Author: Bryan Arsham

Rolls? Report: October 8 – Digging Up The Truth

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham | 2 Comments on Rolls? Report: October 8 – Digging Up The Truth

It’s a short rolls report this week, and it’s not because we didn’t have people out there (though you should still help us out by signing up to take notes/photos). Saturday’s rolls were cancelled early in the week due to a lack of quorum. But Sunday was still on, and with decent weather things were looking up…Until Sweepstakes got to the course. It didn’t take long before they discovered an Excavator parked on the shoulder of Schenley Drive just past Westinghouse Pond. Even worse, it was parked on the Flagstaff side of the road, leaving the construction equipment directly in the line of the drivers. Particularly with some new drivers out at rolls, the placement of the equipment was considered to be far too great a risk to buggies and drivers. Therefore, Sweepstakes was left with no choice but to cancel rolls.

The BAA History Committee will neither confirm nor deny that it is following up on a tip it received on the whereabouts of DU’s King Eider.

A few upcoming reminders to close this report out:

  • There are no Rolls for the next 2 weekends, as we’re coming up on CMU’s Fall Break. But stick around, as we should be back before Halloween (we’ll see if any teams dress up their buggies this year).
  • Next weekend may not have Rolls, but it’s Family Weekend at CMU (why they scheduled Family Weekend during the Fall Break is a good question, but neither the BAA nor Sweepstakes had anything to do with it). If you’re on campus, make sure to check out Tom Wood’s History of Buggy Presentation – Family Edition, at Noon on Saturday, October 14 in Connan Room – CUC.
  • Mini-Raceday is currently scheduled for the weekend of November 4-5, and we’ll need LOTS of help, especially when it comes to timing. If you’re in Pittsburgh or considering going back for that weekend, please let us know.
  • CMU Homecoming is the weekend of November 11-12, and there should be Rolls. If you’ll be back that weekend, make sure to come out and join us!
  • Last but not least, if you’ve submitted a BAA Endowed Fund Grant Proposal, reminder that your feedback responses are due this week!

Rolls Report: September 30 & October 1 – Gimme A Break

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham

Heavy fog rolled in to Pittsburgh this weekend, but even that wasn’t enough to stop CMU students from showing up for both days of rolls. Overall, it was a pretty quiet weekend of rolls, with teams that have been out taking it a bit easier this weekend. But it did include the return to the course for a couple of teams, and one new “organization”?

I’m pretty sure I remember the Cathedral being taller than that

OrgSaturdaySunday
ApexFireflyPhoenix
CIAEmperor, EquinoxKingfisher
FringeBaltic, BrimstoneBrimstone, Burnout
PiKABanshee, RaptorBanshee, Raptor
SDCAvariceAvarice
SigEp—–Hydra
SigNu—–Jaeger
SpiritInviscid, MapambazukoMapambazuko, Seraph

Photos: Saturday Gallery (upload) | Sunday Gallery (upload)

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Rolls Report: September 23 – It’s Like Bane On Your Wedding Day

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham

If rain on your wedding day is a sign of good luck, what does it mean if there’s Buggy on your wedding day? With the Great Race on Sunday, there was only 1 day of Rolls this weekend. But with 6 teams on the course, even some more wildlife and vehicular traffic couldn’t stop rolls for too long and teams got a fair number of clean rolls in.

Brimstone running away from the altar

OrgSaturday
ApexFirefly, Scorch
CIAEmperor, Kingfisher, Roadrunner
FringeBaltic, Brimstone
PiKABanshee*, Cleona*, Raptor
SDCAvarice
SpiritInviscid, Kingpin, Seraph

Photos: Saturday Gallery (upload)

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Rolls Report: September 16 & 17 – Happy New Year!

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham

Shana Tova to those who celebrate! This weekend marked the start of not only Year 5784 on the Hebrew calendar, but Year 103 on the Buggy calendar! That’s right – We’re back for the 2023-2024 Buggy Season! And what a weekend it was. It was a mix of new and returning this weekend – new and returning students, new and returning teams, new and returning wildlife, and new and returning road hazards.

Some new wildlife: A wild Shelmet appears!

Some new wildlife: A wild Shelmet appears!

OrgSaturdaySunday
ApexMolotov, Scorch, SolarisFirefly, Solaris
CIAEmperor, Equinox, Kingfisher, RoadrunnerEmperor, Equinox, Roadrunner
FringeBaltic, BrimstoneBurnout
FrontierBarbie—
SDC—Avarice
SpiritKingpin, SeraphInviscid, Kingpin, Seraph

Photos: Saturday Gallery (upload) / Sunday Gallery (upload)

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Rolls Are Coming — Local Help Needed!

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham

As we get ready for freerolls to begin, the BAA needs the help of folks local to Pittsburgh. We don’t currently have a rolls reporter, but want to continue to bring updates to the rest of our community. To that end, we’re hoping to get notes and photos/videos from anyone local who can show up to Rolls.

So, if you are local a few things you can do to help:

  • First, join our buggy-watchers mailing list — this will get updates about when rolls are and are not happening.
  • Second, in the #assignteam channel on our Discord, claim the Pittsburgh Local rank by sending a message of “!rank Pittsburgh Local“
  • Finally, sign up for days on which you can provide notes and/or photos on this sheet.

We’re hoping to have at least 1 notetaker and 1 photographer out each day that students are rolling. You don’t have to create Rolls Reports themselves or anything extensive — we’ll handle that. We just need your insight into anything interesting that is happening on a given day.

2022 Lead Truck Auction Details – PRELIM AUCTION CLOSED

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham

This auction has closed. Look forward to our finals auction after prelims.

The BAA is once again holding our lead truck auction this year!  It’s the one chance you (or a, parent, a spouse, a friend, or any buggy fanatic in your life) have of being right in the middle of the action on Raceday. You’ll sit in the back of the lead truck for whatever race(s) you can win!  Proceeds help with all the costs of putting on such a spectacular Raceday, including the BAA’s sponsorship and various broadcast and other improvements.

The auction will go live on Monday at Noon ET.  Most things are the same as 2019 (and a description of how it works is below), but with one main change – the auction for the Prelims Heats and the auction for the Finals Heats will be two separate online auctions. The auction for Prelims Heats will open Monday at Noon ET and close Wednesday at 8pm ET. The auction for Finals Heats will be much shorter – it will open after Finals Heats are selected on Friday afternoon, and will close at the end of the Buggy100 Buggy Bash on Friday at 9pm ET. Come join your fellow buggy alumni at the Buggy Bash to share your Raceday experiences, enjoy some refreshments, play some trivia, win prizes, and more! The Buggy Bash begins at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, and requires advanced registration. More details will be posted to cmubuggy.org.

But don’t worry – if you’re at the Buggy Bash and you want to participate in the auction, the auction site is mobile-friendly and we’ll have plenty of reminders throughout the night. And unlike the past couple of years, the Finals Auction is being held online, not in person. So you do not have to attend the Buggy Bash in order to participate in the auction.

Click on the button below to access the auction site:

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April Showers Bring…May Raceday

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham

We’ve made it to (Mini-)Raceday!  COVID has dealt a number of blows to Buggy over the past year, but Sweepstakes worked incredibly hard to get buggies back on the course this Spring and now it’s time to crown a champion. 

For the first time in 50 years, Raceday returns to its roots; the month of May. We’ll be live-streaming Mini-Raceday on both Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2, beginning at ~6:15AM ET.  You can watch along at http://tinyurl.com/BuggyLive2021, and of course, the Discord is always open for alumni and students to watch and talk together (and based on past experience, there might even be additional camera angles).

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100 Years of Buggy History – Recap and 2020

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham | 3 Comments on 100 Years of Buggy History – Recap and 2020

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020

So here we are, at the end of the 100 Years of Buggy History.  The goal of this series was to help celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Buggy at Carnegie Mellon by diving into the history of the sport a little deeper than you might otherwise find in the “History” tab on this site.  It’s one thing to see that Beta won in 1935 with a course record, and it’s important for the legacy of the sport.  But this series wanted to go beyond that.  What buggy did they use?  Who were the teams that they were battling against?  How many heats were run?  How close was the finish?  And did you know that someone actually tried to sabotage them before the race?

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100 Years of Buggy History – 2019

Posted on | by Bryan Arsham | 5 Comments on 100 Years of Buggy History – 2019

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020

Reminder: Along with these 2010s posts, we’re also doing a Raceday Rewatch, so you can join us at this link on Friday at 5pm ET (or rewatch it on your own later): 2019 Rewatch

This week, the 100 Years of Buggy History series has finally reached the most recent real life Raceday, its original end point. After 99 years of racing and 8 months of articles, we’ve made it to 2019. And what a year it was. In one of the closest battles in history, SDC managed to break the record for longest winning streak, by taking their 8th straight Men’s title, but it wasn’t easy for them as they lost the all-time winningest buggy in the process. We’ve also got some faculty racing, some mascot racing, some wheel-to-wheel racing, some autonomous racing, some incredibly bad luck, and a faceplant for the ages.

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