matches. XM5 even broke one of Team 60's powerful goal-lifting arms during a midfield collision when both robots attacked the center goal. Ultimately, however, the opposing alliance's power was too much for us, and they won in the final seconds of both semifinal matches. We were defeated on the field, but not in spirit. At the end of the 2002 season, every student, teacher, engineer, and mentor on Team 48 traveled home from Florida with a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. No one felt bad that we lost in the semis, because we went out, literally, with a bang, and we gave 100% effort. All the bad luck and disappointment of 2001 had been vanquished, and we were able to look forward optimistically to 2003.
