FIRST Championship: Arriving & Volunteering

[Gil3075]

hi guys,

I'll be coming to the FIRST Championship for the first time (after 5 years in FIRST), all the way from the middle east :)

I have a couple of questions to those who are familiar with the event -

1. I would like to volunteer but after seeing the list of jobs I still have no idea what should I choose. I'm looking for a job that involves contact with people but also the freedom to get a real feeling with the event, and of course as I'm too familiar with FIRST it would be good to do something that needs that qualficiation.

2. When would you suggest to arrive in St. Louis? I'm planning Tuesday April 21st but I don't know at what part of the day (morning/noon/evening)

I shortlisted the list of jobs to those I found interesting:


Awards Assistant
Crowd Control
Field Repair/Reset
Field Supervisor
Head Referee
Inspection Manager
Judge Assistant
Judge
Master of Ceremonies Assistant
Pit Administration Lead
Pit Administration Support
Pit Announcer
Practice Field Attendant
Registration System Attendant
Registration System Supervisor
VIP/Media Check-in Table
Volunteer Registration/Information Table


thanks a lot for helping!

[MooreteP]

1. I would like to volunteer but after seeing the list of jobs I still have no idea what should I choose. I'm looking for a job that involves contact with people but also the freedom to get a real feeling with the event, and of course as I'm too familiar with FIRST it would be good to do something that needs that qualficiation.

Looking at your list, Referee, Robot Inspector, Safety Advisor, and Judge would require credentials and/or experience. Are you currently based in Israel? If so, definitely volunteer for the event there (which is not yet listed). If you are in North America, volunteer at Regional or District events in these capacities.

If you want to get a real feeling for the event, Field Repair/Reset is the way to go. You will work with a wonderful group of volunteers in one division, be on the floor, close to the action, and get to know the Robots in your division.


2. When would you suggest to arrive in St. Louis? I'm planning Tuesday April 21st but I don't know at what part of the day (morning/noon/evening)


Tuesday is a little early, so I would pick the evening, so you can settle in and arrive bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on Wednesday morning and help with field preparation.

Register on VIMS now, that will put your name at the top of the list.

[Gil3075]

Thanks for the help!

Yes, I'm from Israel.
I was a team member in 2010-2011, then a mentor of several teams, volunteer & FLL Judge in 2012-2014 and this year I'm gonna be the mediaman of FIRST Israel (responsible for filming, editing, producing videos, following teams etc).

Registration for volunteers in Israel isn't made through VIMS but through a seperate system run by FIRST Israel.

FIRST Israel told me that they have no responsibility regading the Championship and the Israeli teams that go to St. Louis manage by themselves and I should do that so regarding arrival, housing, volunteering etc..

The teams I mentored have never managed to win and I decided to go next year to St. Louis no matter which teams will win (already got tickets), so I'm looking for the best way to experience the champs, as I don't know if I'll get to be there again in the future :)

[Michael Corsetto]

Gil!

Excited you'll be at champs this year! Come by 1678's pit (so long as we qualify) and say hi!

You'll have a great time at the event. I'll second the field reset recommendation, it looks like a lot of fun!

-Mike

[MrTechCenter]

(so long as we qualify)

-Mike

That's a joke, right? ;)

[cadandcookies]

That's a joke, right? ;)

Taking Championship qualification, no matter how good you are or have been, as a given is generally a bad idea. There's always an element of uncertainty.

[Andrew Schreiber]

hi guys,

I'll be coming to the FIRST Championship for the first time (after 5 years in FIRST), all the way from the middle east :)

I have a couple of questions to those who are familiar with the event -

1. I would like to volunteer but after seeing the list of jobs I still have no idea what should I choose. I'm looking for a job that involves contact with people but also the freedom to get a real feeling with the event, and of course as I'm too familiar with FIRST it would be good to do something that needs that qualficiation.

2. When would you suggest to arrive in St. Louis? I'm planning Tuesday April 21st but I don't know at what part of the day (morning/noon/evening)

I shortlisted the list of jobs to those I found interesting:


Awards Assistant
Crowd Control
Field Repair/Reset
Field Supervisor
Head Referee
Inspection Manager
Judge Assistant
Judge
Master of Ceremonies Assistant
Pit Administration Lead
Pit Administration Support
Pit Announcer
Practice Field Attendant
Registration System Attendant
Registration System Supervisor
VIP/Media Check-in Table
Volunteer Registration/Information Table


thanks a lot for helping!

Interesting, Inspector is not on your list. It's a job you can usually get with easily obtained training (Inspect at your local regional) and is always in demand (esp with the larger event). And it gets you talking to teams from around the world.

[Jessica Boucher]

+1 Schreiber here. Inspection at CMP is a great time, and a lot of people enjoy it because of the interaction with new teams.

My jetlag experience is totally different east-to-west than the other way around, so I would say get in as early as you can and get your sleep schedule settled. Championships is, in a word, exhausting. There's a reason there's massages for the volunteers at lunch!

There's a team of us who assign for CMP. Volunteers at CMP are grouped one of three ways: Field, Pit, or Other, but we all share the same pool of volunteers. If I was looking at a profile like yours, the first question I would ask you is: How important to you is it to watch matches? That will split the list easily, depending on which way you go.

The second and third questions are tied together: What jobs have you volunteered for in the past? Do you want to continue doing them? Championship is really cool because there are different jobs that you won't ever get to do at a Regional, and you get to meet very different people. Don't be afraid to jump into something new, but as it was stated earlier in the thread, some roles require current year experience (Reffing, Inspection, Judging, etc), so if you have the time to get trained, do it!

If you want to know more about the jobs or the process, let me know: jboucher@usfirst.org.