Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Much less fun when you're in the Einstein seating area and you're getting hit in the back of the head almost constantly by "planes" made out of magazine paper.

Seriously though, I'm fine with the planes as long as people don't go overboard with them (such as the teams that dump the entirety of their scouting papers from the upper decks, or people who just crumple up balls of paper and throw it at people).

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

I am a bit confused by the schedule. It doesn't show pits being open on Wednesday, but Qualifying matches start Thursday. When do you get to work on your robot?

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Good points, all. And plan to bring a lunch to eat outside. The food inside is expensive with limited menu choices.

And one last point--mix it up with other teams. Many you may not see again. You have a great opportunity to meet some great teams and learn a lot. Don't just seek out the teams in the pits; the mentors and students in the stands are often less busy and have more time to talk between matches.

Come look us up--we love meeting new teams.

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Pits are generally open Wednesday evening around 5 or so for everyone. They're open to 5 team reps earlier (2PM or so IIRC), and robots are encouraged to be inspected during this period. There are practice matches from 6-8 according to the spectator schedule.

Things will solidify a lot more closer to the event, and a schedule that has things that teams care about (like when pits open) will become available.

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

One can only have so many servings of chicken fingers and fries...

We packed coolers with sandwiches, cookies, etc. but we were not allowed to bring them into the stadium. Security stopped us every time, examined the coolers, and said no. So we would have lunch parties on the sidewalk just outside. This wouldn't be bothersome except that somehow, other teams were managing to bring in food just fine. I'd regularly walk past groups with pizzas, BBQ chickens, Chinese takeout, ... Maybe we were using the wrong entrances. :rolleyes:

If my current team makes it to Worlds we will definitely encourage kids to go meet other teams!

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

This is one of the most valuable experiences CMP has to offer!
We met great teams/people at RoboProm; the Arch and one of my team's most favorite "outside trips" was the St. Louis city museum. http://www.citymuseum.org/

Tons of teams were there, kids could order food on their own and go play on their own time! Well worth the ticket price!

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

I had nothing but positive experiences with the security personnel working at last year's event.

My parents drove up from Arkansas to watch their granddaughter's team compete. Now my mom isn't very mobile, and would have had a really hard time walking from the main entrance to the Archimedes Division field location. She's also (bless her heart) too stubborn to use an electric cart. Fortunately, Archimedes was located right next to a stadium entrance that was reserved for volunteer use. So before my parents arrived, I explained the situation to a security person that was stationed at that entrance, and asked if they'd make an exception for my parents. She smiled, shared a personal story about her own slightly stubborn mama, then made certain that her colleagues knew to let my parents use that entrance each day. They also didn't blink when my parents brought in a small cooler with their lunch (concession stand food doesn't work well with health-related dietary restrictions).

On a related note, I was also able to get my parents their badges the day before they arrived, so that they didn't have to stand in line for 30 minutes (registration was an even farther walk than the main entrance). The gracious assistance meeting my mom's needs was a personal highlight of Champs, and was much appreciated.

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Couple things. Make the kids buddy up. It is a great place to explore and see everything, but make sure all the kids have cell phones (and chargers, there are places to plug in if they absolutely need to) and they have the mentors phone numbers in there.

Then get some comfy shoes cause there is a lot of walking. Oh and Ibuprofen... lots of ibuprofen, probably the most fun getting a headache I have ever had. :D

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Team 1208 has put together a guide to St. Louis for teams attending the championships.

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Oh, don't get me wrong, I had no negative experiences with the personnel. Good on them for staying sane after herding thousands upon thousands of teenagers. They were enforcing the rules. It was made clear somewhere in my piles of documentation that outside food was not allowed.

It was just comical because, while I fully expected to see people sneak small bagged lunches and coolers in, there were definitely teams having full-on catered lunches in the hallways and on picnic tables in the courtyard, complete with piles of take-out boxes and foil roasting pans filled with food. I have no idea how they got all that in! :confused:

Maybe they let food in through the other building and not the dome entrance?

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

The arch is closed until "late March" - hope it's open for CMPS because it is fun to visit. They sell out every day when we are there so purchase tickets in advance. The history museum located within the base is fantastic (and free) if you get the chance to go through it. This is a national park so security measures are in place and screening lines can be long. Plan for it so you don't miss your reservation time to go up. The "pods" that you ride in for a short time are small - some people may feel claustrophobic. The park that surrounds the arch is a nice place to get away and relax. http://www.gatewayarch.com/
If you have time, visit the Union Station. It's now a hotel but also the home to FLLJr and FTC Championships. During the evening the lobby has a wonderful projection show on the ceiling. There is a Hard Rock Cafe located adjacent to the hotel, near the metro stop. There are also shuttle buses running between venues daily.
If your mentors have time, visit the NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) meeting on Friday between 10am and noon in America's Center, room 255. Great opportunity to network with other mentors and relax for a short time in a quiet space!
And if you are flying in, note that the airport is located some distance from downtown. You may need to arrange transportation or take the Metro to your hotel.
Have your team members track their walking mileage - you will be amused and amazed at how many miles you will put on during the event!

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Yo, FireBears got wildcarded at 10K! Scouting worked! I ran the twitter account! Dean Kamen signed our flag again! We also won team spirit and safety, ie, the two awards that make alumni think we're lying! The drive team ate waffles for breakfast! We had knights that made Monty Python jokes! We didn't run out of buttons!

It will be our first time there. We're not exactly a rich team, so we've been talking a little about camping a little bit since Missouri is warm, and TBH all the hotels are probably gone by now, but we have some qualms about camping, mostly that we don't want to stink. Any Missouri people know of any good campsites with showers? Is camping for championships a really bad idea in some unforeseeable way?

For getting there, we've asked around a little bit to other Minnesota teams because if possible, it would be great if we could go together as a group, so if you are a Minnesota team that is also going to Missouri, you should talk to our head mentor. If we don't go with another team from our state, we might carpool Duluth-style. We don't really know.

Even if we do go camping, we still have a CRAZY amount of fundraising to do. Does anyone have any good tips for fundraising? Also, does anyone have any good cost-cutting tips, like local places to eat that are cheap? If we do end up camping, we'll probably just buy food at a grocery store and cook it ourselves like we did at Gitchi Gummi so grocery store suggestions are also appreciated.

Also, what should you pack to championships? And what cool things and eats are in Missouri?

Thank you!

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

Also, our team has a diabetic, two people with celiac, and one person who is allergic to tomatoes, meaning that concessions are potentially dangerous for them. At the regionals, we could simply explain this to security personnel and they would let these people bring their own food in, but I'm guessing it's not like that at World, so is there any sort of paperwork or pre-arranging that can be done?

Re: Tips for first time at champs?
 

I would also like to know this. I have an allergy that prohibits a lot of the concession food, but I'm unsure the security would believe me without the proper paperwork.