entertainment between matches
 

IRI Live was fantastic this year. Here is an interview( of team 118 mentor & student) in between matches.

What does your region do for entertainment between matches ?

What could we do as a FIRST community to make the time between matches more exciting ?

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Dual fields. No more between match downtimes! Problem solved!

Re: entertainment between matches
 

You'd still have the "field timeout" robot cooldown period happening in the playoffs.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

And a whole bunch more problems introduced, including but not limited to: extra volunteer duties, larger venue space, and more potential complications with the FMS!

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Just bring two robots! Double everything!

Re: entertainment between matches
 

this really would hurt district level events. we already have next to no pit time. also, you'd need about twice the field staff then. again, hurts districts

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Does that include the championships?

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Music and dancing is common at SVR, and although I don't personally participate the other kids get lots of fun out of it.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

There also isn't room to do it. It was mostly sarcastic. Honestly I think people can occupy themselves waiting for the next match or dance to whatever dance song they happen to be playing.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Till you're on the drive team, i almost never got to do anything dance wise...

Re: entertainment between matches
 

I see plenty of teams dancing around. I think even Team Rush (Kyle included) get their groove on once in a while.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

I think we know where this is headed. :)

Re: entertainment between matches
 

here? <readies flame shield>

Re: entertainment between matches
 

I was going to make a comment about them not being at a district event, but they are. Maybe im doing something wrong...

Re: entertainment between matches
 

I think you were at the PNW championship this year...the Skunkworks drive team was definitely getting their groove on. Stay classy!

Re: entertainment between matches
 

I was, and i did dance there. Also took advantage of the Autodesk lounge...

i also was designated the stand-in in the pits to make sure we would be ready to be called during the playoffs, which was boring till the finals...

Re: entertainment between matches
 

You can always help get your scouts ready for the next match. :D

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Oh yea!

https://video.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/...71&oe=55AF2B9D

https://video.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/...a6&oe=55AF28C6

Re: entertainment between matches
 

FMS was down so long at Northern Lights there was a noodle throwing contest. Someone said their name was Dorito. Good times :cool:

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Both give errors, may want to fix that.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

I think FIRST should just provide 10 noodles in every field kit sent to events specifically for this regardless of whether they are needed for the game or not. (we had a contest at Peachtree as well due to a FMS issue):D

Re: entertainment between matches
 

I'm not sure but I assume they send noodles in spare parts for the teams that forget to make bumpers.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

At the West Michigan District, FMS was down for a long time during practice matches on Thursday. While waiting to load robots onto the field, we had teams chucking noodles to the other side, and half a dozen people running around on the field tossing them back over the wall.

In Michigan, we dance when bored. We dance when we are excited. We pretty much just dance.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

well, They wouldn't need them for that reason this year. I know that the PNW had plenty of extra noodles at their events... we killed a lot of noodles

Re: entertainment between matches
 

there was always a noodle throwing area during district champs...

Re: entertainment between matches
 

YES!!!

Noooooo....

The many fields is one of the things I love about VEX. 3 fields, 5 min turn times, roboteers get 14 plays before the eliminations. Elims go super fast and you use the few mins of downtime to present awards.

I for one hate the really long breaks.....

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Keeping a quick tally and adding a few of my experiences

1. Music /Dancing
2. Noodle Throwing Contest
3. Interviews with students/mentors (IRI)
4. Live singing performance (Team 2881 Lady Cans @ LSR )
5. Mascot Dance

Anything else ?

Re: entertainment between matches
 

One of the disadvantages of being scouting lead is not seeing things like that

Re: entertainment between matches
 

There was "color commentary" between Einstein matches.

At Bayou, someone brought some large beach-type balls. Between matches, these were always being batted around. On Saturday I was standing in one of the "tunnels" between the stands so that I could run up to the rail for our matches to do video. I must have rescued/returned twenty or thirty balls that dropped into the tunnel.
I seem to recall smaller balls being batted around at CMP, mostly on Einstein. There were definitely paper airplanes, especially after the presenter from the US Air Force spoke. I passed on a good chunk of paper airplane technology to the next generation in the next few hours!

Re: entertainment between matches
 

soccer and connect 4 were at IRI
enjoyed IRI live just maybe 1 or 2 live interviews with teams like whole drive teams
maybe trivia questions about teams at event or the event or stats at event

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Personally, I'm less concerned with entertainment between matches for those at the event, as keeping things fresh for those watching via webcast. While a certain (probably large) portion of the webcasts' viewers are only going to be concerned with a particular team and won't be watching the whole time, rolling the sponsor reel gets old pretty darn quickly for those watching the entire broadcast. The web viewing experience is still one of the areas where FRC stands to have significant improvement.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

I think it would be pretty cool if a camera crew went around the pits filming on Thursday and play highlights of all the teams between matches. It would be neat to get a 60 second (or so) clip on how their robots worked. Perhaps play chairman's videos as well.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

This, this, this. All the this.

Until the viewing experience at the event is treated differently than the viewing experience at home (like every sporting event ever) FIRST won't be able to grow outside the small audience that has the time and ability to travel to the best events.

The broadcasts like IRI Live, Gametime, and FIRST in Michigan, etc. are all steps in this direction. The biggest failing with the attempts to replicate these at Championships the past two years has been their focus on the experience of the audience in the arena and not those at home.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Three loosely related thoughts:
(1) I'd really like to see a "best practices" kind of procedure written to minimize the non-field-reset delays in competition. I've asked the question about what causes these delays here, and got some very good responses (do not have teams connect to the FMS until the previous match is totally finalized, check and disable background programs like Spotify or CAD software running on teams' driver stations, etc.). It's time to gather those things into a single "recommendations document."

For THOR in October, I've heard two very original ideas:
(2) Run a team "Jenga Tournament" concurrently with the competition and
(3) For between match entertainment during reset, "Team Karaoke" right in front of the competition field.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

At one competition a couple years ago, there was a mascot parade/conga line around the venue - stands, field, pits, everywhere. Nearly every mascot joined in, as well as various teams. It was definitely entertaining!

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Connect 4 is something that Marc Polansky and I started a few years ago at the Connecticut Regional. I had a small travel version, and we played on one of the humps in 2010.

He and I have been saying for years that we needed to play a rematch game, so when I went home during the competition season and refereed at the Rhode Island District Event, where he was head referee, I made sure to bring it. I then have introduced it at every event I have refereed at since. They even took the idea and ran with it at MSC this year where the FTA's brought it.

I took with with me to IRI because I love the fact that it allows both the field crew, and teams to do something more fun during the field time outs, and you can get 2-3 matches in during a standard 6 minute field time out.

I always make sure that the Head Referee and FTA are ok with it before it is introduced on the field, and make sure that anyone who wants to play, can play, so long as there is time left. I never want to delay the day even further.

Re: entertainment between matches
 

My personal favorite option is playing teams' chairman's videos. We sort of got this working at TRI this year and I think it went over well. Need to plan it a little better with the AV team but nothing that can't be fixed.

We are seeing a stark increase in chairman's submissions over the past few years and every submitting team is required to make a video yet only one is shown at each event. They have the videos, the ability to play them, and the thought that this is what we should be highlighting about our program. Why don't we play more chairman's videos?

Re: entertainment between matches
 

These happen at pretty much all PNWFRC events... there was a guy with bagpipes, wearing a kilt in the pits at DCMP in 2014, leading a wakeup parade, too. I think he was from 1294, but I'm not positive. that was the second best thing I've ever seen at an FRC event

Re: entertainment between matches
 

Is this anywhere up there? :rolleyes:
(I cant believe we got someone to wear that)

Re: entertainment between matches
 

This one works well, even if it turns into a "thats awesooome!" situation.

At Wisconsin, they usually filled time with mascot-related things, which is easy. (just play some music and point a camera at them) Raffles and chairman's videos could both be used as well. Personally, I'd like to see giant Connect 4 with totes.