Timing Data: Feb 28

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier | 11 Comments on Timing Data: Feb 28

This past weekend our intrepid alumni ran the new and ever improving speed trap to gather some very interesting data. The trap was set up just after the monument in the Freeroll, so the posted values should represent terminal buggy speed. Not all the buggy names have been matched to their roll, however rolls are listed in chronological order. We will update the buggy IDs as we figure them out. If you happen to know a given ID, please leave a comment so we can edit appropriately. Some rolls have two MPHs listed because two alumni were independently determining speeds.

We can officially say that PiKA, SDC, and Fringe were consistently the fastest buggies rolling on Saturday. This isn’t terribly surprising given the teams’ histories and what we saw last semester.

Sequence Team ID Movie ID MPH 1 MPH 2
1 CIA  Equinox 126 34.67
2 CIA Impulse 127 31.35
3 SDC Black 128 34.67
4 SDC Avarice 129 31.59
5 SDC Purple 130 33.12
6 Fringe Lt. Blue 131 35.89
7 Fringe 132 30.3
8 Spirit 133 33.12
9 Spirit 134 22.6
10 Spirit
11 Spirit
12 Pika Raptor 135 34.82 35.27
13 Pika Banshee 136 39.15 39.73
14 Apex Apex 137 16.14 16.15
15 CIA Equinox 138 34.38 34.57
16 CIA Impulse 139 31.71 32.31
17 SDC black 140 38.05 37.57
18 SDC Stopped after stop sign before Phipps crosswalk
19 Fringe Blue 141 36.86 37.99
20 Fringe Grey 142 35.57 36.39
21 Fringe Blue 143 33.95 33.89
22 Spirit Grey 144 34.23 34.57
23 Spirit Grey 145 30.41 30.86
24 Spirit Grey 146 31.96 31.14
25 Spirit Grey 147 31.47 31.14
26 Pika Raptor 148 35.11 35.64
27 Pika Banshee 149 38.59 38.84
28 Apex 150 23.71 23.84
29 CIA Equinox 151 34.38 33.89
30 CIA Impulse 152 33.12 32.31
31 SDC Black 153 38.96 39.73
32 SDC Avarice 154 32.6 32.61
33 SDC Purple 155 30.99 30.59
34 Spirit Grey 156 36.86 36.77
35 Spirit 157 32.99
36 Spirit 158 30.99
37 Spirit 159 32.21
38 Spirit 160 31.11
39 Pika Raptor 161 35.27 34.92
40 Pika Banshee 162 38.96 39.28
41 Apex 163 25.1
42 CIA Equinox 164 35.57
43 CIA Impulse 165 32.47
44 SDC Black 166 36.2
45 SDC Avarice 167 33.95
46 SDC Purple 168 32.34
47 Fringe Blue 169 38.41
48 Fringe Grey 170 35.42
49 Fringe Blue 171 32.86
50 Spirit Grey 172 34.23
51 Spirit Grey 173 30.3
52 Spirit into hay bales 174 31.23
53 Spirit Stopped in chute due to wreck
54* Pika Raptor 175 34.52 34.57
55 Pika Banshee 176 35.57 35.64
56 Apex 177 26.74
57 CIA Impulse 178 33.26
58 CIA passing 33.12
59 SDC Black 179 38.41 38.84
60 SDC Avarice 180 33.53
61 SDC Purple 181 32.73
62 Fringe Blue 182 38.78
63 Fringe Blue 183 33.81
64 Spirit 184 35.57
65 Spirit 185 32.09
66 Pika  Raptor 186 36.36
67 Pika  Banshee 187 37.53
68 Apex 188 26.39
69 CIA Equinox 189 37.02
70 CIA Impulse 190 32.99
71 SDC Black 191 38.05
72 SDC Avarice 192 33.95
73 Fringe Blue 193 37.53
74 Fringe Blue 194 33.81
75 Pika Raptor 195 35.57 36.39
76 Pika Banshee 196 36.86 37.57
77 CIA Equinox 197 36.2 37.57
78 CIA Impulse 198 34.82 35.27
79 SDC Avarice  Missed
80 SDC Purple 199 31.71 32.01

Mini Raceday Alumni Data Dump

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier

As you probably already knew, this past weekend was the very exciting Mini Raceday Weekend. We posted the official Sweepstakes freeroll and backhill times, but thanks to the efforts of a couple of our more dedicated alumni, we have bonus data! Specifically we have the calculated speeds just before the chute and at the fourth window of Porter Hall.

The columns represent the speed of the buggy entering the chute (Chute), speed at the fourth window of Porter (Window 4), and whether or not the buggy needed to be pushed before the fourth Porter window.

Official BAA Times 

Team Roll Buggy Chute (mph) Window 4 (mph) Pushed
PhiDelt 1 Perun 25.6 11.9 P
PiKA 1 Banshee 35.9 17.1
PiKA 1 Raptor 27.7
SigEp 1 Kraken 30.3
AEPi 1 Kamikaze 27.1 9.7 P
Apex 1 Phoenix 22.7 9.7 P
CIA 1 Equinox 33.7 16.2
CIA 1 Icarus 31.6 13
CIA 1 Orca 29.8 9.1 P
CIA 1 Ascension 23.6 9 P
SDC 1 Malice 35.2 15.8
SDC 1 Vice 31
SDC 1 Havoc 30.5 9.8
Fringe 1 Bissa 34.1 13.4
Fringe 1 Beacon 12.5
Fringe 1 Balius 10.8 P
SigNu 1 Krait 30.7 11 P
Spirit 1 1 33.9 12.7 P
Spirit 1 2 28.3
PhiDelt 2 Perun 24.2
PiKA 2 Banshee 35 15.7
PiKA 2 Raptor 28.1
SigEp 2 Kraken 30.3 10 P
SigEp 2 Pandora 17
AEPi 2 Kamikaze 26.5 9.2 P
Apex 2 Ember 27.6 10.7 P
CIA 2 Equinox 31.1 11.6
CIA 2 Icarus 31.7 12.7
Orca 14
CIA 2 Ascension 23.8 8.1
CIA 2 Impulse 27.2 10.5 P
SDC 2 Malice 35.1 16.1
SDC 2 Vice 31.5 11.9
SDC 2 Havoc 30.4 10.9
Fringe 2 Bissa 33.6 13.7
Fringe 2 Beacon 33.7 12
Fringe 2 Baleus 28.9 9.3 P
Spirit 2 1 33.2 15 P
Spirit 2 2 30.9 11.1 P
Spirit 2 3 30.7
PhiDelt 3 Perun 24.5
PiKA 3 Banshee 35.2 17.1
SigEp 3 Kraken 27.2 7.2 P
AEPi 3 Kamikaze 26.9 8.6 P
Apex 3 Phoenix 30.5 11 P
CIA 3 Equinox 33.3 16.4
CIA 3 Icarus 30.4 11
CIA 3 Orca 28.4 9.6 P
SDC 3 Malice 34.8 15
SDC 3 Vice 32.8

 

The take home points are:

  • PiKA is the fastest downhill and back up
  • SDC is 2% slower than PiKA on the downhill, but 3rd fastest uphill
  • CIA is another 4-5% slower than PiKA on the downhill, but depending on the buggy are between SDC and PiKA going back up
  • CIA, Fringe, and Spirit have almost equal downhill speeds, but Fringe and Spirit are scrubbing speed in the chute.
  • Spirit’s down hill times would suggest a greater rollout than they are getting

 

Speeds were calculated by capturing video using a Nikon 1 series camera, all of which have the ability to take 640 x 240 movies at 1200 frames/sec. The cameras can only record 3 seconds at that speed, so the time it takes a buggy to pass between nearby landmarks (e.g. pairs of trees or parking spot lines) can be precisely measured. After some scouting, our intrepid alumni found useful spots on the course where every buggy takes more or less the same path. They placed the camera where every buggy could be filmed with the same perspective. Each frame is a normal 2D image, so objects in the background remain stationary. This allows you to open the movie in your video editing software of choice and note the time at which the nose of the buggy reaches each landmark. If the distance between the landmarks is known, the time can be converted to a speed.

For comparison, Sweepstakes uses the FinishLynx system on Raceday, which is typically set to take a 1000 x 1 image 1000 times/sec. The finish line software then assembles a series of these 1D lines into a distorted 2D image, where the horizontal axis is time. If you know the length of the buggy, you can tell when the nose and tail cross the finish line and convert that into a speed, however you can only observe one line. The system is optimized to calibrate its clock to real life and not vary much. This allows for accurate split times by placing a camera at each split point. The internal clocks used in consumer-quality cameras are not as accurate, so even though we used multiple cameras focused on different physical locations, we cannot correlate events in each well enough to get useful split times.

More work is needed in calibrating against either another measurement method or something of known speed before comparing speeds obtained our way with other sources, or, for that matter, with historic times. Regardless, comparing 2 teams on the same day should be safe – the systematic errors should affect everyone equally. The video files used to generate these times will be made available on cmubuggy.org for the viewing pleasure of all interested. 

—
This fabulous data is brought to you through the ideas and efforts of Shafeeq Sinnamohideen and Tom Wood.

 

Midsemester Break – No Rolls but some News

Posted on | by ben | 4 Comments on Midsemester Break – No Rolls but some News

With not enough teams to meet quorum, buggy took a break for the long weekend of the midsemester. With nothing to report on, we’ve been looking for something to share with you guys. Given our current struggle with membership tracking, we know there are some of you that didn’t get our most recent publication. So, until we figure out our tracking issue, everyone who reads this can get their own copy. Just send an email to news@cmubuggy.org, no donation required. If you’re feeling generous however, we of course wouldn’t say no.

Enjoy!

wrap-up preview

Ceilidh is Upon Us

Posted on | by ben

Welcome folks to another Ceilidh celebration here at the Pittsburgh Campus of CMU! For us Buggy people, this weekend is more or less business as usual. The weather looks like it will hold and the teams are ready for another full weekend of rolls. This time though, Ceilidh will bring some added bonuses.

Quick look of Ceilidh Buggy Events:
Rolls Donut Tent 7am Sat+Sun Frew Street
Buggy Panel Talk 2pm Sat Connan Roon

While Ceilidh hasn’t really become a major alumni event for us, it is a time when we will have the most parents in town to see just what the hell their kids are up to. We’ll be welcoming and greeting any visitors to the course with a mini version of our Raceday Donut tent. We will likely be setting up in a similar place or closer to top of the hill. Donuts will be arriving at 7 so all teams will get a chance to grab one before rolls really get going.

Aside from rolls, we have put together a small panel of students and alums who will be sharing their experience and answering questions from the audience Saturday afternoon. This is just like the panels that we started having the last couple years, and is the first time we are doing one at Ceilidh. We’re expecting a much different audience and early numbers make it look like it’ll be VERY well attended! We will be going for an hour and a half starting at 2pm.

Given the celebration we will be attempting to livestream all weekend. Allowing you to watch and potentially interact during rolls and the panel from anywhere in the world. It’s been a while since we’ve livestreamed so forgive us if our skills aren’t up to snuff.

As an added bonus to all of our members, whether you are in town or not, you will be getting a special gift later tonight. Of course if you think you should be on the list and don’t hear from us, just let us know and we’ll correct things right away. If you’re not a member yet, head on over to the membership page and join or renew, this is one you won’t want to miss this one.

wrap-up preview

Kids have returned, 2015-16 season has begun

Posted on | by ben | 1 Comment on Kids have returned, 2015-16 season has begun

After the summer hiatus, the kids have returned which means we have too and this time in greater numbers! That’s right, as of now, we here at the BAA have the ability to divide and conquer allowing us to do more for all of you here. Most of us are spread across the country and even the world which means we’re working on delving into some regional activities starting with NYC. If you’re interested in bringing Buggy events to your area let us know, we’d be happy to help however we can! Others of us are focusing on some new materials including the return of our Raceday Recap to get you back in the buggy mood. This is only the start, there is much more going on than I have time to share here, but look for us around the Highland Games, Ceilidh and more!

As for our regular reports that you all know and love, the first weekend of rolls is set to start this very next weekend September 19th and 20th. With more alums in the area, look for some new voices coming through in this season’s rolls reports.

*UPDATE* Due to the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on Saturday September 19, there will be no rolls this Saturday, first rolls will be on Sunday September 20.

Passing of a legend: Robert Anderegg

Posted on | by ben | 1 Comment on Passing of a legend: Robert Anderegg

To anyone that’s played any role in buggy over the last 50 years, you have probably heard of one man who has made an enormous impact on the sport and kept us safe. Robert Anderegg, better known as Fire Marshall Bob (or FMB for short) played a critical role over in the safety of buggy since he joined the CMU community. To those of us that worked in the truck and had the chance to attend his one-of-a-kind fire safety trainings, he will be enormously missed.

His obituary was posted in CMU’s The Piper:

bobanderegg_120x120Robert Anderegg, a fire safety specialist for the Environmental Health & Safety Department and a member of the CMU community for 50 years, died on Aug. 16. He was 77.

Anderegg started at CMU in 1965 as a university police officer before becoming interested in fire safety and fire prevention. He became an expert in the field, providing support to Facilities Management Services and the foundation for the Environmental Health & Safety Department. “Fireman Bob” as he was affectionately known, Anderegg supervised the construction and safety of student booths and Sweepstakes buggies during Spring Carnival. He won an Andy Award for Citizenship in 2001 as a member of the EH&S team that created the Household Hazardous Waste Program. Anderegg received praise from many of the student organizations he supported.

Volunteer Forum 2015 and new BAA positions

Posted on | by ben | 7 Comments on Volunteer Forum 2015 and new BAA positions

In addition to this past weekend being Commencement weekend (CONGRATS GRADUATES!), alumni leaders from around the world met at CMU’s Pittsburgh campus for this year’s Volunteer Forum. There was a mix of local Chapter leaders as well as Interest group leaders who all got a chance to talk to each other exchanging ideas and experiences. We of course had our own contingent of attendees representing the BAA and learning about all the opportunities that are available to us and areas where we might be able to do a little better.

Here just a few of the takeaways that I got from the weekend:

  • We have a big opportunity of pairing with local chapter events around the US and beyond. Not only do we have strong alumni clusters in several cities in the Nation, local leaders were seeking us out looking for an excuse to have a buggy themed/related event.
  • There are many Freshman welcome events that happen around the globe and we have an opportunity to reach out to those incoming Freshmen over the summer and show them what buggy is. There is nothing definitive yet, but we will hopefully get some help sending buggies to these gatherings for the new students to look and feel, and maybe even ride.
  • Aside from the chapter groups, we also have an opportunity to help more than CMU by joining forces with groups like 1000plus to give back and help our regions be a better place.
  • While we have amassed a good amount of funds thanks to your contributions, CMU has opportunities for additional grants to help support specific initiatives. These could be something like sending someone or something to an event or a special project that our group might want to work on.

As one of the larger and more “loyal” alumni groups, CMU wants to help us in any way they can and for us to take advantage of that interest we are going to need some help and potentially some new positions.  Below are outlined several positions some new, some existing, in no particular order, a few of which may be combined based on interest, but ideally split to lessen time-involvement needs from individual persons.

  • Greek/Independent Student Outreach (2 people): It’s high time that we add some new teams to the mix and we believe that the interest is there, but the knowledge isn’t. We would like to have someone to reach out to existing Greek and Independent organizations to help them start their own program or help educate them on what they have to gain.
  • Regional Coordinator (1 person): With all the interest from chapter groups, it would make sense for us to have someone dedicated to finding local alumni in areas around the US and the globe to attend local events that are looking for some buggy representation. This position may also involve coordinating local leaders in dense buggy areas to take part in local chapter meetings.
  • Website Curator/Head Mechanic (2-3 people): As we all know there are many things that this site does well, but there are also many things that haven’t been updated and several features that would really help make this site become what it should be. We need someone to head up that effort and pull in extra hands when needed. There has also been talk of a cmubuggy 2.0 site that has yet to make much progress.
  • Auction/Fundraising Lead (1 person): Our biggest fundraising event is currently the Lead Truck Auction that happens over Carnival. We need someone to take the lead on that effort and look into possible other opportunities.
  • Special Projects Lead (2 people): There are dozens of projects that we have talked about working on, but only a few that have actually gone anywhere. It would be great to have a couple people take point on these projects which may involve anything from finding vendors for new equipment, to writing special reports on the state of the sport.
  • Rolls Reports Organizer (2 people): One of our longest standing contributions to the sport and one of the things that takes the most effort. We need someone to take point on getting notes and photos from weekend Rolls and getting the Reports out every week. There is a large contingent of local Pittsburgh alumni, some of whom already attend the practices regularly. There is no reason that one person needs to go out every morning and this job could easily be split up between several people such that no one person would need to attend more than a weekend of rolls each semester.
  • Raceday Preview Lead (1 person): As probably the biggest reason to be a BAA member, the Raceday Preview goes out every year before Carnival and often spills out over a few dedicated people. Ideally we would have one person to take on the task of organizing the production of this yearly summary piece.
  • Treasurer (1 person): A traditional role, but one that is no less needed. This role would be for someone to receive our monthly statement, and summarize it to the rest of the group telling us where our money is coming in and going out.
  • President/Chairman (1 person): Another traditional role that is pretty handy. This person would keep up with all the leads and make sure things are on track and oversee the general direction of the group and fill any gaps as needed. This is also a role that would involve a lot of communication with Alumni Relations and coordinating raceday/ceilidh events.

The good news is that very few if any of these roles are location dependent. While it might certainly help to be in Pittsburgh for something like Rolls Reports or Student outreach, someone to coordinate note-takers and photographers would not need to be there, and students all have email and several means of contact for outreach.

If any of this sounds interesting to you, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to post any questions or thoughts below or in the forum. So far the BAA has only been represented by a few teams and it’s time to broaden our inclusion. This is a great opportunity for new alums to get involved or stay involved and make a lasting change on our great sport. This is the best way to stay close to the action and up to date with all the insider knowledge.

Congrats to SDC and CIA

Posted on | by ben

What an amazing Raceday! It was an amazing year of solid races, incredibly close times and some unexpected upsets. On top of how close the races were, this has probably been one of the safest years of races in recent history. Before we get into the awards, we want to give a huge thank you to the sweepstakes team this year. Elon, Haliey, and John were a pleasure to work with throughout the year and particularly as we worked out the details for Raceday itself.

If you missed the Races, you can still catch them on CMUtv and they are well worth the watch, or re-watch, or re-re-watch. Commentary this year was again fantastic thanks to the return of Andy Bordick and Will Weiner who were joined this year by Connor Hayes of Apex fame. CMUtv also did a great job capturing the races this year continuing their great use of the picture-in-picture display and also adding a scrolling ticker to the bottom of the screen so you never had to wait more than a minute for the times you wanted to see. Thanks also to WRCT for getting the audio feed to the chute fixed for the second day.

Now without further ado, here are the awards that were presented after everything was said and done. Continue reading →

We’re Almost there!

Posted on | by ben | 2 Comments on We’re Almost there!

Over the next 2 hours, there are two big things happening that you won’t want to miss, both of which you can join from the comfort of your home/office/computer.

At 7pm EST, we will be live on WRCT telling you all about Raceday with some special guests who can tell us the inside scoop about some of the goings on. You can stream it live from your computer at WRCT.org or if you are in Pittsburgh, you can listen in at 88.3 fm.

At 8pm EST, the 2015 Lead Truck Auction will be ending. If you haven’t yet bid on your favorite heat, you are running out of time! There are still one or two heats left that have NO bids on them and are just waiting for some lucky winner to win a super cheap ride in the Lead Truck. Check out the auction Now!

 

We can’t wait to See you all very soon!