Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the bad and the so-so

To ALL NJ Regional Teams, volunteers and visitors:

I think everyone’s NJ FIRST hangover have cleared up by now so I would like to collect some opinions about this year NJ Regional, compile all it, then pass it on to the NJ Director & Organizer.
Your opinion counts! :D

I’ve already started collecting many posting from CD (like the food situation, the accessibility, parking and sound system.....)
So please post your constructive opinion on CD or e-mail me directly (please no IM; it is difficult to cut & paste :ahh: ).
:)

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

Also guys for every problem can you come up with some type of answer. I work on the reagional commity and this would make our job 10x easier to have several different solutions.

shaun

PS with regards to the food we had no choise in prices or type that was a soverbank thing

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

1. Volunteer staff/inspectors/refs/judges/innovationfirst staff - awesome, especially when dealing with the problems that came up

2. Food situation - needs improvement - no breakfast options, over priced, can't even eat you own food on a bus in the parking lot (At least try to get the venue to lighten up on food in the parking lot)

3. Venue - very nice, good viewing, a more direct route from seats to pit would be nice (Maybe keep first row of seats empty?)

4. Field/software issues - This one is not related specifically to NJ, but let's try to have major field/software bugs worked out prior to week one.

5. When Autodesk animations are played is there any way to use the real sound for the entries? (This is an easy fix, isn't it?)

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

1. The staff and volunteers were great. They worked hard to keep things organized and on schedule.

2. The food situation was awful. Poor quality, long lines, limited selection, and overpriced. The food was much better at the RAC last year. Something really needs to be done about this.

3. There was only one exit from the pits to the stands. This was very congested and could represent a safety hazard.

4. The arena had good views from all the seats, and the seats were comfortable.

5. The glitches in the scoring and standings software need to be worked out before the first regionals are run.

6. Overall, it was a very successful event. I would like to thank all of the people involved in organizing the NJ Regional.

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

Hey you wrote mine already!
A few more comments.
1. I've already beaten the food and WATER issue to death. See the other strands.
2. Safety. We had a bad scene on our hands on Sat. I tried talking to some of the volunteers but nobody really seemed concerned. There were HUNDREDS of people pushing, in a nice way, but pushing, their way back to the pits after the alliances were chosen on Sat. down those steps. It was EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. One line of people became 2, then 3, then 4, lines of people streaming down the stairs. All it would have taken was one person tripping and you would have had a big falling mass.
There needs to be at least another exit/entrance into the pits at this venue for SAFETY. Also, the pits need a way to circle the perimeter. Teams were blocking off flow routes.
3. Judy did a great job as ?pit boss? or whatever her title was.
4. I appreciate that there were major software glitches so the rankings couldn't be updated. Can these been tested, say on Wed?
5. They should not have delayed the practice matches so long on Thursday. I know there were problems, but...
6. Thanks to all the hardworking volunteers.

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

Also, the inspections seemed efficient. Thanks for coming to us for most of it. How come the box was changed to go in sideways?

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

1. Pit exit - one on each side to the stands would have helped.
2. Robot flow - best I ever saw, Two staging areas per side allowed time to gather your thoughts plus gave the scouts time to see who was coming up. In one side and out the other kept the congestion to a minimum.
3. Pit boss - first week bugs hindered her but I think she did a great job! If she had the info to give out, it was there!
4. Sound System - there was some echo from the field to the pits and sometimes you could not hear in the pits. This was still better than the having a speaker in your pit turned up loud for the rest of the pits to hear.
5. Volunteers - They all did a fantastic job, friendly, helpful, great sense of humor. I wonder how many lost their voices?

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

Have consistency in enforcing the venue rules as outlined in the manual, ie noisemakers and not allowing food to be brought in. To disallow it one day, then allow it the next is confusing at the very least. Either allow it or disallow it, but be consistent!

I agree about the animation clips being played with their music - the music is an integral portion of the piece and is worked on very hard by the teams. I hope it was played as intended for the judging. And perhaps they could be shown just before the awards ceremony so everyone could see them. One of our animators was also on our drive team and never got to see it on the big screen.

Everything else was fine - especially appreciated the efforts of the police outside who stopped traffic to allow us to cross the roads.

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

PA & DJ: Easy to hear from the stands, without being too loud. Thankyou for managing this aspect so well. This was the first regional I've gone to without suffering hearing loss. I thought the tunes were pretty good, too.

Crowd control in stands/aisles: Very good and not overbearing. Much better than at the Rutgers fieldhouse where the security staff sometimes acted like stormtroopers.

I know the food thing is out of your control, but please send our feedback to the arena management. The food was really awful!

Bus unloading/loading & morning queue: very good traffic flow, at least when we were coming and going.

Kudos to the person(s) who thought of limiting the crate-opening crew to three per team. The pits were much less congested Thurs AM than usual.

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

Kathie, thanks for remembering to mention the police outside. They were very helpful, especially when we were leaving.
Also, we were unfortunate to have the pit speaker right by our heads. It was awful. All the teams in the area took turns climbing over the railing and turning it to face away. And then someone would turn it back. There has to be another way.
Thanks again.

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

Some consistency in noisemakers is needed. Banging sticks together was banned, but horns, drums, rattles and cowbells were allowed. And the rules changed day by day. Perhaps a clear explanantion of what is allowed and what is banned - with specific examples - would help.

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

I thought the regional went pretty well. I enjoyed it. My only complaint is to please do something about the pit to stands access. It wasted a lot of time walking from the stands to the pit. They should have allowed another exit from the pit from the other side. It would have been quicker and that one stairway would have been less congested.

Scoring Software Problems
 

On behalf of all the NJ FIRST Volunteers, espically the scorekeepers (myself included), we are sorry about the match and scoring system problems. Many problems arose during the whole competition that were not expected. We did our best to resolve the problems that could be fixed and made temp fixes for those that were fixed later in the days. Also we hope that these problems do not occur again and i am sorry that they did happen during the competition(s). We do thank everyone that understood and were patient with the problems, and their solutions.

Keep those messages coming in...
~Michael "Dez" Dessingue

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

It felt like this stadium wasn't as loud as the RAC, which is a good thing.

On the other hand, our pit area had a speaker pointed at us from a short distance away. It was deafening every time there was an announcement. I think they raised the height of that speaker on Saturday, but it was still annoying, though slightly less annoying than before.

Ditto what everyone else said about the pricy food ($3.50 for a soda at a vending machine?!) and the limited access to pits.

Re: Survey of the 2004 NJ Regional- The good, the Bad and the So-So
 

unforturnatly with the way we had to set up this year, that was not an option, the only way that would have happened is to open up the panel, on the other side, on the playing feild half, which would have opened up a whole new set of problems, with getting robots to their matches.

That is weird, here is the thing, FIRST made that rule, regarding venues similar to rutgers, where The Venue was coincerned about the noise, the night before NJ when all the volunteers met, we were told, noise makers of any kind were allowed, Sovergin bank didnt care, information, that was left out to the teams, trust me, i dont think 150 pairs of moe sticks could get too noisy in this place :p now your new noise makers, sound like the noise when i blow into my straw,in a cup of soda :p