FIRST Championship A to Z Guide

[AJCaliciuri]

Hey Guys,

FIRST posted their annual Complete A-Z Team Guide for
the 2015 FIRST Championship for FRC Teams.

It's available here: http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/Robotics_Programs/FRC/Game_and_Season__Info/2015/2015_FRC_CMP_A-Z.pdf

It sure it'll be updated a few times in the next two weeks.

[tindleroot]

The FRC Sub-Divisional Team Viewing area is interesting. Is that new for this year? It seems useful for team members to watch their matches, especially in finals, but I'm guessing the seating is limited.

[AJCaliciuri]

They had Divisional Viewing areas last year too, which is when they introduced them. I'm not sure how well it panned out, but I guess the had enough success last year that they decided to roll with it.

I don't think my team ever used it, as we were entrenched in our spot for scouting.

[MrTechCenter]

Looks like they won't be providing food at the FIRST Finale Party this year. That's a shame, the food was always one of the best parts. But with 600 high school teams, I could see where that could get a bit expensive..

[JB987]

A great resource. Should be required reading for everyone on your team. I do have some concerns though. No mention as to whether or not the 5 team members loading in can actually work on their robot prior to 5 pm on Wednesday like last year. With many teams required to re-assemble their robots due to this year's transport size requirements, how many will miss the limited practice match opportunity starting at 6 pm because they only had 1 hour to work on their robot? Hopefully FIRST FRC will post an update that allows teams like last year to again work on and get robots inspected between 2 and 6 pm Wednesday.

It looks like teams likely headed for playoffs will need to find time late Friday afternoon to break down their pit and stage pit items not needed at playoffs and also stage temporary pit items used field side for transport to the arena Saturday morning..."For teams competing in the FRC Championship matches, please see Pit Administration for a space to store your pit items until after the competition."

[themccannman]

I didn't see a comprehensive match schedule but it sounds like qual matches go through all of thursday and friday, and elims start on saturday morning. Is this correct or are there more practice matches on thursday morning?

[5reided]

Here's the FRC schedule: http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/Robotics_Programs/FRC/Game_and_Season__Info/2015/FIRST-CMP15-Spectator_Schedule-FRC.pdf

In a nutshell, practice matches are Wednesday night only, qualification matches are Thursday and Friday, sub-division playoff matches are Saturday morning, and Einstein matches are Saturday afternoon.

[Wayne Doenges]

I'm not trying to side track this discussion but my lead mentor and I are having a debate.
Between the pits and the arena, are there any people size doors that the teams need to go through?
I'm pretty sure we go through two garage doors, but he says we need to go through regular size doors.
We have a robot cart we have not been able to use because of the size of our robot (6' 4" tall). We would like to use it at World's.
Who's right?

Thanks

[Jordans16117]

What is the point of having two people going to the floor for alliance selection if only one is suppose to participate

[JesseK]

A great resource. Should be required reading for everyone on your team. I do have some concerns though. No mention as to whether or not the 5 team members loading in can actually work on their robot prior to 5 pm on Wednesday like last year. With many teams required to re-assemble their robots due to this year's transport size requirements, how many will miss the limited practice match opportunity starting at 6 pm because they only had 1 hour to work on their robot? Hopefully FIRST FRC will post an update that allows teams like last year to again work on and get robots inspected between 2 and 6 pm Wednesday.

It looks like teams likely headed for playoffs will need to find time late Friday afternoon to break down their pit and stage pit items not needed at playoffs and also stage temporary pit items used field side for transport to the arena Saturday morning..."For teams competing in the FRC Championship matches, please see Pit Administration for a space to store your pit items until after the competition."

According to the schedule, the Machine Shop opens at 2pm - implying that we can work on robots at the start of Load-In? However, according to the A-Z safety glasses aren't required at the door until 3pm (though they're required before work is started), so maybe there's evidence that we can't start work until after 3pm? Definitely need some clarity here.

I'm not a fan of the crate-in-pits space overnight Friday, but I understand why. At least the schedule should give us at least to deal with it presuming matches end on time Friday. Breaking down the pit with a robot crate in the middle of it will be a p.i.t.a. so we should all mull that over ahead of time.

I love the overnight scouting lists. This helped a LOT in FTC when we won worlds a few years ago. It also is what helped us find the FTC lockout strategy in 2010.

I like the 'deadline' icons.

I'll have to give this a fuller read tonight.

[Steven Donow]

What is the point of having two people going to the floor for alliance selection if only one is suppose to participate

It's a combined Alliance Selection/awards ceremony.

[Alan Anderson]

Between the pits and the arena, are there any people size doors that the teams need to go through?

Robot traffic the past few years has gone through a very large corridor with no "standard" doors. This year there's a new traffic flow, and there are some other doorways in the route, but I don't know whether any of them are short enough to worry about.

[Rick]

A few interesting notes from the guide:

Crates will be returned to your pit Friday night. You must make room prior to drop off. Teams with multiple crates take notice.
With the increase in teams, the estimated time to get your crate back with the free voucher is 4-8 weeks.
Safety patrol starts at 3pm Wednesday. If you do not comply, your team can be reported to Frank Merrick and be asked to leave until the next day.

[Pat Fairbank]

A few interesting notes from the guide:

Crates will be returned to your pit Friday night. You must make room prior to drop off. Teams with multiple crates take notice.
With the increase in teams, the estimated time to get your crate back with the free voucher is 4-8 weeks.
Safety patrol starts at 3pm Wednesday. If you do not comply, your team can be reported to Frank Merrick and be asked to leave until the next day.
Can I report the huge safety hazard of all those crates in the aisles to Frank Merrick, and have them leave until the next day?

I hope FIRST trying to save some money by tearing down the pits a day early isn't taking a priority over team/spectator safety and comfort.

[cgmv123]

Can I report the huge safety hazard of all those crates in the aisles to Frank Merrick, and have them leave until the next day?

Pits won't be in the aisles (except in transit); you have to make room for your crate inside your pit.

[Pat Fairbank]

Pits won't be in the aisles (except in transit); you have to make room for your crate inside your pit.
I know, but I'm betting they won't stay there for long as is the usual case during de-crating, except now with a few thousand extra people in the pits.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

A few interesting notes from the guide:

Crates will be returned to your pit Friday night. You must make room prior to drop off. Teams with multiple crates take notice..
This is going to be hilarious! (..ly crowded)

[MrTechCenter]

This is going to be hilarious! (..ly crowded)

Does everyone that makes elims still get to move their pit to the dome floor even though there's more fields now? If that's still the case, I don't think it'll be as bad as everyone might think.

[AdamHeard]

Does everyone that makes elims still get to move their pit to the dome floor even though there's more fields now? If that's still the case, I don't think it'll be as bad as everyone might think.

I don't see how 256 teams will have temporary pits on the dome floor, or how power will be supplied for them!

[Tom Bottiglieri]

Does everyone that makes elims still get to move their pit to the dome floor even though there's more fields now? If that's still the case, I don't think it'll be as bad as everyone might think.
No idea. There is no documentation on this process that I am aware of. Who gets to move? Top 8? Top 20? When do they move? Friday night? Saturday morning?

Good luck trying to move 256 pit areas Saturday morning with every single existing pit area being half full of a crate (or two).

[Nate Laverdure]

The makeshift power distribution that appeared on the dome floor during last year's elims (only 128 teams) was scary to me.

[magnets]

To answer a previous question-
The process in St. Louis will be similar to what you experienced at earlier events. You should plan on not unbagging your ROBOT until your Lock-up Form is reviewed by an Inspector per Section 4.6.1 of the FRC Admin Manual.
I thought last year's change to remove the unbag check was really smart, so I don't know how I feel about the rush to find inspectors that this will create.

Some new things
-The 'pit crew' that gets to help with robot repairs during eliminations is limited to one adult and three people total.


Some questions-
Last year, during eliminations, there were 4 x 8 x 4 x 7 =896 team members on the dome floor as part of drive team and pit crews. This year, there will be twice that, which is 1,792 team members on the floor of the dome, and twice as many fields and close seating, and screens, and scoring tables, and cameras, and robot queues... It's going to be a tight fit!

This sections was by far the best:
Each team will receive one Safety Captain Badge for this voluntary position.

Our team will no longer be harassed when the random student on our team who decided to wear the safety button decides to go somewhere that isn't the pit.

[cgmv123]

I thought last year's change to remove the unbag check was really smart, so I don't know how I feel about the rush to find inspectors that this will create.

Fewer (if any) teams received permission to open their bags between their last event and Championship last year.

[MrTechCenter]

Fewer (if any) teams received permission to open their bags between their last event and Championship last year.

Magnets is referring to the rule change for Championships last year that allowed teams to unbag their robot immediately after unloading rather than having an inspector check the lockup form and bag before giving teams the green light to open their bag.

[Wayne Doenges]

Magnets is referring to the rule change for Championships last year that allowed teams to unbag their robot immediately after unloading rather than having an inspector check the lockup form and bag before giving teams the green light to open their bag.

I must have been at the wrong World Championship because I remember checking every Bag and Tag form before a team could unbag.

[MrTechCenter]

I must have been at the wrong World Championship because I remember checking every Bag and Tag form before a team could unbag.

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-2014-Championship-Updates

[Alan Anderson]

I must have been at the wrong World Championship because I remember checking every Bag and Tag form before a team could unbag.

Are you certain, Wayne? I remember being stationed in the pit area during load-in last year with the instruction to let teams know they could unbag as soon as they wanted to.

[Wayne Doenges]

Okay, I now remember we let them unbag. All these events are merging into one big blur :D CRS disease

[cgmv123]

Magnets is referring to the rule change for Championships last year that allowed teams to unbag their robot immediately after unloading rather than having an inspector check the lockup form and bag before giving teams the green light to open their bag.

So was I. Last year, few, if any, teams received permission to open their bags in between their last event and shipping their robots to championship. Since plenty of teams have received such permission this year, I thought FIRST would want to check bags again this year.