Compubookie 2017

Posted on | by ben | 19 Comments on Compubookie 2017

Compubookie managed to find our email again for their annual column. This year it did manage to get it together for the Tartan as well, so you many have been able to catch it in the most recent issue. With a little break in our own Raceday content, we’ve put it up here as well for all you alumni that don’t get the Tartan delivered. Now that our Lead Truck Auction is live, maybe this’ll help you choose an fun heat to watch.

Any comments made are those solely of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the BAA. Enjoy-

Another year, another carnival, another chance for me to make the same tired jokes. Guess who doesn’t feel even remotely sorry? According to the brand new data system installed, this is looking to be the fastest year mph-wise we’ve ever had. Freeroll times are faster than they’ve ever been, but with a huge speed bump in the chute this year, thanks Pittsburgh, there could be some shake-ups in chute time. We can pencil in SDC at first, so I guess the question is who will come in second?

I was wrong last year about Spirit. Their hill 1/free roll time combinations simply weren’t competitive for first place. Much of the race is getting up and over the hill, and Spirit wasn’t able to do that. That being said, their push team looks fast again, and if they can keep from spinning out in the chute (like they do every single morning rolls) or snapping another axle, don’t be surprised with a top 3 finish.

Mechanic failures were a scary narrative in last year’s race. SigEp had not one but two buggy failures causing crashes. For a team that was coming off three straight 2nd place finishes, that just cannot happen. SigEp, never to be counted out, has improved their PR with a very, ummmm, fitting pink and purple buggy they call Beyonce. Yet, if their hatch construction is any indication of their build, look for this to be another year riddled with mechanical failures for SigEp.

The Fishing Club is gone and PiKA is back. And to no surprise of anyone, they’re still the most annoying group of people ever assembled. This year they’ve shown their apathy again this spring with a false stop flag and clipping unaware pushers with buggies on hill 4/5 transitions. Their free roll times are not as fast as they have been in the past, but none of that will matter because they’re sure to miss the push bar and not make the second day. I know I for one will be very happy watching them flounder on the back hills, unable to reel it in again.

SDC still looks unbeatable, despite all of SigEps attempts to pull them down. They’ve been fast early, with freeroll speeds in March that teams would die for on race day. They have consistently had 5 buggies at rolls with malice leading the way per usual. Makes you wonder what’s hiding in those wheel fairings. Those SDC buggies do not age! Rage was built when people still thought of Fringe as a legitimate competitor. Whoever built that buggy should give some tips to SigEp before someone gets hurt! If they can assemble push teams as good as last year we may see a sweep of the men’s and women’s competition. How boring.

CIA hasn’t pulled out the furry costumes this year, thank god. They’re gonna be fast, with roll-ups past the fire hydrant, but their freerolls aren’t as fast as they were last year. Looks like again they just can’t quite compete with SDC. They need to pay find faster pushers! And maybe not get drivers DQd for loosening breaks to the point where they can’t stop their buggy.

Time for some predictions… @ Anonymous commenters, I’ll do better this year

Men’s Division:

  1. SDC A
  2. CIA A
  3. SDC B
  4. Spirit A
  5. SigEp A
  6. Fringe A
  7. CIA B
  8. PiKA B
  9. SDC C
  10. Apex A

DNF: PiKA A (Push bar)

Women’s Division:

  1. SDC A
  2. CIA A
  3. Fringe A
  4. PiKA A
  5. SDC B
  6. Spirit A
  7. CIA B
  8. Apex A
  9. Spirit B
  10. SDC C

The Field:

AEPi: We will miss waiting for you at the finish line

Apex: Heard some strange pusher incentivization rumors, yet you’re still slow?

CIA: Like SDC, but with slower pushers and more furry costumes

Fringe: On the Fringe of being a good org again, but only if you keep paying off the Fire Marshall

Phi Delt: Remember, Hill 2 extends all the way to Hill 3, might as well walk the buggy there at your current pace

PiKA: Push bar, Push bar, where art you thou Push bar. Even Fish couldn’t find it at the bottom of the sea.

SAE: The jorts suck. Your org sucks.

SDC: Like Freaks and Geeks on steroids… or at least the athletes you’re successful at bribing

SigEp: How does anyone feel safe driving for you? Make better buggies

Sig Nu: You’re still an organization????

Spirit: At least your push team has the appearance of being fast! That’s a consolation

Rolls Report: April 15 – Truck Weekend!

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier | 6 Comments on Rolls Report: April 15 – Truck Weekend!

Can you believe it, buggy fans? We are just days away from the event we’ve been waiting all year for!!! Raceday 2017 is upon us, which means that this past weekend was our annual buggy dress rehearsal, a.k.a. Truck Weekend. Due to significant rain Sunday morning, it was really more like Truck Saturday, but that didn’t stop all 9 human teams and 2 robotic buggies from getting in those final few precious rolls.

After a grueling Heat Selection meeting last night, it is now confirmed that 22 women’s teams will roll in 10 heats and 27 men’s teams will roll in 12 heats. Stay tuned for the official schedule to be posted.

As per tradition, this rolls report isn’t going to contain too much information as we prepare to send out the much anticipated Raceday Preview. This year’s preview is jam-packed with team summaries, photos, alumni interviews, and predictions amongst other awesome buggy-ness. How do you get access to this amazing document? Simple: pay your BAA dues ($10). BAA dues go a long way to helping us keep you up-to-date on the latest buggy news as well as provide critical support to the current students. Plus, you get the Raceday Preview; that alone is worth the measly $10. You can join the BAA or renew your membership here.

Without further ado, the buggies that were rolling this Saturday and some sweet, sweet timing data!

In Attendance 

Org Saturday
Apex Phoenix, Ember, Kyle
CIA Equinox, Tempest, Orca, Impulse, Emperor
Fringe Boson, Bolt, Bissa, NB17
PhiDelt Argo
PiKA Cliodhna, Raptor, Banshee
SAE Lucy
SDC Malice, Havoc, Bane, Avarice, Rage
SigEp Barracuda, Kraken, Beyonce
SigNu Krait
Spirit Inviscid, Zuke, King Pin

Observations (Saturday Gallery)

The following data is a compilation of the laser-based system and the video-based system we have reported data from in the past. SDC, PiKA, Spirit, Fringe, and CIA are all, unsurprisingly, at the top of the pack. We’ll let you pour over the numbers though.

Remember, for a final wrap up of how the teams are looking before Raceday, pay your dues and check out the Raceday Preview!

Team Buggy Monument (mph) Steps (mph) Jumbotron (mph) Loss (%)
Apex Ember 28.5 21.6 24%
Apex Ember 26.3 27.6
Apex Kyle 31.8 26
Apex Kyle 32 25.4 21%
Apex Kyle 30.6 32
Apex Phoenix 30 24.8 17%
Apex Phoenix 30.8 25.1 18%
CIA Emperor 30.7 26.6 13%
CIA Emperor 29.2 30.4 26.4 13%
CIA Emperor 31 26.8 13%
CIA Equinox 34.1 29.2 14%
CIA Equinox 34 35.3 29.5 16%
CIA Equinox 36.1 29.7 18%
CIA Impulse 32.2 26 19%
CIA Impulse 29.9 31.3 25.5 18%
CIA Impulse 31 25 19%
CIA Orca 32.9 27.5 16%
CIA Orca 31.1 32 27.5 14%
CIA Orca 31.7 26.4 17%
CIA Tempest 34.8 29.5 15%
CIA Tempest 35.7 28.9 19%
CIA Tempest 34.7 29.5 15%
Fringe Bissa? 28.7 22.4 22%
Fringe Bissa? 32.9 25.4 23%
Fringe Bissa? 35.3 28.2 20%
Fringe Bolt 33.5 27 19%
Fringe Bolt 29.6 25.4 14%
Fringe Bolt 32.5 34.7 27.5 21%
Fringe Boson 28.2
Fringe Boson 31 26 16%
Fringe Boson 36.1 28.9 20%
Fringe NB17 36.1 28.4 21%
Fringe NB17 29.2
Fringe NB17 33.2 34.8 28.9 17%
PhiDelt Emily 27.3 28.6 23.5
PhiDelt Emily 25.6 21.1 18%
PhiDelt Emily 26.6 27.9 20.5 26%
PiKA Banshee 33.4 34.5 29.5 14%
PiKA Banshee 35.5 36.8 29.7
PiKA Banshee 34.5 35.7 28.4 20%
PiKA Cliodhna 34.7 27.3
PiKA Cliodhna 32.6 34.2 27.7 19%
PiKA Cliodhna 33.2 34.7 27 22%
PiKA Raptor 30 31.8 23.9 25%
PiKA Raptor 30.7 32.2 26.2
PiKA Raptor 33 28
SAE Lucy 34.1 27 21%
SAE Lucy 33.5 26.8 20%
SAE Lucy 32.7 25.4 23%
SDC Avarice 32.3 33.3 28.2 15%
SDC Avarice 31.5 27.5
SDC Avarice 33.6 28.4 16%
SDC Avarice 34.4 35.5
SDC Bane 35.2 36.1 30.6 15%
SDC Bane 33.1 28.2 15%
SDC Bane 32.1 33.3 28.2 15%
SDC Bane? 32.2
SDC Havoc 33.8 26.2
SDC Havoc 32.9 27.7 16%
SDC Havoc 31.4 32.4 26.2 19%
SDC Malice 34.5 35.3 29.5 16%
SDC Malice 35.7 30.3
SDC Malice 36.6 30.8 16%
SDC Malice 33.4 34.2 28.7 16%
SDC Rage 30.8 31.7 26.4 17%
SigEp Barracuda 33.9 27.3
SigEp Beyonce 21.8
SigEp Beyonce 27.3 28.7
SigEp Beyonce 29.4 31 25.4 18%
SigEp Beyonce 29.7 31 24.8 20%
SigEp Beyonce 28.7 29.7
SigEp Kraken 29.1 23.7 19%
SigEp Kraken 29.3 30.7 24.6 20%
SigEp Kraken 27.9 29.1 23.7 19%
SigNu Krait 33.5 35.3 27.7 22%
SigNu Krait 34.5 28.4 18%
Spirit Inviscid 34.7 28.4 18%
Spirit Inviscid 34.7 28.9 17%
Spirit Inviscid 33.4 34.8 29.7 15%
Spirit Kingpin 35.1 28.4 19%
Spirit Kingpin 34 35.3 27.5 22%
Spirit Kingpin 36 37.1 28.9 22%
Spirit Zuke 34.5 27.3 21%
Spirit Zuke 28.5 29.7 23.7 20%
Spirit Zuke! 35 36.8 27.5 25%

See you on Friday for prelims!

Rolls Report Contributors:
Shafeeq
Natalie M.

Pre-Raceday WRCT Broadcast

Posted on | by ben

Wednesday night, just before the end of the Lead Truck Auction, a group of current buggiers and alums will gather and discuss the past year and the upcoming races.

Mark your calendars and listen in from anywhere in the world on wrct.org. This time around, we will also be answering questions live from social media, as well as questions posted to this site!

Be sure to join the fun and listen in Wednesday April 19th at 8pm EST on 88.3FM Pittsburgh or stream it online at wrct.org

Unfortunately the 2016 broadcast was lost to the black hole, but feel free to relive past years with these previous discussions.

2015
2014
2013 – pt. 1
2013 – pt. 2
2006 – Raceday

2017 Lead Truck Auction Details & Alumni Challenge update

Posted on | by ben

Alumni Challenge Update

No movement… if you or people you know haven’t yet become a member (or donated any amount), what are you waiting for?! We do not have a monetary goal, only a number of new people. If we reach our goal, we will be rewarded with funds from the university that will go straight to the support and advancement of Sweepstakes!

2017 BAA Lead Truck Auction

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 can win!

Proceeds help with all the costs of putting on such a spectacular event. Due to limited sponsorship this year, the BAA will be directly sponsoring the races with funding to cover the Jumbotrons this year.

Here’s how it works:

  • The auction will open at 9 AM EDT on Tuesday April 18th. A link will be posted on our website here.
  • 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 11:00pm EDT on Wednesday April 18th
  • We will send out an email to the winners, along with instructions on how to collect your winnings.
  • On Raceday, check in WELL BEFORE your heat at the BAA tent between the finishline and broadcast booth and sign the waiver. Then you must be in the lead truck on Hill 1 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 9:00am EDT Tuesday April 18th
  • Bidding will end at 11:00pm EDT Wednesday April 19th
  • 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 19th) 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 BAA tent 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.

2017 BAA Elections Information

Posted on | by ben

It’s that time of year, the time when the BAA seeks out new blood and energy to fill upcoming Vacancies. This cycle we will be seeing many open spots on our board and that is where we need your help. Starting Sunday April 15th, we will open the floor for nominations of several key positions. You’ll have two weeks to get in your nominations during which you can nominate anyone to the below listed positions and they will be asked to either accept or deny said nomination. Following the nomination period, we will hold online elections for all dues paying members to vote in!

Here are some more details about what positions will be open and how you can be a part of the process:

Elections Timeline:

All times in EST

  1. April 16th @ noon – Nominations Open
    • We will put out a news post and social media blast with a link to a nominations form (we like our google forms this year).
  2. April 28th @ 7 pm – Nominations Close
    • Last call will be made and anyone nominated will be contacted to accept or decline.
  3. May 1st @ noon  – Elections Begin
    • News post will go live with a link to cast your ballot.
    • Only dues paying members will get their votes counted.
    • Anyone nominated will be encouraged, though not required, to add in a short statement on their goals for their term.
  4. May 5th @ 7 pm – Elections End
    • last call will be made for any stragglers to get their votes in.
  5. May 6th – Election results posted!
    • Congratulate our new BAA Exec Board!

Eligible Persons:

  1. Any CMU alumni who has graduated or will graduate by June 2017 is eligible to be nominated (Graduating Seniors, that means you too!)
  2. Any person who has been elected to two previous terms on the BAA Executive Board is not eligible to accept a nomination.

Open Seats:

This year we have several open seats that need to be filled and a few positions up for re-election. Each elected position constitutes a 2 year term on the board which can be held for 2 consecutive terms (total 4 consecutive years) pending successful re-election.

  •  Treasurer – This position is currently held by Daniel Becerra who will be stepping down. For the BAA, this person receives our monthly financial information and reports our standing to the membership. This role also has taken on organizing fundraising activities such as our annual Lead Truck Auction and keeps records of currently active members.
  • Team Outreach – This position is currently held by Connor Hayes who will be stepping down. This person is for someone who will be connected to the current sweepstakes leadership and is willing to reach out to current organizations or potential new ones to provide guidance and connections to other alumni. This person has also played a great role in providing content for our regular publications.
  • Webmaster – This position is held in a very limited capacity by Sam Swift. The BAA site is in need of some tender loving care and some repairs which I’m sure you’re all aware of. Please check out our website page for more info on how this site is organized and structured.
  • Communications – This position is currently held by Aileen Dinin who is completing her first term. This position organizes our larger newsletters and publications which go out to all dues paying members (i.e. Raceday Preview, Season Kickoff, ect.).
  • Reporting Lead – This position is currently held by Natalie McGuier who is completing her first term. This position organizes and compiles our weekly rolls reports and wrangles local Pittsburgh people every weekend of rolls.
  • President – This position is currently held by Ben Matzke. This person coordinates and directs all BAA Activities and communicates on behalf of the BAA to Alumni Relations and the larger CMU community and networks.

Completing the first year of his term, our Vice President Jeremy Tuttle’s seat is currently not open for election.

Given the unique nature of our organization, there will be an open field that can be entered with a new chair position for something that you believe is lacking or deserves it’s own role.

We’ve already heard from some people who are interested in joining the board and we are excited to give them the opportunity.

Happy voting!

Rolls Report: April 8 & 9 – Rapidly approaching Raceday!

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier | 12 Comments on Rolls Report: April 8 & 9 – Rapidly approaching Raceday!

Can you believe it, Buggy fans? Raceday 2017 is a mere week away! Much like our buggies, time seems to be speeding up as we approach the pinnacle of buggy-lover activities. Every org but one was out and getting in those last few rolls before Truck Weekend. Though, it seems that several teams are waiting on their duct tape orders to arrive. Ethan G (report writer and radioman extraordinaire) amassed quite the collection of hatches and various buggy bits that came loose in the chute.

If you arrived at rolls before 6:30 on Saturday, you’d have seen about 100 vehicles on the course as EMS borrowed our closed roads to do some training for their drivers. Rolls scheduled to start earlier this weekend were delayed on Saturday by course works and confusion on the roads as we scrambled to get the flaggers to their positions before their buggies were rolling. There was a little chaos and many teams were not prepared as Sweepstakes called for first roll.

Triple Buggy Spin – The major incident on the course this weekend occurred Sunday during a joint PhiDelt and Apex Roll. After passing Panther Hollow bridge and the transition flaggers the driver of the lead PhiDelt buggy felt, or heard something that upset her enough to put on the brakes. After applying the brakes the buggy went into a spin and came to a stop in the middle of the roadway. Unfortunately they were being closely followed by 2 Apex buggies ‘Ember’ and ‘Kyle’. Upon seeing stop flags Ember applied the brakes and pulled left, spinning around and coming to a stop against the sidewalk. ‘Kyle’ seeing this attempted to steer to a wide right of the pileup and applied the brakes as she headed towards the monument. ‘Kyle’ at this point also spun around and came to a stop leaving 3 buggies facing the wrong direction just upstream of the monument. EMS cleared all the drivers for be pushed through but this very unexpected turn of events results in a significant rolls slow-down.

In Attendance 

Org Saturday Sunday
Apex  Phoenix Kyle, Ember
CIA  Orca, Tempest, Emperor Orca, Impulse, Emperor
Fringe  Bolt, Bissa, Beacon, NB17, Boson Boson, Bolt, NB17, Beacon
PhiDelt Emily Emily
PiKA  Banshee, Cliodhna Banshee, Cliodhna, Raptor
SAE  Lucy
SDC  Malice, Havoc, Bane, Avarice, Rage Malice, Havoc, Bane Avarice, Rage
SigEp  Kraken, Barracuda, Beyonce Kraken, Barracuda, Beyonce
Spirit  Inviscid, Zuke, King Pin Inviscid, Zuke, King Pin

Observations (Saturday Gallery | Sunday Gallery) Continue reading →

Timing Data: April 2

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier | 9 Comments on Timing Data: April 2

As promised (and only a day late), here is the timing data as acquired and analyzed by Shafeeq. As a reminder, this system works by taking a video and extrapolating speed as a buggy passes through two designated points in the frame. “Steps” refers to the steps towards the end of the Freeroll between the monument and chute flagger. “Meter” refers to a point approximately half way though the Chute. % Speed Lost is a estimation of the amount of speed a buggy bleeds off making the Chute turn. It is not terribly surprising that the fastest teams into and out of the Chute (in order) are: SDC, Fringe, Spirit, and CIA. Based on these preliminary numbers, SDC’s Malice will be the buggy to beat in two weeks.

Team Buggy Steps (mph) Meter (mph) % Speed Lost
Apex Phoenix 28.2 24.8 12
Apex Ember 18
Apex “Kyle” 26.1 20.5 21
Apex “Kyle” 25.3 20.7 18
Apex Phoenix 24.1
Apex Ember 22.8 17.7 22
Apex “Kyle” 25.4 20.4 20
Apex Phoenix 28 24.2 14
Apex Ember 17.6
CIA Tempest 31.3 28 11
CIA Impulse 29.1 24.2 17
CIA Orca 30.2 25.7 15
CIA Emperor 19 12.5 34
CIA Tempest 30.8 27.7 10
CIA Impulse 29.7
CIA Orca 29.3 26.4 10
CIA Emperor 16.9 8.9 47
CIA Tempest 31.8 27.5 14
CIA Impulse 29.9 25.1 16
CIA Orca 29.9
CIA Emperor 17.2
Fringe Red/Blue 33.3 28.4 15
Fringe Bolt 34.5 28.9 16
Fringe Red/Blue 34.2 28.9 15
Fringe Primer/Blue
Fringe Bolt 29 24.4 16
Fringe Red/Blue 33.9 28.9 15
Fringe Primer/Blue 32.5 27 17
Fringe Bolt 33.1 28 15
Fringe Red/Blue 34.7 29.2 16
Fringe Bolt 32.5 28.9 11
Robobuggy Transistor 16.8
Robobuggy Transistor 17.3 11.3 35
SDC Malice 35.7 30.3 15
SDC Bane 32.2 27.3 15
SDC Rage 21.3
SDC Havoc 29.6 25.5 14
SDC Orange 23.4
SDC Malice 36.4
SDC Bane 30.8 26.2 15
SDC Orange 30.2 25.5 16
SDC Havoc 29.1 25 14
SDC Rage
SDC Malice 35.7 30.8 14
SDC Bane 29.9 25.4 15
SDC Orange 30.2 25.5 16
SDC Rage 29.4
SDC Malice 35.7 30.6 14
SDC Bane 30.2 25.1 17
SDC Orange 30.7 26.2 15
SDC Havoc 29.6 24.6 17
SigEp Barracuda 33.9 26.2 23
SigEp Kraken 14.9 5.5 63
SigEp Kraken 26.5 20.9 21
SigEp Barracuda 32.9 27.3 17
SigEp Kraken 25.5 21.1 17
SigEp Barracuda 28.7 23.3 19
SigEp Kraken 27.9 22.7 19
SigEp Barracuda 29.3 24 18
Spirit Kingpin 35.3 29.7 16
Spirit Zuke 29.7 22.7 24
Spirit Inviscid 29.9 25.7 14
Spirit Zuke 33.5 27.3 19
Spirit Kingpin 33.9 29.2 14
Spirit Inviscid 30.4
Spirit Kingpin 34.5 28.7 17
Spirit Zuke 32 26.4 18
Spirit Inviscid 30.5 25.7 16
Spirit Zuke 35.1 29.2 17
Spirit Kingpin 34.5 30 13
Spirit Inviscid 30.7 26.4 14

Rolls Report: April 2 – These buggies ain’t no Fool

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier | 7 Comments on Rolls Report: April 2 – These buggies ain’t no Fool

With only 16 days until Raceday 2017, spring has officially appeared to have sprung in the ‘Burgh giving us warm but often rainy weather. Saturday rolls were cancelled due to excessive precipitation, but Sunday was upper 30’s and sunny. The cooler temperature resulted in slower roll times all around, but teams were still taking practice seriously. While we were missing several Greek teams due to Greek Sing, 6 human teams and 2 robotic buggies were out and rolling this weekend. 

In anticipation of April Fools’ Day one of our more dedicated reporters prepared a number of possible report openings and post titles. Despite not rolling on the first, they were too good to share:

  • Rolls consisted of drivers pushing the follow car down Frew street where unsuspecting flaggers were forced to catch them and send them back up Schenley drive.
  • Flush with success from greek sing a triumphant AEPi returned to buggy claiming to be the only fraternity capable of winning the triple crown. Kamikazi was caped and ready to roll.  
  • A belligerent Sam Swift appeared at this roll with Blackjack demanding to be let onto the course insisting that the BAA was a legitimate team and this was always why he made the organization.
  • SDC PAINTED A BUGGY IN 2 COLORS!!!!
  • PIKA PAINTED A BUGGY SOMETHING OTHER THAN BLACK!?!?
  • FRINGE BUGGY WITHOUT A ‘B’ NAME?
  • AEPi NEW BUGGY?

Back to more serious things:
The ‘trench’ in the chute continues to dramatically slow buggies down as it tosses the lighter vehicles and drivers, since this Quick Crete conduit cover spans the entire roadway it is totally unavoidable. While some of the heavier buggies seem unaffected, it’s sure to be a good test if you have all your hatches in place. Make sure your drivers are wearing their mouth guards -this one will jump right up at you.

Buggy alumni were out in droves this weekend trying to get not one, not two, but three timing systems working. Ben M. teamed up with Lou C. to get the laser-based system created by Mark Estes functional. They continued to run into some issues getting all the transmitters to talk to each other, but are hopeful to have the system up and running in time for Raceday. Ben Brown was out getting his speed trap tested, but didn’t have much luck with his system. Finally, Shafeeq S. was manning his battle-tested photo-based system. We have data from Shafeeq, which will be posted on Wednesday. 

In Attendance 

Org Sunday
Apex Phoenix, Ember
CIA Tempest, Orca, Impulse, Emperor
Fringe Boson, Bolt, Bissa, NB17
SDC Malice, Havoc, Bane Avarice, Rage
SigEp Barracuda, Kraken
Spirit Inviscid, Zuke, King Pin

Observations (Sunday Gallery) Continue reading →