Buggy at Wigle’s Barrel Roll

Posted on | by ben

Wigle_Whiskey_logoThis Friday at 4:30pm some local buggy people will be meeting up at Wigle Whiskey and take part in Wigle’s Barrel Roll event kicking off their summer season.

Any local Buggy fans and/or students are invited to join us for the walk starting at their Distillery and ending at their barrel house in the north shore near Penn Brewery. There is no age restriction, however you must be over 21 to try the Whiskey (or other alcohol). Our max team size is 16 people, so sign up now if you’re interested! The walk will begin at 5pm.

For more info about the event, check out this post.

 

Those of you that join us will receive:

  • a shot of whiskey at the distillery before we embark (for those over 21)
  • snacks and drinks along the barrel-rolling route
  • 2 drink tickets for the opening party
  • free entry to the opening party
  • sample from the tapped cask
  • change to bask in the glory of a win!
Barrel Roll
Shortest Route from the Distillery to the Barrel House

Compubookie 2016, later than ever…

Posted on | by ben | 7 Comments on Compubookie 2016, later than ever…

Sorry this is so late, PiKA took me fishing and left me at the lake:

Carnival weekend. What a great time for students to relax from school work, sleep more than 4 hours a night, and celebrate Beta finally being gone from campus. This year’s buggy competition could be the most exciting yet, having the chute finally paved for the first time since the school took the word Tech out of its name. Many teams look to break SDC’s record time. Will anyone finish in under 2 minutes? Will the buggy be just beyond reach at the end of hill 5? Will SDC win again? Let’s look into it.

Starting off with the shake up everyone 100% saw coming. Looks like CMU finally caught on to the problem they have with substance consumption, and due to disciplinary action, PiKA will not be racing this year (kind of). But no! Without PiKA who will be there to vomit in Maggie Mo? Introducing the Fishing Team. They have acquired PiKA’s buggies and drivers, however, their push team can not consist of 5 brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha, so expect them to be recruiting around campus, which may actually make them faster–which they desperately need if they want to win.

WHAT HAS SPIRIT BEEN DOING IN THE OFFSEASON?? Spirit came from being only slightly a contender last year to the org many think could be a frontrunner in 2016. Revamped with a pretty new push team, a new buggy, and all around new culture, their roll ups are better than ever, expect them to leave their mark on raceday. Rumor is they stole the key to SDC’s buggy room.

Looks like racing has become uncool if your name starts with Sigma. SAE, Sig Ep, and Sig Nu have had poor attendance this year at rolls. I don’t think we’ll actually know if they’re any good until raceday. After Sig Ep’s strong performance last year, it’s a shame that the brothers care more about underwhelming Greek Sing shows than buggy.

Sorry, I know why you’re all here, let’s get to the predictions:

Men: Expect a bit of a shake up from Spirit, and more of the same elsewhere. PiKA The Fishing Team, will now have last pick of lane, and this could hurt their overall performance. SDC and CIA remain staunch contenders, with Fringe as a second tier team hoping their raceday performance can shock some people.

  1. Spirit A

  2. SDC A

  3. Fishing A

  4. CIA A

  5. SDC B

  6. Fringe A

  7. Spirt B

  8. Sig Ep A

  9. CIA B

  10. Apex A

Women: Expect more of the same as previous years here, SDC will remain dominant, Spirit with increased buggy speed could create a scare. CIA and Fringe have solid push teams.

  1. SDC A

  2. CIA A

  3. Spirit A

  4. Fish  A

  5. Fringe A

The Field

AEPi: THEY ARE THE BEST. At getting last place.

Apex: Football players for pushers? Won’t make your buggy any faster

CIA: SDC’s little sister, maybe you can hold their trophy?

Fishing Team: Maybe under a different name they’ll catch the push bar

Fringe: What else can we steal from PiKA without being too obvious?

Phi Delt: You should race against the robo buggy, it’d be close

PiKA: They’ll be in same same place they were on day 2 last year, exhibitions

SAE: Who are you? You’ve never been to rolls before

SDC: Your push team is as bad as the campus events you hold

Sig Ep: I heard you couldn’t find a driver, the fraternity was too focused on guys

Sig Nu: Is the one new pledge you got going to help on raceday?

Spirit: It took a girl to get you boys in line? s/o Hope

Schedule of Events – Carnival 2016

Posted on | by ben | 1 Comment on Schedule of Events – Carnival 2016

Here’s a quick run-down of all the Buggy things happening this carnival. We can’t wait to see you at all these awesome events!

Our Twitter will be getting frequent updates through the weekend, so if you haven’t yet, be sure to give a follow so you know what’s going on when!

Tuesday

9am EST – Truck Auction Begins

A post with the link will go out Tuesday morning when the Truck Auction goes live. Don’t miss your chance to sit in the Lead Truck and watch the entire Race first-hand. We’ve been working with sweepstakes and we should have the best view yet this year!

Wednesday

8pm-9pm EST – WRCT 88.3 Pre-Raceday Broadcast

Join us on the airwaves as our local group of Buggy fanatics talks through this year’s events and our predictions for Raceday. We’ll be live on 88.3 FM and streaming at wrct.org

11:59pm EST – Truck Auction Ends

At midnight Wednesday, the Truck Auction will end. All winners will be contacted with their winning and further information that you will need on Raceday. Remember to check-in next to the Alumni tent on the day of your heat and fill out your Waivers! You will not be allowed in the Truck without one.

Thursday

12pm-2pm – Buggy Showcase

The new format of the Design Competition known as Buggy Showcase will be happening in Weigand Gym. Come by and check out all the new buggies and chat with teams and other alumni. Be sure to put your vote in for the People’s Choice Design Award too!

12:30pm – Buggy Timing and Data Collection

At the Showcase Stage, Shafeeq Sinnamohideen will give you the low-down on how data is collected during our weekend rolls and what all those numbers mean!

8pm – BAA Social Hour

Join us at Hough’s (533 Greenfield Ave), the only bar in Pittsburgh with a Buggy on the wall. We’ve reserved the lower area by the tap wall so you won’t need to worry about it being too crowded. Remember though, the Greenfield Bridge is currently just a cliff, so you might have to go the long way around.

Friday

8am EST – Sweepstakes Prelim Races

Join us on the course and cheer on your favorite team, or listen via WRCT 88.3 or stream it live via cmuTV. Send us pictures of your remote-watch parties wherever you are in the world!

12:30pm-1:30pm – BAA Luncheon

After the races, be sure to stop by our new luncheon location and relax with other alums while grabbing a bite to eat. We’re hoping for another awesome raceday, so we will be outside at the tennis court patio. Rain locaiton is Breed Hall in Margaret Morrison.

1:30pm-2:30 – BAA Panel

We have an awesome panel of people from across the buggy spectrum including several of our supporting groups lined up to answer your questions and share their experiences. Come by, ask them questions and listen to their stories.

Saturday

9am EST – Sweepstakes Finals and Exhibition Races

Join us on the course and cheer on your favorite team, or listen via WRCT 88.3 or stream it live via cmuTV. Send us pictures of your remote-watch parties wherever you are in the world! We’ll be having our SigNu v. PiKA grudge match and possibly some additional ones.

12:15-1pm – History of Buggy Presentation highlighting the Class of 1991

Join Tom Wood for a presentation on the history of Buggy with a focus on the class of 1991 for their 25th Reunion Celebration. Open to all alumni and will be taking place in Steinberg Auditorium.

4:30pm – Awards Ceremony

Cheer with your team as the awards are handed out at the Midway tent on the CFA lawn.

Timing Data: April 2

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier | 7 Comments on Timing Data: April 2

Thanks to one of our dedicated alumni, we have speed data from rolls on April 2. Using a multi-camera system, Shafeeq was able to calculate terminal Freeroll speeds and rollout speed (i.e. buggy speed after leaving the chute). The table gives the time of the rolls, the team and buggy name where known, as well as the speeds in miles per hour. The Rollout:Freeroll Ratio is an estimate of how much speed the buggy preserves through the chute.

Worth noting is that Spirit, CIA, Fishing Club, SDC, and Fringe are all consistently reaching >32mph in the Freeroll. Of this group, Spirit and Fish hold most of the top slots with Fringe, SDC, and CIA keeping pace close behind. What may turn out to be exceedingly important is that CIA and Fringe maintain more of their speed through the chute compared to Spirit and Fish.  Though, SDC is coming out (unsurprisingly) as the most well-rounded team of the bunch.

Time Team Buggy Freeroll (mph) Rollout (mph) Rollout:Freeroll Ratio
7:20 Spirit Inviscid 35.9
7:21 Spirit Zuke 35.1
7:27 PiKA Raptor 34.2
7:29 SigEP Kraken 30.7
7:33 PiKA Banshee 35.3
7:35 SigEP Kraken 30.8
7:38 Apex Phoenix 26.9 10.8 0.401487
7:43 SDC Bane 32
7:44 SDC Havoc 31.2 12.9 0.413462
7:46 Fringe Bissa 34.7 17 0.489914
7:47 Fringe Beacon 30.8 14.3 0.464286
7:49 Spirit Inviscid 35.7 17.2 0.481793
7:49 Spirit Zuke 34.5 14.2 0.411594
7:50 Spirit III 32.4 12.9 0.398148
7:51 Spirit II 31.7 12.9 0.40694
7:52 PhiDelt Perun 30.4
7:55 PiKA Raptor 35.9 17 0.473538
7:57 SigEP Kraken 27.6 7.9 0.286232
7:57 SigEp Pandora 26.9
7:59 AEPi Kamikaze 27.5
8:03 CIA Icarus 35.1 18 0.512821
8:03 CIA Equinox 34.7 18 0.518732
8:04 CIA Impulse 30.7 11.8 0.384365
8:07 SDC Malice 35.7 18.2 0.509804
8:07 SDC Orange 33.6 15.8 0.470238
8:08 SDC Bane 31.7 13.8 0.435331
8:09 SDC Havoc 31.5 14.6 0.463492
8:11 Fringe Beacon 33.5 16.4 0.489552
8:11 Fringe Bissa 33.5 15.6 0.465672
8:11 Fringe Primer 31.3 12.8 0.408946
8:14 Spirit Inviscid 35.9 late
8:15 Spirit III 32.4
8:15 Spirit II 31.2 11.2 0.358974
8:34 PiKA Raptor 35.3
8:36 SigEP Kraken 29.1
8:38 Apex Phoenix 30.4 8.1 0.266447
8:41 CIA Icarus 34.5
8:42 CIA Equinox 33.1 16.1 0.486405
8:42 CIA Impulse 14

Lead Truck Auction 2016

Posted on | by Dan Becerra | 7 Comments on Lead Truck Auction 2016

The BAA is once again holding our lead truck auction this year. It’s the one chance you (or a 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 want.

Proceeds help with all the costs of putting on such a spectacular event, including the Jumbotrons everyone loves, the pilot test of the current timing system, and maintenance of a detailed historical archive.

Here’s how it works:

  • The auction will open at 9 AM EDT on Tuesday April 12th. A link will be posted on our website.
  • Just like last year, we will run the auction on a third-party website. You will need to create an account with the auction site, and you can set up email alerts if you are outbid. Each heat will have a $10 minimum bid. The minimum bidding increment is $1. You may specify a maximum amount you wish to bid for any heat. Then, the site will automatically increase your bid in $1 increments as needed until your maximum is exceeded by someone else.
  • There will be separate auctions for each heat of Day 1, and picks for finals heats will be split up into multiple items meaning that you will be able to bid for multiple finals picks. For example, you could bid separately for 1st pick of the men’s finals and 2nd pick of the women’s. This will also allow you to potentially win multiple finals heat picks, though for the sake of inclusiveness we encourage you to only bid for one of each men’s and women’s picks.
  • Bid as much as you want, as often as you want until the auction closes at 11:59pm EDT on Wednesday April 13th
  • We will send out an email to the winners, along with instructions on how to pay.
  • On Raceday, check in WELL BEFORE your heat at the alumni tent and sign the waiver. Then you must be at the top of hill 2 before the start of your heat. If you’re late, then you miss your chance. The BAA cannot be the cause of delays.
  • Lead truck rides are transferable. If you can’t be in town or don’t like trucks, feel free to bid on an auction and then tell us who gets to take the ride. You can also just will it to your organization of choice and we’ll let the lucky team pick who gets to ride. All riders must be at least 18 years old.

 

If you have any questions, be sure to email Dan at danbecerra@cmubuggy.org or comment below, we want to address as much as we can before the auction.

We are, of course extremely thankful to sweepstakes for allowing us to use a spot in the lead truck to create this opportunity and raise some money so that the Buggy Alumni Association can pursue its mission to support buggy.

 

Fine Print Details

All heats will be auctioned simultaneously

The bidding will start at 9am EDT Tuesday April 12th

Bidding will end at 11:59pm EDT Wednesday April 13th

Payment must be received before winners take their rides. Credit card payment will be available and is strongly preferred. Cash and Check will also be accepted at the races.

All winning bids will be considered a gift to the Buggy Alumni Association. We have worked closely with the university to make sure that your gift to the BAA is also credited as a gift to Carnegie Mellon. Be assured that 100% of your gift will go to the Buggy Alumni Association. Also, if you’re an alum celebrating a reunion, your gift to the BAA will be counted towards your class totals.

For tax recognition purposes the donor can only claim their gift amount above the Fair Market Value of the Ride Auction. The fair market value of the Buggy Alumni Association Ride Auction is $10.00. Only the amount of your donation above the fair market value of the EVENT is tax deductible. Please consult your tax advisor for more information.

If two people specify the same maximum bid, and the auction ends without any higher bids, the person that entered their maximum bid first will be the winner.

The end time (11:59pm EDT Wednesday April 13th) is fixed. There will be no extensions to allow for last minute bids. Get your bids in early and make use of the max bid feature!

Any heats that get rained out or otherwise cancelled will just void the auction for those heats. Of course, if winners of cancelled heats want to make their donations anyway, we won’t complain.

Winners should be present at the top of hill 2 at the end of the preceding heat. Failure to show up in a timely manner will result in forfeiting the ride. We can’t be the cause of any delays, so the Buggy Alumni Association will have to be conservative in our estimation of “timely manner.” Be there!

The Buggy Alumni Association and Sweepstakes reserve the right to refund donations from and refuse a ride to anyone that is intoxicated or otherwise unable to safely ride in the back of a truck.

No rides may violate Pennsylvania’s laws concerning riding in a pickup truck. Basically this means the passenger must be over 18.

Sweepstakes also reserves the right to cancel rides and have us refund donations if they need to for any reason.

Buggy Watch Parties in YOUR AREA!

Posted on | by ben | 21 Comments on Buggy Watch Parties in YOUR AREA!
The BAA is making a push to encourage local alumni groups to host Race Day Watch Parties on the Saturday morning of Carnival as a way of bringing the buggy alumni community closer together, generating a spark that leads to a more cohesive community across the country!
Are you interested in seeing Watch Party come to your city? Help us push forward the plan to host simultaneous alumni gatherings throughout major cities on the day of the Finals. For each city, we will need one person to take the lead in either securing a location or arranging for a viewing at someone’s home. Contact Jillian Brinberg at jrbrinberg (at) gmail.com if this piques your interest, you want to take part in it, you have any questions, or you’d like to talk through some of your own ideas!