We had a great weekend for our first FRC events. The events were a lot of fun, and we learned a number of things about the running of this specific game. The following information is a little dense, but it is very important for you to pass on to the appropriate members of your team.
Both Oregon City and Auburn Mountianview ran late on Day 2. There were a number of reasons for this. We have plans outlined below for you to help the event run on time. This includes a few schedule changes.
Schedule changes:
Day 1 opened a little late. We found that setup took a little longer than expected. To adjust for this, the pits will open at ABOUT 5:00 and stay open until 10pm. We were 15 minutes late on Day 1 this week. You may still leave at the scheduled 9:30 time. We added 30 minutes to help with that issue.
Day 2 ran long at both events. We are currently modifying the end of qualification match play to be 7pm on Day 2. The pits still close at 8pm on Day 2. Please check your event schedule for this week at
www.pnwfirst.org. We will re-evaluate our schedule changes for the next week based on what happens this week.
Because of how the game runs, we learned that the final rounds take longer than we originally scheduled. The final rounds now run from 11:45 to 3pm at all events. Awards should be at 3pm. The pits close at 4pm, meaning we want to have you clear out your pits as soon as you are done. After the final rounds, the pits will no longer be open for working on your robot and you should be cleaning up.
Transport configuration is being monitored.
The inspectors are watching your robot come and go between the pits and the field. Please insure you are following the rules. Most common violations are height issues with your robot on the cart.
Temporary rule modification from last week.
In an effort to catch up last weekend, we had to modify the rules for getting from transport mode to competition mode. We allowed teams late on Day 2 to setup for game mode while in the queue. That was a temporary rule change approved by FIRST only for that day. We are returning to the official rules for all subsequent events.
Procedure for robot startup:
Across all of FRC worldwide, we had some issues with robots establishing connections with their robots. FIRST is aware of this, and is working on improving things. We have the following procedure for you to follow. This involves steps your team MUST take in order to successfully connect your driver station to your robot through the FMS.
0) Power your robot off before you enter the field.
1) Connect driver station to field using provided cable
2) Verify that DS says "Connected to FMS" in the status area
3) Signal your team to turn on robot (this may happen while robot being positioned)
4) Stay with your drivers station. The FTA’s are watching, and will know if you are having issues.
Robot Setup:
Your team has about 1 minute after your robot first touches the field to setup your robot into game configuration. We found that many teams were taking too long on this step. PLEASE insure your team is able to setup your robot on the field in about a minute. If your team takes too long, the referees are allowed to implement rule G10 for which you can be disabled for the match. They nearly called this a number of times this weekend. Please practice your setup until you can do it reliably in less than 1 minute.
Post game:
Your team has no more than 1 minute to enter transport configuration after the match. PLEASE be aware that the green light on the driver station after the match means you should go directly to your robot, enter transport mode, and leave the field. Be ready as soon as the green light goes on to clear your robot from the field
If you take too long, the rule G11 is a yellow card for delaying the game.
Have a great weekend, I look forward to seeing you at the events,
Kevin Ross
PNW District Chair
