Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

I have been involved with FIRST for about 8 years now. I started back in the day when I was just a lad in high school. I quickly learned how important it is to be safe and keep healthy at competitions.

So, I think I'm going to attempt to write some sort of safety and health guideline that can be used for the 6 weeks and attending competitions. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would really like to hear any and all suggestions.

If you do have a suggestion, please tell me your name and what team you are affiliated with. I want to make sure that I cite everyone who will help me with this endeavor.

Thanks!

Re: Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

Get sleep at any possible time...even in class - Team 11, Brandon

Re: Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

Drink water so you don't lose your voice from cheering! (I learned that the hard way!) Oliver Mutton, Team 1006

Re: Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

If you are next to the playing field: wear safety glasses, pay attention to any robot that is close to you, stay at least 5 feet away from the wall (unless it is your job to be closer), don't talk to a field worker during a match, and if you see a problem that could become dangerous (fire, projectiles, an injury) alert the proper person immediately.

Re: Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

Bring and use antibacterial waterless solution. Despite all my efforts to wash my hands frequently, I still caught a cold this past weekend.

Re: Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

get sleep...very important along with drinking water..easy to forget to about it and you can get dehydrated

we have in our pit the antibacterial stuff so we always are cleaning our hands especially after shaking millions of people..

if put down your drink..and don't know where it went, don't randomly pick up another drink..helps if you right your name on it..sharing drinks isn't the best idea either w/ people you don't know

just be smart. if you aren't feeling well tell someone and don't over work yourself. as pit boss i always am watching out for my team. if they look tired i let them leave.

Re: Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

OK, this might be difficult for some people, but don't yell and scream too much. You will lose your voice.

Re: Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

I would say you should separate your guide into a few categories, to make it easier for people to reference on a regular basis.

1) Sleep
Do a run down of sleep over the 6 weeks and at competition. Give facts, different age group recommendations, personal stories, or consequencs. I don't know how big you plan to make this, so I'm just writing out what would be in a really thorough guidebook.

2) Food
Sooooo important. Cite the options you have at each competition for food: bringing it, stadium food, tailgates, or nearby restaurants. Give pros and cons for each, recalling that many venues do not allow outside food in the stadium. Regional location (cold vs warm) should also be a concern for this.

3) Illness
Lots of people = contagious. Give guidelines on how to take care of yourself by bringing meds with your team, having bandaids, and knowing when to take a chill break so as to not get stress sickness.

4) List of things to bring
Chapstick...Meds...Water bottle...whatever. You can compile this as you write other sections.

I can't thnk of anything else! Good luck! :)

Re: Staying Healthy & Safe @ FIRST Competitions
 

As for staying safe... Make sure everyone is aware of what is going on in the pits or on the field. If operating something, yell "CLEAR".. If lifting the robot, make sure the other person is ready (I ended up with some major floor burn on my hand because we didn't do this).. Just the common sense we seem to lose in the hype of competition