Welcome to a new season of rolls! We’re excited to see buggies on the course again, and to that end, we’ve got the 2017-2018 Buggy Kickoff Newsletter (including 2017 Raceday Recap) to share with you here.
See you on the course!
Fall Kickoff and BAA Officer’s meeting notes
Treasurer
We are still looking for one after the last election cycle. We will be reaching out to those who were nominated last year, but if you or someone you know has an interest in being an active BAA officer to help support everything that we do, please let us know. More info on this will be posted in the coming weeks.
Updates from campus
Sweepstakes has landed on a start date for fall rolls finding a balance between the various marathons/charity runs/other road closures. Weather permitting, first rolls will be September 30th, a bit later than usual, but will avoid some challenges and costs that past Sweepstakes have dealt with.
Many teams still need to complete capes, but they’ve still got two weeks to fit them all in. During capes, we saw the reveal of a new buggy from SDC named Inferno sporting a slightly darker red than their standby workhorse Rage. From first look, Inferno follows the form factor trends of their last few builds, so we can’t wait to see how it performs on the course, and with senior and veteran A-team driver Annie Black potentially behind the helm, we have some great expectations.
At the end of last year, the incoming Sweepstakes committee expressed an interest in a full rules committee to clear up some rules that have been modified over the years and also update procedural matters to align with the modern format/changes that haven’t been formally written down.
During Orientation, Sweepstakes held another iteration of “What is Buggy” to introduce the freshmen to our beloved sport. Several teams participated and brought out a buggy to show off on the cut drawing eyes and interest from passersby.
Notes from the last committee meeting
Some time ago, BAA HQ had our Fall meeting and caught up with each other and our projects so here’s a quick update on our progress and plans going forward.
Progress
- Krishan has been making some great progress and should have fixed the account sign-up issue that we were having. If you’ve been waiting to sign up give it a try now and let us know if you run into any issues.
- As we did last year, we are planning to release a kickoff/wrap-up newsletter before the start of fall rolls (which now has a date) to all members.
- Fall rolls reports will continue this semester and we are looking to add some new reporters to further expand on the weekend events. If you are in the area and come out to rolls, let us know and we would be more than happy to include any notes you might have!
- Because of the vital role that cmuTV plays in Raceday, we’ve been talking with a few of their alums and are starting to organize a alumni support group specifically for them. Given how busy the group gets in the spring with their numerous shows, any support we can send their way will come back as support for us.
Next Steps
- We are continuing to make a push to reach out to possible new teams and following up with the outreach that was started by last year’s sweepstakes. Along those lines, we are working to compile a list of available buggies that new teams could rent, please shoot us a message if you know of some in the area.
- Priority for the website is cleaning up some security issues and cleaning up some of the underlying architecture. If you spot any issues please shoot us a message or post a comment. Thanks to those of you who continue to send us these notes!
- There has been talk of doing a short mid-season newsletter this year as a recap of the fall and make some predictions for the spring, so keep an eye right here for more info on that. If you would be interested in helping, or have a topic that you want covered, don’t hesitate to let us know.
Events
- Homecoming – CMU is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the merger between Carnegie Tech and Mellon College of Science this year.
- Tom is preparing a special version of his History of Buggy Presentation for homecoming this year.
- We are also planning to have our doughnut and coffee tent out for rolls that weekend, so come by and say hi if you’re in town!
- Carnival – We are starting to make plans for Carnival this year and will again be looking for volunteers to help keep things running and up-to-date through the races. The officers will be busy managing other BAA tasks, so we are looking to find some leads to help us just during that weekend.
- Local Meetups – We’ve attempted these to some success over the years, but we would love to have more Buggy Alumni meetups in other areas. The BAA has large concentrations in New York and Silicon Valley and will be making some outreach to those chapters, but if you are interested and would go to a local meetup, we’d love to hear from you and provide whatever support your area might need.
BAA Summer Meeting Notes
Hello all you Buggy Fans! It’s about time we shared with yinz what we’ve been up to and what we’re planning for next year. Since our last post like this was quite a while ago, this’ll be a bit of a recap of last year and then also our plans going into the 2017-2018 season.
Summary of 2016-2017 Season:
Continuing of primary goals and expansion new projects during Rolls.
- Rolls Reports went well this year while increasing the average number of contributors. Thanks to these additional hands, we were frequently able to add more detail and information to these reports.
- Timing Systems exploded this year as we are now up to at least 4 or 5 different ones. Ben Brown has continued his initial speed trap system and added a version 2.o into the mix. Mark Estes worked on applying his soap box networked timing system to the odd shape of the course to some success. Shafeeq and Tom Wood also continue their camera and stopwatch traps that have helped confirm some of the success from the automated systems.
On Raceday we experimented with some new strategies to varying success.
- We brought on and mixed in some new broadcasters with our regulars and heard many positive remarks on our picks.
- Team interviews were attempted, but due to the reduced heat schedule, we were unable to fit them in.
- The BAA had our own team of volunteers for the races this year which generally went well, despite a bit of disorganization.
- The Table and Tent for the BAA at the top of the hill was useful if also a bit disorganized.
- Sweepstakes came up significantly short on their fundraising this year and we were able to step in and cover the costs of one of the Jumbotrons as well as the additional camera that was used on the course this year.
Plans for 2017-2018 Season:
We have some ambitious goals for the upcoming season. Some more administrative, others that we hope will improve the buggy experience for everyone.
- Our membership period will be adjusted to line up with CMU’s fiscal calendar. For the transition, anyone that donated after This year’s raceday will still be considered a member through this season. All memberships going forward will end at the end of June.
- Work is already begun on revamping this site and updating some of its tools to the more recent versions. Our current focuses will be:
- Security Updates
- Making the site more mobile friendly
- Better usability for Raceday
- Fixing and consolidating logins
- Finding a better long-term solution for our gallery hosting
- We have a somewhat disorganized google drive folder that we will be cleaning up so we can more easily find & search all of its great information.
- Last year’s Sweepstakes committee did a great job reaching out to potential groups that would be willing to support a buggy team and we plan to follow up on the list that they generated to get an idea of what challenges they run into the most.
- Externally, we have some goals for the larger CMU and Pittsburgh Communities.
- Most of what we are looking to do is increase awareness of buggy and potentially interest.
- We will be working with students and the administration on the best methods for this outreach.
- In the larger Pittsburgh community, we will be reaching out to local news and radio programs, which we used to be covered by in years past.
- Raceday itself is its own beast where we have some specific goals for 2018.
- We will be talking with cmuTV and work with them closely to find ways of displaying our speed trap data as live as possible on the feed.
- Reading off the pusher names has been a great addition to the broadcast, but we are working to find a way of introducing them more directly prior to the race starting that will not adversely affect the timing.
- As the primary people affected by any changes, everything will be run past the current students with a focus on taking their input and interests above our own.
Current Projects
Over the summer we don’t usually have much going on. Aside from the previously mentioned website upgrades that are being looked into, we do have a Raceday Recap newsletter in the works that we plan to release before the start of Rolls this year. If you have any desire to contribute, please email aileen@cmubuggy.org for more information.
We will be meeting again in August just before Volunteer forum and will post an update on our progress so far. Summers are often slow, but we are optimistic with our new team.
2017 Election Results and Treasurer Run-off
The votes are in! Thanks to those of you who took the few minutes to participate. Here are the results:
- Communications – Aileen Dinin
- Head Reporter – Natalie McGuier
- Webmaster – Krishan Taylor
- Team Outreach – Edward Cao
- President – Ben Matzke
During the election process, we had a few write-ins for Treasurer. None got enough votes for an outright election so once we get acceptances back, we will hold a run-off election for this position. Keep an eye out for more info, here are the current nominees:
- Bryan Arsham
- Ethan Gladding
- Meghan Kaffine
Please join me in welcoming our new and returning exec board members!
Last Chance to Vote!
BAA elections are ending this evening! Make sure your voice gets heard and VOTE! We’ve had a great showing so far and a few new nominations for Treasurer. Once these polls close, we’ll be reaching out to the new potential candidates and hold another round of voting in a couple weeks.
Today’s Wigle Barrel Roll event has been cancelled due to weather, so we will NOT be meeting at the distillery to walk over, however the event at the Barrelhouse is still on as planned around 6pm.
Thanks for everyone’s support this year, we can’t wait to see you all again next year, and remember –
VOTE NOW!
Elections all around & Wigle Barrel Roll THIS FRIDAY
Election season is upon us and Sweepstakes is no exception. This Monday they held elections for the new team of Chairman, Assistant Chairman, and Safety Chairman. It was a relatively quick affair with some good discussion, and here are the results:
- Assistant Chairwoman: Elyce Miligan – CIA/Atlas – Co-Founder of the Atlas project that’s been running as a sub group of CIA
- Safety Chairman: Jasio Santillan – Apex – Chairman and builder over the last couple years
- Chairwoman: Camilla Xu – SDC – Head Mechanic for last Raceday
All in all, a very promising group with a lot of expertise. We can’t wait to see what these guys are able to do next year!
UPDATE: BARREL ROLL WALK HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER. The event at the barrel house is still scheduled, but we will not be walking with a buggy.
Just like last year, the BAA will be participating in the Wigle Whiskey Barrel Roll. Those who joined us had a blast and we encourage any students and local alums to join us as we strap a whiskey Barrel to a buggy and walk it through the strip. The event at the Barrel House is $20 if you are over 21, and they will have drinks available to anyone underage. There will be live music, and some awesome contraptions that move the barrels – last year, Penn Brewery was also pushing a keg and pouring cups en-route.
Here are the specifics:
May 5th (This Friday) at 5pmStarting from Wigle’s Distillery – 2401 Smallman St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222~ 1 mile walk to the Barrel House – 1055 Spring Garden Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212The Walk is Free, the Barrel House event is $20
And remember, our elections are still going on, so if you haven’t yet –
VOTE NOW!
2017 Elections Ballot Box
After 2 weeks of Nominations, it’s high time we elect some new officers to the BAA!
Skip ahead and VOTE NOW!
We have short statements for all contested positions, and if you forgot, here’s a quick reminder of what’s happening.
This year we have a few contested, a few no-contest races, and an open position. All terms are for two years with potential for one re-election to the same position. Each position is looking for at least 5 votes or votes of confidence, contested positions require a simple majority after 5 votes. Additionally, each position will have a write in option.
NO-CONTEST RACES:
- Communications: Aileen Dinin
- Head Reporter: Natalie McGuier
- President: Ben Matzke
CONTESTED RACES:
- Webmaster
- Madison Scott – I am currently the head driver for Fringe and will be graduating next month with a BS in ECE. Throwing myself head first into big projects is something I really love to do. Seeing as the website could use a little TLC, I’d be more than happy to take on this position and make the website more reliable and user friendly.
- Krishan Taylor – Hi everyone, I’m Krishan! I’m a former member of Fringe, and I’ve been working on and leading web development teams since graduating from SCS in 2010. As Webmaster, I’m going to make our online experience more mobile friendly, give the website a more modern look, and roll out some new raceday tools, in addition to making the usual bug fixes and security updates. I look forward to hearing your suggestions on how else I can improve our website.
- Team Outreach
- Ethan Gladding – I originally joined on with what remained of Pioneers and I fell in love with Buggy. I have been a Pusher, Mechanic, Amateur Machinist, Assistant Chairman, and all around enthusiast. After Pioneers folded in the Fall of 2011 I worked with the school administration to transfer Pioneers resources into the fledgling Apex buggy and stuck around to help them build their first buggy. This year I helped operate the buggy safety net as a member of W3VC-Radio Club. I also have been assisting the Buggy Alumni Association by providing notes for the roll-reports. I’ll be staying in the city after graduating and would be honored to represent the BAA. Making buggy more accessible has always been a goal of mine. All sport is weird and arbitrary, but buggy takes it to the nth degree and that makes it special.
- Edward Cao – Hi, I’m Edward and I was the Sweepstakes Chairman for Raceday 2016, I was a pusher and push captain for SDC Buggy, and also am a brother of Phi Delta Theta and helped procure them Perun and get their buggy program started with the help of KDR alums and Sweepstakes. I think I’d be a natural fit for this role given my experience with Sweepstakes and helping Phi Delt start their buggy team. I am still in contact with a good number of current students and recent alums such that I would be able help new or prospective teams connect with knowledgeable alumni for guidance. Furthermore, I’d be happy to help out with the publications that the BAA puts out.
NON-NOMINATED POSITION:
- Treasurer – This position manages our financial reports, organizes our membership roster, and coordinates the Lead Truck Auction.
Happy Voting!
Last Call for Nominations
Nominations for the BAA end TODAY! Here’s a quick update of the slate that members will be voting on next week:
- Reporting Lead: Natalie McGuier (2nd Term)
- Communications: Aileen Dinin (2nd Term)
- Webmaster: Madison Scott
- President: Ben Matzke
- Team Outreach: Ethan Gladding
- Team Outreach: Edward Cao
We are still lacking a nomination for a Treasurer/Membership Lead for next year. If you might be interested but are unsure of the commitment, feel free to reach out and our current treasurer Dan Becerra would be happy to tell you about what he does behind the scene.
Being the unique organization that we are, we are always open to suggestions for new seats or roles that may not currently exist. For example, Regional Outreach, Raceday Coordinator, Social/Party organizer, or whatever you think the BAA might be missing!
YOUR LAST CHANCE FOR NOMINATIONS IS TODAY!
SDC Reclaims Men’s and Women’s Titles
Congratulations to SDC on retaining and retaking the Men’s and Women’s titles in spectacular fashion! They are again in a league of their own setting new course records of 2:02.16 & 2:23.27!
If you didn’t catch the awards ceremony after the races, here’s what you missed:
- King of the Hill: Jacob Hoffman – SDC A
- Queen of the Hill: Mary Garrett – SDC A (previous queen)
- Chairmen’s Choice: SigEp
- Spirit of Buggy: Fringe
- T-Shirt: SigNu
- People’s Choice – Design: Inviscid – Spirit
- Design Comp 1st:
Inviscid – SpiritBlueshift – Fringe - Design Comp 2nd:
Blueshift – FringeEquinox – CIA - Design Comp 3rd:
Equinox – CIAInviscid – Spirit - Design Showcase Spark: Beyonce – SigEp
This was a fantastic year on many fronts. Special thanks to our Volunteer team this year who helped make these races happen. Thanks to cmuTV and their team who did a great job producing and filming this year’s races and of course own own broadcast team who kept up with challenging delays and schedule adjustments. We were impressed with the work done by Sweepstakes this year along with the extraordinary effort from the CMU Staff lead by Kaycee Palko.
Of course an extra huge shout out to our BAA board members this year who put in a tremendous effort writing Rolls Reports, the Raceday preview, running the Auction, and helping organize all of our various activities throughout the year! We would not be able to do what we do without their time and effort all year long.
Along those lines, if there are things you saw this year that you think should be run differently, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is! We will be running Nominations to fill our vacant board seats through the end of this week and holding elections the week following. Please check out this earlier post for more information.
See you next year!
Saturday Events Schedule
Here we go again! Good luck to all teams, we will be watching for you to finish strong.
- 8am – Exhibition Races – Flagstaff Hill & cmuTV
- 9am – Finals Races – Flagstaff Hill & cmuTV
- 4pm-7pm – BAA Happy Hour – The Porch in Schenley Plaza
- 4:30pm – Awards Ceremony – Tennis Court Amphitheater
If you won a finals heat in the lead truck auction, be sure to stop by the BAA tent to check in before your heat. Here’s a handy map to help you find things around the course:
