Teams took advantage of two full days of brisk but dry weather to close out the “regular season” of freerolls. Most teams got all of their drivers qualified and are ready for truck weekend which is coming up fast. Thanks this week to Ben Matzke and Shafeeq for the notes on rolls as I was out of town again. If you’ve got pictures or additional observations (especially from Saturday), don’t be shy, share!
In attendance
| Org | Saturday | Sunday | Qualification Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEPi | Kamikaze | Kamikaze, Zephyrus (6 rolls + PT) | |
| Apex | Insite | Insite | Insite (1 roll + PT) |
| CIA | Orca, Ascension, Freyja, Firebird, Quasar | Orca, Ascension, Freyja, Firebird, Quasar | Orca, Ascension, Freyja, Firebird (2 drivers), Quasar |
| DeltaForce | Perun | Perun | |
| Fringe | Bissa, Bonsai, Borealis, Bedlam | Bissa, Bonsai, Borealis, Bedlam | Bissa, Bonsai, Borealis, Bedlam |
| PiKA | Raptor, Chimera, Zeus | Raptor, Chimera, Zeus | |
| SAE | Rubicon | Rubicon (3 rolls + PT) | |
| SDC | Bane, Avarice, Malice, Rage | Bane, Avarice, Malice, Rage | Bane, Avarice, Malice, Rage |
| SigEp | Mamba, Peregrine, Pandora | Mamba, Peregrine, Barracuda | Barracuda, Mamba, Peregrine (1 roll), Pandora (2 rolls) |
| SigNu | Krait | Krait | Krait |
| Spirit | Zuke, Seraph, Haraka | Zuke | Zuke, Seraph, Haraka |
Observations (Saturday Gallery | Sunday Gallery) Continue reading
It may have been April 1st, but there’re no pranks here, rolls happened on Sunday, they were fun, and we’ve got the details for you. Saturday was rained out, but in one day we got more headline material than the last couple of weeks put together. One new buggy, one radical renovation, one new team on the course, one new animal-theme paint job, and a spin for good measure. Lots of alumni in the chute and following along with our live streaming broadcast was just icing on the cake.
After almost two full weeks of ridiculously beautiful weather while the kids took two weekends off for spring break, Pittsburgh slapped the reality back into us with a cool down and enough rain to cancel Saturday’s rolls. Sunday was still overcast but dry, and 8 of our teams made it out the morning after greek sing for four cycles through the order. I was out of town on Sunday, so big thanks to Zatch and Vincent who supplied the bulk of the narrative and all of the multimedia. Read on for the details of a Fringe buggy out of retirement, some new PiKA wheels, and a couple of chute mishaps, but no new buggies!
With precipitation on 7 of the last 10 days and temperatures swinging from the 20s to the 60s faster than you can add or remove layers, it’s hard to know what to expect, but buggy demonstrated some toughness and got in two solid days this weekend. Saturday was pretty enjoyable with lots of sun and no wind making it more comfortable than the thermometers (or smartphones) were indicating. Sunday was less pleasant and teams seemed worn out from it. Snow came and went a few times during Sunday but never stuck to the ground enough to warrant Sweepstakes to cancel although Fringe, SDC, and PiKA (I think) all scratched for the day before 9.
When the alarm went off it was dark and it looked cold and I considered getting back in bed. What was I thinking?! Rolls are awesome, I just needed a reminder, and the first day of rolls did the job. Apex made it out, PiKA made it back out, CIA rolled the first new buggy of 2012, and 6 other teams came out to start the spring with a healthy crowd. Sunday was deemed too cold to roll (26 F, 8mph wind) so everyone had a short buggy weekend to get back into the groove.
Last rolls of the semester, temps close to 60, and plans to do another live broadcast from the chute … I was excited for rolls this Sunday. And then I woke up at 10:30. Oops. My sincere apologies to anyone who tried to watch the live stream. After working out the technical details last week, we uncovered and even larger weakness: the human factor. For what it’s worth, I paid my penance with a solid hangover. Luckily Zack Waldman has my back so we’ve got a rolls report.
13 times through the order in one weekend is enough to wear out fresh, energetic teams in September. For the teams running a little lower than they’d like on manpower (almost all of them) here in mid-November, this weekend was a real endurance test. But the drivers got huge amounts of practice and for the most part everyone had their act together. We also had some fun producing content this weekend with black and white photography on Saturday and a live streaming broadcast from the chute on Sunday.
The end of daylight savings meant Saturday was a super short day while Sunday was nice and long, leaving time for a full mini-raceday-esque event. Weather was in the low 30s but nice and sunny which is better than we might expect for November. Zach Waldman and Ben Matzke covered the rolls report while I was out of town so thanks to them, and no thanks to me for taking this long to get it posted! Fantasy buggy times were collected on Sunday and the winner will be announced very soon.
34 degrees at sunrise; now we’re talking real hardcore rolls weather, and it seems it was too real for 4 of our teams, but DeltaForce wasn’t scared and joined the roster of rolling orgs. Warm sun made it seem warmer than it was and a lack of wind kept the leaves off the course. Saturday was cancelled in advance to allow some mid-semester break relaxation, and Sunday was only 80 minutes long (as the sun rises later and later) but managed to fit in plenty of excitement.
Fall continues to cooperate, giving teams another dry weekend to get their routines down. We’re definitely into hoodie weather now though, and leaves were blowing across all parts of the course like crazy. SigNu was absent but a new team called Delta Force came close to joining the ranks of the rolling. Read on for the nitty gritty.